McKinnon Leaves Post at CVI to Join Joan Fabrics Corporation
May 30, 2000
Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. - The industry was shocked in the wake of the announcement by Century Valdese Industries that Bob McKinnon is leaving his position at CVI as president and CEO to take on president and COO duties at Joan Fabrics Corporation in Massachusetts.
Joan Fabrics is the parent company for Mastercraft Fabrics, and according to a Joan Fabrics press release, McKinnon will have direct responsibility for Mastercraft as well as Joan's Home Furnishings units, which include: Contract, Doblin, Home Fabrics and Mastercraft. At Joan, McKinnon will be based in Hickory, N.C., and will report to Elkin McCallum, chairman and CEO of Joan Fabrics. The division presidents of operating companies will report to McKinnon. McKinnon will also serve as a member of the Joan Fabrics Corporation board.
The announcement by CVI follows inside reports to F&FI that McCallum, had been holding talks with Valdese officials in recent months. Both McKinnon and McCallum deny that any such talks have taken place.
He joined CVI in 1978 as president of Valdese. In 1996, he was appointed president and CEO. His last day at CVI will be June 16. Until then, he said that he will help to assure a smooth transition there as A. Alex Shuford takes over his responsibilities. McKinnon said he will begin working at Joan in early July.
"I just felt like it was an opportune time to make a change and because I have great respect for [McCallum] and his abilities," McKinnon said. "We complement each other quite nicely from a management standpoint. He has great strengths as a manager…I enjoy marketing, and sales of product and I have great knowledge of customer base that they're dealing with because I was in fabric for a long time."
McKinnon called CVI "a great company. We've taken the company through a transition, through family management to my becoming CEO of CVI," he said. "We've gone through the SAP [german software] implementation [installed in '98]. We've altered the customer base somewhat. We've gone through some consolidations and the company today is operating at one of the best levels ever.
"It is positioned from an operations standpoint and a strategy standpoint in such a way that it will continue to do exceptionally well."
And as Shuford steps into the president and CEO duties at CVI, Robert J. Maricich was promoted to President and CEO of Century Furniture Industries.
Joan Fabrics is the parent company for Mastercraft Fabrics, and according to a Joan Fabrics press release, McKinnon will have direct responsibility for Mastercraft as well as Joan's Home Furnishings units, which include: Contract, Doblin, Home Fabrics and Mastercraft. At Joan, McKinnon will be based in Hickory, N.C., and will report to Elkin McCallum, chairman and CEO of Joan Fabrics. The division presidents of operating companies will report to McKinnon. McKinnon will also serve as a member of the Joan Fabrics Corporation board.
The announcement by CVI follows inside reports to F&FI that McCallum, had been holding talks with Valdese officials in recent months. Both McKinnon and McCallum deny that any such talks have taken place.
He joined CVI in 1978 as president of Valdese. In 1996, he was appointed president and CEO. His last day at CVI will be June 16. Until then, he said that he will help to assure a smooth transition there as A. Alex Shuford takes over his responsibilities. McKinnon said he will begin working at Joan in early July.
"I just felt like it was an opportune time to make a change and because I have great respect for [McCallum] and his abilities," McKinnon said. "We complement each other quite nicely from a management standpoint. He has great strengths as a manager…I enjoy marketing, and sales of product and I have great knowledge of customer base that they're dealing with because I was in fabric for a long time."
McKinnon called CVI "a great company. We've taken the company through a transition, through family management to my becoming CEO of CVI," he said. "We've gone through the SAP [german software] implementation [installed in '98]. We've altered the customer base somewhat. We've gone through some consolidations and the company today is operating at one of the best levels ever.
"It is positioned from an operations standpoint and a strategy standpoint in such a way that it will continue to do exceptionally well."
And as Shuford steps into the president and CEO duties at CVI, Robert J. Maricich was promoted to President and CEO of Century Furniture Industries.
