High Point, N.C. - AHFA reported that Kurt L. Darrow, chairman, CEO and president of La-Z-Boy Inc., Monroe, Mich., has received the 2013 Distinguished Service Award from the American Home Furnishings Alliance. The award was presented on Friday, November 15, during the organization’s 2013 Annual Meeting.

AHFA’s Distinguished Service Award has been presented annually for the past 47 years. Recipients are noted for their contributions to the industry, to the AHFA and to their local communities.

Darrow has served as CEO of La-Z-Boy for the past eight years, during which he has been heralded by Wall Street as a turnaround specialist. Under his leadership the company’s operating platforms were transformed, fueling enhanced efficiencies and industry-leading performance against a backdrop of sales declines and losses that were endemic throughout the furniture industry. He was named La-Z-Boy’s chairman in 2011.

Darrow is known for his keen understanding of global markets, plus his expertise in the development and execution of lean operating practices. Prior to his appointment as president and CEO in 2003, he was president of La-Z-Boy Residential, the flagship brand and largest division of La-Z-Boy Inc. During his 30 years with the company, it has grown from a brand known primarily for its reclining chairs to one of the world’s leading residential furniture producers and retailers.

“He is known as an ardent mentor of rising business leaders and as fiercely loyal to friends and colleagues. Recognized as a dedicated man of his word, he is a champion for his church, community and numerous philanthropic interests,” said Ethan Allen Chairman, CEO and President Farooq Kathwari in presenting the award during a gala celebration attended by more than 40 AHFA board members and their spouses.

A native of Michigan, Darrow is a member of the board and executive committee of Business Leaders for Michigan and serves on the Board of Mercy Memorial Hospital in Monroe. He also was elected to the CMS Energy Board of Directors this month and is joining the board of Consumers Energy, the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy. He served as chairman of AHFA’s Board of Directors in 2008. He has also been an executive board member of the Anti Defamation League’s Furniture Division and first vice president of the American Furniture Hall of Fame.

Darrow and his wife, Renee, are residents of Monroe.

The American Home Furnishings Alliance, based in High Point, N.C., represents more than 200 leading furniture manufacturers and distributors, plus about 150 suppliers to the furniture industry worldwide.

Source: American Home Furnishings Alliance