Hayneedle.com today announced three leadership promotions to advance the company’s ongoing growth. Under the new leadership organization Rebecca Gray, Ryan Paulson and Tammy VanDonk assume leadership roles in Merchandising, IT and Customer Care, reporting to President and CEO Jon Barker.
“Rebecca, Ryan and Tammy bring a wealth of industry knowledge and talent to their new roles, and I am pleased they have accepted the challenge to help guide Hayneedle into our next phase of growth,” Barker said. “Together we will build on the company’s many successes and continue to champion Hayneedle’s customer-focused culture.”
Rebecca Gray is promoted to vp/merchandising, overseeing all product offers, category development, assortment expansion and vendor relationships. She joined Hayneedle in 2004 and has served in a variety of management roles. According to the company she has been instrumental in leading the merchandising strategy to expand assortment to millions of products and more than 3,000 brands. Gray has also championed Hayneedle’s private brand strategy developing exclusive product lines. Prior to joining Hayneedle, Gray oversaw product development, marketing and key manufacturing relationships as a director for a leading global retailer.
Ryan Paulson takes on the role of vp/technology, with responsibility for Hayneedle’s retail and e-commerce systems, IT infrastructure, program management, quality assurance and IT security. Since joining Hayneedle in 2004, Paulson has played an integral role in developing and implementing the company’s proprietary systems and technology, according to the company.
Tammy VanDonk has been promoted to vp/customer care & advocacy and, according to the company, has been tasked with ensuring that Hayneedle customer perspectives and voice are supported throughout the entire organization. Before joining Hayneedle, VanDonk held managerial and senior customer care and engagement positions with Williams-Sonoma, Hanover Direct and Spiegel.
“With the scale of abilities and experience now represented on our leadership team, I’m really excited about the successes we are having as we continue to build the Hayneedle brand,” Barker added. “Working together we will never stop listening to our customers as we provide the best online shopping experience in the industry. That means finding and offering the right product assortment, using best-in-class technology to ensure products are easy to find and just what a customer wants, and continuing to enhance our personalized, end-to-end customer service experience to help shoppers whenever they need it.
