We were very pleased to announce the promotions in 2021 of two highly capable employees to lead two of our key businesses, Bedding and Automotive.
Tyson Hagale was promoted to Senior Vice President and President of the Bedding Products segment in August 2021. Tyson joined Leggett in 2001 and served in various roles across the Company, most recently as Vice President-Commercial for the domestic bedding value chain. In this role, he helped to further develop our market-facing activities, including sales, channel strategies, and product development. Tyson brings extensive financial, strategic, and operational experience to his new position.
“The global bedding market continues to be dynamic and offers an attractive growth opportunity for L&P. Consumers are changing the way they think about bedding, including what they value and how they buy. As we think about the medium to long term, the initiatives and investments made over the last several years have positioned us well. Our mission will be to continue building the organization and processes to effectively partner with our customers to provide innovative components and private label finished goods that consumers desire.”
— Tyson Hagale, President of the Bedding Products segment
Sonia Smith was promoted to President of Leggett’s Automotive business in April 2021. Sonia joined Leggett in 2006 and has held numerous positions within the Automotive business including Regional President of Europe and COO of our global Automotive operations. Her deep understanding of business strategy, customer relations, product development, and financial management, paired with her rich operational and industry experience, make Sonia the right choice for this role.
“Despite the medium-term challenges, the future of the automotive industry has never been more exciting. Long-awaited technology disruptors have arrived and mega-trends in electrification, autonomous driving, new mobility, and digitalization will continue to shape the landscape ahead. Our focus is to drive our innovation and development to widen our product portfolio, delivering solutions to meet these new trends. We are strengthening our market-facing capabilities and business intelligence processes to maximize our growth potential, increasing our value-adding content in mobility comfort and convenience. Our priority to further develop our talent and teams is central to our plans for success.”
— Sonia Smith, President of Leggett & Platt Automotive
“I envision more career development success stories, like Sonia’s and Tyson’s, having a critical impact on the company’s future. Only when our employees are growing can we build a sustainable, strong foundation of talent to carry us into the future.”
— Mitch Dolloff, Chief Executive Officer
We are committed to enhancing lives through our products, our processes, and our people. We strive to advance sustainable solutions for our customers, to achieve the highest standards for ethical conduct, to demonstrate strong environmental stewardship and safety performance, to enable a culture of inclusion and employee development at all levels of the company, to embrace our supply chain responsibilities, and to support communities in which we live and work. Some examples:
“The path ahead is likely to look different as we find new ways to care for the health and wellness of our employees and their families, ways to attract and retain the best talent, ways to develop our employees to their fullest potential, and ways to increase our focus on inclusion, diversity, and equity.”
— Christina Ptasinski, Chief Human Resources Officer
We issued our inaugural sustainability report in April 2021 and will update that report each year to reflect our progress in advancing ESG priorities. We have several activities underway, but our top priorities include:
As part of our unwavering commitment to Environmental, Social, and Governance matters, we have established Board-level oversight of these activities.
Companies that lead in Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity typically also lead financially. Diverse teams generate better ideas and make better decisions. Employees who feel engaged and supported at work perform better. In fact, inclusive and equitable companies often outpace competitors because they genuinely care about the unique needs, perspectives, and potential of all their employees. We believe in ID&E because it’s the right thing to do. Put simply, our people matter. Our commitment to ID&E means continuing to build upon our culture, where every employee has a positive experience of belonging and mutual respect, and everyone has equitable access and opportunities for development and advancement. We want our employees to feel valued, involved, trusted, and heard in their day-to-day work experiences.
“Our focused ID&E efforts will allow us to drive positive change, enhance innovation through diverse perspectives, and embrace a bright future for our employees, customers, and communities. This important work is a critical part of our company’s strategy to build sustainable long-term value and success.”
— Jeff Tate, Chief Financial Officer
“We have created a strategy and action plan designed to foster an inclusive and diverse culture that aligns with our values and priorities.”
— Mitch Dolloff, Chief Executive Officer
Motivate employees and increase engagement
Attract and retain top talent
Enhance innovation through diverse perspectives
Enrich customer experience
Advance L&P’s global brand
Improve business results
