Wilsonart names new president

Wilsonart International, a maker of laminate flooring, countertops and sinks, has named Kristen Manos as its new president. She replaces Bill Gaetano, who announced his retirement late last year. DiGaetano has been president of Wilsonart since 2005 and is a 33-year veteran of the Temple, Texas, company.

Manos was previously EVP and president of Herman Miller North American Office Environments, where she ran a $1.5 billion profit and loss organization, which also included the Geiger subsidiary. Her previous experience at Herman Miller included marketing and market development where she established a branding strategy and a vertical selling strategy in education and health care. She also led an initiative to reinvigorate the design focus within the company.

“We are thrilled to welcome Kris into our organization," said Jane Warner, EVP parent company Illinois Tool Works (ITW). "She brings significant knowledge, industry relationships and key strategic perspective from her broad range of experience."

Prior to her Herman Miller experience, Manos was VP global marketing at Haworth, a Holland, Mich.-based furniture company. She also led their product development team, customer satisfaction unit and developed the first strategic plan for the company.

Manos began her career at Navistar in manufacturing where she had assignments as a first line supervisor in the engine plant, a manufacturing engineer and a financial analyst in materials management. She ultimately became manager of strategic business development and OEM marketing.