by Former CEO Mike Watson and Jay Quimby, executive vice president, sales, have left the company
TUPELO, Miss. — Full-line case goods and upholstery resource Lane has undergone a change in leadership that places industry veteran Todd Evans at the helm of the organization as CEO.
Mike Watson, the previous CEO, is no longer with the company, Evans confirmed with Home News Now.
Home News Now also has learned that Jay Quimby, executive vice president sales and a 20-plus-year veteran of Lane and its predecessor, United Furniture Industries, is no longer with the company. A replacement is expected to be announced as early as next week.
Neither Watson, who was with the company 10 years, nor Quimby, were available for comment.
Evans has been with Lane since April 2020, serving as president, case goods and global sourcing. In this role, he has expanded the company’s master and youth bedroom line and also has overseen the expansion of the company’s offerings in new categories such as accent furniture.
The company said that he most recently led global sourcing initiatives for finished goods as president of Lane’s Imports Division. In this position, the company said, he expanded Lane’s footprint in Vietnam and “grew the finished goods product offering to what is now a substantial and important part of Lane’s overall business.”
“The historic 110-year-old Lane brand serves a vital role to furniture retailers and consumers,” Evans said in a statement. “Our company’s commitment continues to be delivering products for the whole home at an intense value. Our main goals coming out of the pandemic are to focus on product improvements and value and overall reliability. I am excited about this opportunity and look forward to continuing to work with the exceptional team at Lane to grow this business and take on the challenges our industry faces.”
Before joining Lane, Evans was CEO at case goods and upholstery resource Standard Furniture, a role he had for five years. Before that, he served as president for just over three years and for nine years before that starting in 2009, he also served as president of the company’s import division, International Furniture Marketing.
He started with Standard in 1999 as vice president, sales and then was promoted to executive vice president five years later, a role he held through 2010. Evans started his career in the industry in 1997 as a national account manager for Stratford and Simmons upholstery.
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