New sales roles for Salvano, Whitehead under just-appointed president
By Andy Kriege, YSN
Whirlpool has tapped longtime company veteran Bob Salvano to head its U.S. sales organization as VP of U.S. sales.
Succeeding him as VP/GM of retail and builder sales is Dave Whitehead, formerly VP/GM of national accounts. Both appointments became effective last week.
During his 34 years with Whirlpool, Salvano has been involved in many areas of the business including sales, supply chain and every major home appliance product category.
The new sales VP was both humbled by and excited about his new assignment. “Having had the opportunity to be part of the Whirlpool team for the last 34 years, it’s truly an honor to now serve as the leader of our company’s U.S. sales organization,” Salavano said. “I don’t take this responsibility lightly and with the collective strength and work ethic of our team, I am very excited about what the future holds.”
See: Bob Salvano Talks Innovation at BrandSource Show
In his new post, Salvano reports to Alessandro Perucchetti, who was promoted last month from head of U.S. operations to president of Whirlpool’s North American region. Perucchetti fills a role that was temporarily assumed by Chairman/CEO Marc Bitzer following last year’s departure of Joseph Liotine.
See: Alessandro Perucchetti Comes Back Across the Pond
Salvano’s successor, Whitehead, will now be the face of Whirlpool for AVB BrandSource and its independent members. During his 22 years with the company, Whitehead has held roles of increasing responsibility across such disciplines as supply chain, merchandising and sales in the U.S. and Canada. Among his assignments, he has variously headed the dishwasher, refrigeration and kitchen categories and managed multiple retail account channels, including a stint as director of national account sales for Whirlpool Canada.
Chad Evans, AVB’s vice president of merchandising, believes Whirlpool’s sales team transitions will be seamless. “Having Bob Salvano and Dave Whitehead in leadership positions at Whirlpool is very positive for the independent channel and our members,” he said. “Both have proven to be successful at building strong relationships and have a good understanding of the retail/builder channel.”
Whitehead and Salvano will both be on hand at AVB’s 2024 Summit in Las Vegas next month and look forward to greeting BrandSource members.
