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What Others Say... Charlie is:
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"Charlie is the greatest leader for whom I've had the privilege to work in the last three decades. He takes is responsibilities for the welfare of his company personally and makes it his mission to succeed for the sake of every one of his employees. Charlie has guided Workrite Ergonomics for over 8 years to achieve exceptional growth and profitability, and he did so with the folksy manner that he’s known for, wandering the factory every day to stay connected with the folks on the floor. Additionally, he’d wander the office floor frequently to stay engaged with marketing, product development, engineering, finance and customer service folks. Charlie’s leadership-by-wandering-around method has always ensured that he knows precisely what’s going on with the business every day, right from his people’s mouths. Charlie’s magic is his ability to combine folksy style with a keenly strategic mind and the ability to move gracefully between discussions with the board, parent company leadership, Workrite department leaders, office and factory employees without a hint of effort. Every day brings exceptional challenges in the commercial furniture business that is ruled by huge major corporations, but thankfully Charlie has been the right leader at the right time to help Workrite succeed when faced with intense competition both domestically and internationally. The pandemic changed everything. It crushed the commercial office furniture business when people all over North America started working from home and abandoning their offices. It has crushed Workrite and forced Charlie to make some tough and previously unimaginable decisions. In order to save the company and as many employees as possible, Charlie had to furlough and then lay off a significant number of employees that were not absolutely necessary to daily survival, including myself. And it was the right thing to do for the greater good and the survival of the company. It’s probably odd to read such a lofty recommendation for Charlie from one who was laid off by him, but that just tells you exactly the kind of individual and leader that Charlie is. He earned my respect, trust and devotion during the two years that I worked for him as Senior Director of Marketing and Product Development, and I highly recommend him for future leadership positions."
Tom Fritz, Future 100 Marketing Executive, Retired
"Charlie is a great strategic leader that effectively blends the needs of the company and customer with the needs of the associate. I had the pleasure to work with him for nearly 9 years prior to my retirement. His company led our organization in both top and bottom line growth during this period with outstanding retention of key customers and associates."
Gordon Kirsch, Vice President Operations, Retired
"Character, integrity, honor and class are all hallmarks of this executive. Charlie Lawrence's ability to drive a business forward is only matched by his competency to inspire others to achieve great heights. I admire Charlie's ability to climb the highest mountains in the business world while remaining an exceptionally fine human being in all respects. Anyone should want to work with -or for- Charlie Lawrence - he is that good of a professional and that good of a person. He makes a difference in the lives of others."
Dan Picket, Vice President Sales, Retired
"With a multi-faceted career encompassing substantial depth in marketing, product development, sourcing, sales and general P&L management, Charlie Lawrence came into the role as President of KV's Workrite Ergonomics strategic business with strong professional qualifications and a clearly apparent sense of honor and respect for people. He has since led the business in the attainment of significant results in customer satisfaction, revenue growth, and market expansion - as well as pointedly focusing upon the bringing of good people together to form a cohesive, goal-focused, customer-centric Team. Working with Charlie has been a consistent great pleasure and a reaffirmation that people make all the difference - with integrity, honesty and growing others being key components in the attainment of sustainable growth of an entrepreneurial enterprise. Actively supporting the goals of his solid, high-standards parent company and partnering with KV's exceptional leadership team while focusing intensively upon excellence at Workrite, Charlie provides a genuinely inspirational example of how to lead, mentor, place the customer and the Team first - and give the credit for success to others, rather than point to himself as the guy who did it all."
Fran Kaus, Executive Recruiter, Consultant & Coach
“Charlie is a dedicated Leader and Marketing Professional with strong long-term vision. I had the opportunity to report to him for 2 1/2 years. He led by example and believes there is no "I" in team. His efforts in building and empowering the Franke team for 2 1/2 years took the organization to the next level. Charlie manages by example and has an open-door policy no matter what the topic may be. Charlie would be a wonderful asset to any company!”
Kimberly LaPorte, Sales Manager/Ferguson National Account Manager, Franke
"I have always bought in to this theory....If Serving is Below You, then Leadership is Beyond You! The best leaders, that I have worked for, have always lead by example and invested in my personal & career growth. This in turn has driven my motivation to succeed for them and the organization. Thank you Charlie Lawrence for being a true mentor for my journey to leadership, success, motivation, growth, coaching...thank you Charlie!"
