Design Public Group names new president

 Design Public Group, a division of HNI Corporation, has named Lauren Hession (pictured) as its new president leading the strategic growth for Design Public Group contract division—DesignPublicGroup.com, DanishDesignStore.com and DesignPublic.com. Hession thrives on creating, developing and leading diverse dynamic teams in a high-performance culture while inspiring an environment of innovation, collaboration and trust, according to the company. Utilizing her diverse and cross-functional experience in sales leadership, operations, finance, six-sigma process improvement and engineering, she will lead the charge in developing the infrastructure to increase brand awareness and overall productivity for each of the DPG brands.

“I’m thrilled and honored to be leading an innovative company bringing design to a wealth of environments including workplace, hospitality, home and more through a leading-edge technology platform that simplifies complex business processes,” Hession said. “Matthew Lieb and Todd Thedinga have created an incredible business model and I’m eager to continue to build on the strength of the brand along with the support of the HNI Corp team.”

In her previous role, Hession was the divisional VP of sales and distribution for Knoll Inc. for the majority of North America including the East Coast, Midwest and Texas. Through her leadership, she was instrumental in year-over-year revenue growth to surpass annual sales objectives by establishing a results-driven sales organization while providing strategic oversight to sales coverage, distribution strategy and client relationship management.

“As a member of the HNI Corporation, we are looking forward to having Lauren Hession join the team,” said Jason Hagedorn, president, Allsteel. “Her extensive experience and knowledge of both the contract and consumer markets is impressive and we look forward to learning and growing with her as she embarks on this new role at Design Public Group.”

“We’re excited to pass the baton to Lauren Hession,” said Matthew Lieb, outgoing president, Design Public Group. “Her experience, market knowledge and leadership qualities make her the perfect person to lead Design Public Group in its next phase of growth as the company continues to expand into new markets and widen its offering to customers in both the contract and residential segments of the market. She will make an immediate positive impact and we look forward to assisting in her transition.”

Hession holds an MBA in finance and marketing from the Simon School of Business, University of Rochester, and a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from Miami University. She is also a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Consultant.

For a seamless transition, Lieb and Thedinga will remain with the company through the end of 2022.

Tags: Design Public Group, Jason Hagedorn, Lauren Hession, Matthew Lieb