HIGH POINT - The American Home Furnishings Alliance has elected Caroline Hipple, CEO of HB2 Resources, as chair of the organization's Board of Directors. She is the first woman to serve as board chair in the association’s 120-year history.

Her selection was confirmed during the organization’s Annual Meeting & CEO Conference in Savannah, Georgia, last month. New officers and directors will assume their roles in January.

Hipple has had a distinguished career in the furniture industry, and was recognized as a Wood Industry Market Leader in 2019. She joined the AHFA Board in 2020 while president of Norwalk Furniture, and was the fourth woman to serve as a director on the board, following Amini Audi (Stickley) in 2008, Stefanie Lucas (Rowe Furniture) in 2010 and Karol Czanderna (Flexsteel) in 2015. 

Joining her on the 2026 Executive Committee are Melinda Whittington, CEO of La-Z-Boy, who joined the board in 2022 and will serve as first vice chair. Jeremy Hoff, CEO of Hooker Furnishings, is second vice chair, and Andy Bray, president of Vanguard, is the immediate past chair.

Executives named to new three-year terms on the Board of Directors are Mike Bradshaw, Avalon Furniture; Jamie Collins, Homelegance; Mark Franklin, Franklin Corporation; Eric Graham, Baker Furniture; Sean O’Connor, Universal Furniture; Eric Parsons, Jensen Outdoor; and Veronica Schnitzius, American Leather.

Executives who are continuing on the board with terms expiring at the end of 2026 are Doug Bassett, Vaughan-Bassett Furniture; Chad Gore, Leggett & Platt Furniture Components; Travis Wagner, Ashley Furniture Industries; and Mark Weber, Southern Motion.

Board members with terms expiring at the end of 2027 are Jeremy Copeland, Carpenter Co.; Jessie Flanders, Lloyd Flanders; Fred Henjes, Riverside Furniture; and Derek Schmidt, Flexsteel Industries.

Headquartered in High Point, North Carolina, the American Home Furnishings Alliance is the only trade association serving the U.S. residential furniture industry, and is a leading source of health, safety, environmental, fashion and business information related to home furnishings. AHFA represents more than 200 of the industry’s leading manufacturers and importers of indoor and outdoor home furnishings, along with a variety of home accents.