CORTE MADERA, Calif.-- RH (NYSE: RH) announced that Veronica Schnitzius is joining the Company as President, Chief Manufacturing & Sourcing Officer; and David Stanchak has returned to the Company as Chief Real Estate and Transformation Officer.
Schnitzius will lead RH’s efforts to build a global manufacturing platform that combines owned and operated, joint-ventured, and outsourced manufacturing for the Company’s core furniture business, which represents 80% of RH brand revenues. The strategy will emulate the vertically integrated model of many of the world’s largest and most profitable luxury brands that have a high level of control over the manufacturing, quality and capacity of their core business.
Schnitzius joins RH after a distinguished 24-year career at American Leather, a leading U.S. brand and manufacturer of high-quality upholstered furniture, and an important manufacturing partner of RH since 2014. She began her career at American Leather in 2002 and has led the company as its President since 2017.
Gary Friedman, RH Chairman and CEO, commented, “We are delighted to welcome Veronica to Team RH. She and her team at American Leather have been important partners of our brand for over a decade. We have witnessed and experienced the impact of her leadership and unmatched energy as both a manufacturing executive and a collaborative partner.”
Schnitzius commented, “I’m thrilled to be joining Gary and Team RH in their quest to build one of the most admired brands in the world. The opportunity to build a luxury furniture platform that controls quality from product ideation to product presentation will be revolutionary in the luxury furniture industry. I’m excited to have the opportunity to lead such a transformative and disruptive effort.”
Schnitzius began her career at American Leather as a Plant Engineer in 2002 and has held the positions of Plant Manager, Vice President of Operations, Chief Operating Officer, and most recently President. Veronica holds an MBA from the University of Texas at Arlington and a BS in Production Engineering from EAFIT University in Medellin, Colombia.
Veronica will report to Friedman and serve as a member of the Company’s Executive Leadership Team.
Stanchak to Lead Global Real Estate Expansion and North American Gallery Transformation
Stanchak has resumed his role leading the Company’s Global Real Estate Expansion and North American Gallery Transformation, a position he held from May 2015 through May 2021. Mr. Stanchak will also be leading efforts to monetize the Company’s significant portfolio of real estate assets in the United States and Europe.
Friedman commented, “We are thrilled Dave is rejoining Team RH. His leadership expanding our Gallery platform globally, transforming our legacy stores into Design Galleries with integrated Restaurants, Wine and Barista Bars across North America, and pioneering Sale–Leaseback Development projects contributed to the positioning of RH as the leading luxury home furnishings brand in North America.”
Over his forty-year career in the real estate industry, Stanchak has worked as a senior executive, investor, broker and attorney across all aspects of high-growth, multi-unit retail brand development. He has had direct responsibility for opening more than 2,500 retail stores and deploying more than $2.5 billion of capital for some of the largest retailers in the United States, including RH.