Industry vet Bridger named interim CEO
Volume 26/Number 17; January 7/14, 2013
CITY OF INDUSTRY, CALIF.—Approximately five months after helping purchase Bentley Prince Street (BPS) from Interface, Anthony Minite, CEO, resigned from the company he had been associated with for 21 years.
Gary Binning, managing partner of Dominus Capital, BPS’ controlling shareholder, said since joining Bentley in 1991, Minite has “helped build BPS into an iconic brand in the carpet industry—one widely recognized for its design excellence, innovative manufacturing capabilities and industry leading sustainability practices.”
Dominus officials said “given the number of high quality candidates available in the industry” as well as “the attractiveness of the opportunity to lead BPS,” the search for a permanent CEO was “expected to be brief.”
Until then, industry veteran and Dominus board member Mac Bridger has been appointed interim CEO. Bridger has nearly 30 years of industry experience, including serving as president and CEO of Collins & Aikman Floorcoverings (now part of Tandus) from 1993 to 2006.
This past summer, Minite, with the backing of private equity firm Dominus, led a senior management team to acquire BPS for an estimated $35 million (FCNews, July 30/Aug. 6, 2012). At the time, he said, “This upcoming chapter in our company’s history is exciting for our associates and our industry because we are setting big goals for growth. Bentley has long been celebrated for design excellence with an entrepreneurial spirit, and that spirit is what motivates us to be better and stronger than our competitors.”
Bentley has estimated annual sales in excess of $100 million.