Surya has appointed Jim Levine to the newly created role of vice president of Surya Outdoor. Levine is a veteran of the casual furniture industry where he has spent the last 32 years overseeing business operations, sales and marketing, supply chain management and product design for a variety of outdoor product lines.
In his new role, Levine will be responsible for expanding Surya’s outdoor product offerings while also building and overseeing a sales force focused specifically on retailers in the outdoor products category. Surya’s outdoor lines currently include rugs, pillows and poufs, with ceramics, hurricane lamps, tabletop products and outdoor mirror and lighting categories set to debut at the 2014 International Casual Furniture & Accessories Market in September.
Levine was previously owner and CEO of Porch & Patio, a casual furniture store that he grew from a single retail location to a seven-store chain, and also served as vice president at Robb & Stucky Patio, where he managed retail operations. He most recently headed up importing and manufacturing for a startup outdoor furnishings company. Levine has received and/or been nominated for the Apollo Award, the highest award given to a casual furniture retailer, five times.
"Under Jim’s leadership, we look forward to significantly growing our range of fashion-forward outdoor offerings to support our goal of becoming the premier provider of coordinating accessories for the outdoor living segment,” said Satya Tiwari, president, Surya. “Jim’s wealth of experience in the outdoor industry combined with our ability to quickly bring to market products for a variety of lifestyles and budgets, and strong focus on service will be instrumental in expanding our presence in this valuable segment moving forward. We are excited to welcome Jim to the Surya team.”
