Bill Rifkin

NEW YORK -- Bill Rifkin has been appointed chairman of the board as of Oct. 1 at Covington Fabric and Design.

Mark Kahan has served as Covington’s chairman since 2008 and also its president and CEO until 2012. He has decided to devote more time to pursuing his legal, academic, and aviation interests, but will remain involved with Covington as he continues to be a member of the board.


Mark Kahan

“It has been an honor to serve as the chairman of the board for these past 11 years,” Kahan says in a statement. “As Bill steps into the role as chairman of the board, I know his industry knowledge and insight will benefit the company.”

Greg Tarver, president and CEO of Covington, says: “It has been an honor to report to Mark these past 8 years, and I look forward to working more closely with Bill going forward. …“We’ve enjoyed a close and interactive relationship with ownership all along. Bill’s strong financial background has been a tremendous asset to CFD.”

Tarver says there will be new initiatives.

“We are expanding and upgrading our space in the Market Square Textile Tower for November Showtime,” he says in a statement. “The timing is perfect as we are launching our new Hilary Farr Design fabric collection and we’re expanding our furniture-focused prints and go-with collections.”

Rifkin says about working with Kahan: “We began our journey with Covington just before the Great Recession, Mark’s leadership, especially in the early years, was instrumental to our success. We have many new initiatives underway that we are quite proud of.”