Artisan Home Decor Brand, The Citizenry, Announces Two New Executive Hires

The Citizenry Brings on Home Industry Veterans to Continue to Build a Whole-Home Destination

DALLAS, Oct. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Citizenry, a direct to consumer home decor brand that partners with artisans around the world, announced today two new executive hires including Todd Wandell as its first Chief Product Officer and Paulo Kos as Vice President of Design and Development, Hard Goods. The Citizenry continues to build momentum as a leading socially conscious brand setting the standard for fair trade for the industry. Now, the socially motivated home decor company is adding two retail industry veterans to supercharge product expansion into furniture and other new categories. 

Todd Wandell is a 23-year retail merchandising expert with 17 years specializing in home. Most recently he served as SVP, GMM at Pottery Barn Teen where he oversaw the P&L and all growth initiatives for retail and e-commerce channels. Wandell brings years of extensive home furnishings experience to The Citizenry, where he will be responsible for defining and driving the product roadmap to accelerate growth. Wandell will complement The Citizenry's co-founders, Rachel Bentley and Carly Nance, bringing deep retail and home furnishings knowledge and will take over the leadership and management of all product teams, including Design and Development, Merchandising and Planning, and Supply Chain.

"We are thrilled to welcome Todd to the team. He is a thoughtful, visionary leader with a proven track record of spotting white space and building large-scale, highly profitable programs. His years of expertise, across all aspects of the product development cycle, will be invaluable in the years ahead," said Rachel Bentley, Co-Founder of The Citizenry. "Todd and Paulo are innovative leaders with collaborative style that seamlessly fits with The Citizenry culture. Both offer unmatched design and development expertise that will take The Citizenry's product offerings to the next level."

Paulo Kos brings 20+ years of industry experience leading many, multidisciplinary teams to create award-winning, industry-defining collections over the course of his career. Most recently he spent the last eight years in VP of Design roles developing furniture, lighting, and decorative accessories at leading brands like West Elm, Ralph Lauren Home, and Casper. With his design expertise, Kos will lead The Citizenry in building furniture programs and expanding into other hard lines, like lighting and tableware, to scale the brand into a whole-home destination.

"Paulo brings a strong design perspective that naturally aligns with our brand ethos. I'm confident this instinct, coupled with his deep furniture expertise, will lead the team to create the next chapter of breakthrough designs for the brand," said Carly Nance, Co-Founder of The Citizenry. "It takes smart, experienced, and passionate leadership to come in and continue to push our unique vision and artisan-powered model forward. Rachel and I have found that special spark with Todd and Paulo. Together, they will be a force multiplier as we expand into furniture and beyond." 

Last year, The Citizenry announced their Series B fundraise of $20M to accelerate the expansion of The Citizenry's highly sought-after furniture collection as part of its transformation to become a whole-home destination. With these new hires they will push the brand forward and expedite the expansion into furniture, the most-clicked segment of the website. Early next year the brand will launch their first made-to-order bedroom collection, and it will be their first collection to celebrate artisans in the United States. Every piece is masterfully crafted by artisans in North Carolina and will allow customers to select from a curated selection of woods and fabrics to create completely unique, one-of-a-kind pieces.

The Citizenry is continuing to set new standards for the home industry, proving that successful businesses can also be a catalyst for positive impact. To learn more about The Citizenry, visit the-citizenry.com.

The Citizenry is a direct to consumer, socially-conscious home decor brand. The Citizenry partners with master artisans & heritage manufacturers to create exclusive collections of home goods, crafted with the finest materials and time-tested techniques. The brand is setting new standards for transparency and social responsibility in the market – every piece is ethically crafted in fair trade environments. For more information, visit www.the-citizenry.com and follow The Citizenry on Instagram.

SOURCE The Citizenry