Landscape Forms Names Robb Smalldon Executive Vice President of Development
Appointment a key step in succession plan positioning Smalldon as next Landscape Forms President.
Landscape Forms, North America’s premier manufacturer of site furniture, accessories and LED lighting has announced the appointment of Robb Smalldon as Executive Vice President of Development. “We created this new position for Robb following his selection by the Landscape Forms Board of Directors as the candidate for company president,” explains Landscape Forms President and CEO Richard Heriford, who plans to retire in 2019/2020. “We are going through a tightly structured succession process. While we considered qualified people from outside the company, Robb demonstrated unique qualifications and experience.”
Smalldon first came to Landscape Forms as a college intern in 1998 and joined the company as an engineer in 2001. He has worked in New Product Development, Manufacturing Engineering, and Studio 431, where he led the growth of the company‘s new custom division from zero in 2010 to $12 million in 2018. The newly created Executive Vice President of Development position is designed to expand Smalldon’s working knowledge of all Landscape Forms departments and provide an opportunity to build strong relationships with all team members in preparation for succession. In this role he is now responsible for Operations, with Rick Utting, Director of Engineering, and Tim Wooley, Director of Production, reporting to him. Over the next few months Smalldon will work to fill the role he leaves behind in Studio 431 while increasing his presence with Design, Marketing, and Sales. Robb Smalldon joins the Landscape Forms Executive Management team that includes Jodi L. Havera, VP Finance and CFO; Kirt Martin, VP Design and Marketing; Eric Swanson, VP Sales; and Jim Marshall, VP Culture. “We are creating the next generation of company leadership and are very pleased that Robb is preparing to take the helm,” Heriford states.
Smalldon holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Graphics and Design from Western Michigan University, and has completed the Executive Development Program at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He sits on the Design Advisory Board of Southwest Michigan First, an organization with strong roots in the business community that works to attract large companies to the area and develop smaller companies within it, and is a member of the Board of Directors of Select Products, a Michigan-based manufacturing company. As a member of the Advisory Board at Western Michigan University, he is actively engaged with the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences in developing a formal student internship program with Landscape Forms designed to build a pipeline of potential employees for the company.
About Landscape Forms
Landscape Forms is the industry leader in integrated collections of high-design site furniture and advanced LED lighting. Since its founding in 1969 Landscape Forms has earned a reputation for excellent design, high quality products and exceptional service. The Landscape Forms U.S. headquarters and manufacturing facility is located in Kalamazoo, Michigan with sales representatives throughout North America, the United Kingdom, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Asia. Landscape Forms collaborates with renowned industrial designers and consultancies, landscape architects, and architects to design and develop integrated collections of products that address emerging needs and help create a sense of place. Additionally, the company has formed global marketing partnerships with select companies that share its commitment to design. Landscape Forms has an installed base of products around the world. Clients include municipalities, transit centers, corporate, college and health care campuses, sites such as Orange County Great Park; and familiar brand leaders such as Boeing, Cisco Systems, Disney, Sprint, American Airlines, Herman Miller and Nike. The company was recently named by the Wall Street Journal as one of the Top 15 Small Workplaces in the US.
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