Paul Cosaro Elected Chairman of the Board
ROSEMONT, ILL. (Sept. 13, 2024)—Five industry veterans have been elected to the board of directors of the International Housewares Association (IHA), the full-service trade association for the housewares industry. The new directors are: Alexander Gransbury, founder and CEO, Dreamfarm; Lauren Greenwood, president, YouCopia Products, Inc.; Henry Liu, president & CEO, Cangshan Cutlery; Pamela Stafford, managing director, Hestan Culinary; and Kelly Walsh, vice president, KitchenSupply. Their three-year terms begin Oct. 1, 2024 and end Sept. 30, 2027.
Also elected were new board officers:
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- Chairman – Paul Cosaro, CEO, Picnic Time Family of Brands
- Vice Chairman/Chairman Elect – Michael Otterman, president & CEO, Lodge Cast Iron
- Treasurer – Tom McMahon, president, JURA Inc.
All officers serve one-year terms from Oct. 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 2025.
Retiring from the board are Steve Greenspon, CEO, Honey-Can-Do International LLC; Yvette Laugier; Lisa Knierim, chief development officer, Creative Tops Inc.; Rob Michelson, president & CCO, Bradshaw Home; Keith Mirchandani, founder & CEO, Trend Makers, LLC.; and Luke Peters, president & CEO, NewAir LLC.
Re-appointed for a second three-year term was Glenn DeStefano, president, Storebound LLC.
Alexander Gransbury has served as president of Dreamfarm since creating the company in 2003. An award-winning Australian design company, Dreamfarm was established with the design philosophy that all of its products must solve a problem, must be original and must work the best. The company has grown into an industry-leading brand with a reputation for best-in-class innovation and uniquely useful design. Products are distributed in more than 30 countries.
Lauren Greenwood has served as president of YouCopia Products, Inc. since 2009. The storage and organization company creates unique, practical organization solutions to fit different items throughout the home. With customizable options and almost effortless set-up, anyone can transform space into a happy place. YouCopia is a WBNEC-Certified Women’s Business Enterprise, headquartered in Chicago. Prior to YouCopia, Greenwood worked as a marketing analyst and business development associate at IXI Corporation, now a division of Equifax. Greenwood has been active in IHA serving on the Young Professionals Advisory Council from 2014-2019 and as a public relations consultant on IHA’s Show Public Relations Team from 2007-2009.
Henry Liu, president and CEO of Cangshan Cutlery, established the company in 2015. Created from a passion for innovation, Cangshan’s focus is on high-end kitchen knives. Liu also developed and serves as president of New Star Foodservice, an independent sister company to Cangshan, which focuses on commercial kitchenware and equipment.
Pamela Stafford joined Hestan Culinary in 2016 as director and was promoted to managing director in 2021. As co-founder of this innovative, award-winning premium cookware brand, she partnered with Stanley Cheng, the visionary founder and CEO of Meyer Corporation and Hestan®. Under her leadership, Hestan has pioneered new culinary frontiers with its meticulous design and relentless passion, earning 14 patents to date for groundbreaking advancements from the molecular structure of cookware to transformative cooking techniques. Before joining Hestan, Stafford served as president of Brady Marketing Company from 2007 to 2016, where she was instrumental in building several premium housewares brands, including All-Clad and Shun. She began her distinguished career in housewares in 1986 as a merchandise manager at Jordano’s Marketplace, a renowned Santa Barbara retail store specializing in gourmet kitchenware.
Kelly Walsh, vice president of KitchenSupply, joined the company as a sales manager in 2011 when it was known as Escali. He served as national sales manager from 2013-2018 and was named vice president and partner in 2018. The kitchenware company provides a family of brands including Escali kitchen scales and thermometers, The London Sip premium coffee making tools, Joyce Chen Asian Kitchenware and Old Stone Pizza Kitchen.
Cosaro joined Picnic Time in 2011. As CEO/Captain Picnic, Cosaro says his number one responsibility is to “relentlessly strive to achieve our mission of giving people the opportunity to make lasting memories by spending time with loved ones.” The company, which started in 1982 offering European-styled picnic baskets, has evolved to design and develop an array of picnic, outdoor leisure, indoor entertaining and barware concepts under the brands ONIVA, LEGACY, TOSCANA and PICNIC TIME. Prior to joining Picnic Time, Cosaro worked at Lionsgate Entertainment where he managed partnerships with retailers including Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy and Target, and at Capgemini Consulting, where he was a strategic and transformation consultant for major media and entertainment corporations.
Otterman joined Lodge Cast Iron, the 128-year-old U.S.-based manufacturer of cast iron cookware and cooking accessories, in 2016 as SVP, sales & marketing. He was named as the first non-family CEO in January 2019. Having more than 25 years of experience in the housewares industry, Otterman has worked for several supplier companies beginning with Applica Consumer Products’ Black & Decker Corporation from 1997-2004. Before joining Lodge, he served as vice president, global marketing & merchandising, for The Coleman Co., a division of Jarden Corp., from 2014-2016; vice president, product development, for Dick’s Sporting Goods from 2011-2013; and president of Focus Products Group from 2008-2011.
McMahon was named president of JURA in 2020. He joined the Swiss-owned manufacturer of fully automatic coffee machines in 2011 as midwest director of sales and was named vice president of sales in 2013. Before joining JURA, McMahon, who has more than 30 years’ experience in the housewares industry, served as regional sales manager at De’Longhi America from 2008-2011. He began his housewares career in 1994 as district manager at Syratech Corporation, handling the Towle, Wallace and International Silver brands. In 2006, Lifetime Brands purchased Syratech, and McMahon was named senior vice president, Tabletop.
Also serving on the IHA Board are Neal Asbury, president & CEO, The Legacy Companies and immediate past IHA chairman; Kim Cole, CEO, Gleener, Inc.; Scott Felsenthal, CEO, Whitmor, Inc.; Sal Gabbay, CEO, Gibson Homewares; Michael Hayes, chief customer officer, Newell Brands; Jacob Maurer, CEO, Americas, The Cookware Company; William McHenry, president & CEO, Widgeteer, Inc.; and Dan Siegel, president, Lifetime Brands.
Serving on the executive committee of the board are Neal Asbury, Kim Cole, Paul Cosaro, Scott Felsenthal, Michael Hayes, Tom McMahon and Mike Otterman.
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EDITORS NOTE: Download a photo of the new directors go to: https://www.housewares.org/new-board-members/
To download digital photos of the IHA Board of Directors, go to Housewares.org/about/board-of-directors/
The International Housewares Association is the 86-year-old voice of the housewares industry. The not-for-profit, full-service association sponsors the world’s premier exposition of products for the home, The Inspired Home Show, IHA’s Global Home + Housewares Market (TheInspiredHomeShow.com), and offers members a wide range of services, including industry and government advocacy; export assistance; industry and consumer trends through the IHA Market Watch Report; executive management peer groups; group buying discounts on business solutions services; direct-to-consumer engagement through TheInspiredHome.com; and an independent news and information platform through HomePageNews.com.
