Duravit North America is excited to announce five new hires and two internal promotions, underscoring the brand's North American market commitment. This significant staffing investment reflects the brand's exciting momentum and growth trajectory in the North American market, following a record-breaking showcase at the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show.

"From new customer initiatives to exciting channel marketing developments and more, Duravit North America continues to make strategic investments to capture greater market share," said Bob Downie, president and CEO of Duravit, Americas. "We are thrilled to welcome such a talented group to the brand and look forward to the continued growth and success of our integral team members in their new positions as well."   

New Hires

Justin Sperry 
Justin Sperry joins the Duravit team as the new director of national accounts. In this leadership role, Sperry will be a key member of the brand's sales organization and responsible for driving profitable growth across all product categories through the effective management of wholesale national accounts. With a focus on sales forecasting, he will develop strategic plans for national, regional, and local accounts, while utilizing solution-selling techniques to identify specific market needs. 

Tammy Goerlich
With over 25 years of industry experience, Tammy Goerlich steps into the role as Duravit's regional project sales manager for the Northeast. Through the effective management of specifications, brand knowledge and sales activities for key accounts, she will work directly with architects, designers, general contractors, and developers in the region. Goerlich is excited to deliver top-of-line project support and service across the Northeast market.

Kimberly LaPorte 
With a  strong record of success in the plumbing and building materials industry, Kimberly LaPorte joins Duravit as its Southeast regional sales manager. Responsible for driving sales across the brand's wholesale customers, architects, designers, general contractors and developers channels, she will be an integral part of achieving sales growth across all product categories. LaPorte will collaborate with sales agencies and showrooms while optimizing customer service relations across the Southeastern market. 

Susan Vehaskari
Susan Vehaskari joins the Duravit team as the new Western regional sales manager. She assumes this leadership role with more than 18 years of experience developing strategic plans with key customers and driving sales across the residential, hospitality, and commercial segments. Vehaskari will be responsible for developing strong relationships with key partners within sales agencies, showrooms, architects, designers, owners, developers, and wholesale customers. She is thrilled to join this incredible company and leadership team.

Danielle Kavanagh 
Danielle Kavanagh has joined the Duravit team as its faucet category product manager. An exciting new position for the brand, Kavanagh will be a key member of the North American product team and responsible for the development and tactical execution of the faucet product category. As a voice for the customer, she will provide strategic insights during product development by researching, identifying, and securing product sourcing options based on brand, market, and category needs. 

Gerrit Von Holt 
With a background in digital merchandising and marketing, Gerrit Von Holt joins the Duravit team as the new eCommerce channel manager. He will be responsible for the strategic development, management, and tactical execution of the eCommerce channel as well as for bolstering digital brand awareness across North America. As the primary contact for key online customer relationships and integrated channel marketing, Von Holt will develop digital strategy to drive profitability and top-line sales growth with key partners. 

Promotions

Janina Allen 
In this new leadership role, Janina Allen will bring her in-depth brand knowledge and experience across marketing and business development to oversee strategic projects. In her most recent position as business development manager, Allen had a significant organizational impact, growing project sales within one year by twenty-five percent. She is poised to continue this track record of success, working closely with Durvait's executive team. 

Lauren Rowell
As digital project manager, Lauren Rowell will build on her experience in digital content strategy since joining the Duravit team three years ago. In her prior position, she played a critical role in strategizing with eCommerce customers and distributors across the North American market to optimize sales across various product categories. Moving forward, Rowell will be responsible for the development, management, and tactical execution of cross-functional projects across the US, specifically managing the coordination and administration of pricebook development for 2023.