“Charlie took over the division at a very challenging time. The economy for ultra-high end products had declined severely. The brand name had been tarnished by previous management’s strategy. Charlie quickly restored confidence within the distribution network and followed up with a strong marketing plan, leading to increased sales in a down market and rapidly restoring the brand image. I would recommend Charlie to any company looking to profitably grown their business. He is very personable, open and straight forward”
Greg Weatherman, Western Regional Sales Manager, Franke
“Charlie is the rare exception of a leader who leads by example. His decorum, confidence, vision and passion galvanized our team and consistently paved the way for us to effectively do our jobs. He always made us feel as though we worked WITH him rather than simply FOR him - a subtle but powerful managerial skill. Furthermore, Charlie is adept at navigating through the tangled complexity of corporate politics in order to achieve the final goal. Even after 12 years of marketing experience, I learned quite a bit from working with Charlie. I have no doubt that he will succeed at leading Franke into positive growth in the very near future.”
Joel Berardi, Marketing Manager-Air,Water,Waste, Franke
Vice President of Marketing & Product Development Franke “Charles Lawrence has a diverse business background. Marketing, finance, global sourcing, and new product development are some areas of his expertise. Our interaction and strategic development with Charles has produced excellent results. His management style is straight forward, and he is well respected in the luxury goods industry.”
Dinny Kinloch, President, Fresh Creative
“During the time I worked for Charlie, I found him to be a very knowledgeable, goal oriented, capable manager who always seemed to be able to find the right balance of involvement in every project. He was a wonderful mentor and I learned a great deal about marketing and managing people from him. I hope to have the opportunity to work with him again someday.”
Ruby Schaefer, Marketing Executive, Retired
“Working with Charlie was a real pleasure. Charlie is a rare executive that can work both the right and left side of the brain. While he is very creative and inventive in product development, he also understands how to drive profitable, bottom line results for the company. Charlie is a people person and understands how to get objectives accomplished with a highly motivated team.”
Dave Gereau, Vice President Retail Sales, Retired
“Charlie and I worked together at Burnes developing home decor products across multiple channels of distribution. I enjoyed working for Charlie because I felt he never lost sight of the human side to the world of business. He cared immensely for the people he managed and was always a positive advocate of their effort. He had the ability to direct and communicate corporate vision - while seamlessly blending diverse personalities into a cohesive and effective marketing "team".”
Donald Shread, Creative Director, Intercraft Burnes
“Duing my time working with Charlie Lawrence I found him to be one of the most well-rounded business partners I have had the pleasure of working with. Charlie's broad based business knowledge enabled him to manage multi-function responsibility very effectively within a difficult business environment at GHP. He is a tremendous leader and motivator of people and an excellent driver of results.”
Brian Stull, VP Human Resources
“Charlie is a gifted individual with the ability to establish and drive a customer focused vision for an organization. His clear insights, innovative solutions, and passion for excellence all enable his team to become motivated around brand leadership and creating marketplace wins. I would highly recommend Charlie to anyone looking for an energetic and capable person for their organization.”
Mark Ayers, Marketing Executive
“Charlie Lawrence is a natural born leader. Charlie has tremendous insight, a clear vision, persuasive style, and the best listening skills I have ever encountered in business. He is a truley a good person. He considers all sides of the business when making a strategic decision and he has the courage to stand by his word. Charlie's strong leadership style has made a positive impact on my career and I would GLADLY work for him again. Charlie - Best wishes always, Carlene Moloney”
Carlene Moloney (nee Weachock), Marketing/PR Executive
Tom Fritz, Future 100 Marketing Executive, Retired
"Charlie is a great strategic leader that effectively blends the needs of the company and customer with the needs of the associate. I had the pleasure to work with him for nearly 9 years prior to my retirement. His company led our organization in both top and bottom line growth during this period with outstanding retention of key customers and associates."
Gordon Kirsch, Vice President Operations, Retired
"Character, integrity, honor and class are all hallmarks of this executive. Charlie Lawrence's ability to drive a business forward is only matched by his competency to inspire others to achieve great heights. I admire Charlie's ability to climb the highest mountains in the business world while remaining an exceptionally fine human being in all respects. Anyone should want to work with -or for- Charlie Lawrence - he is that good of a professional and that good of a person. He makes a difference in the lives of others."
Dan Picket, Vice President Sales, Retired
"With a multi-faceted career encompassing substantial depth in marketing, product development, sourcing, sales and general P&L management, Charlie Lawrence came into the role as President of KV's Workrite Ergonomics strategic business with strong professional qualifications and a clearly apparent sense of honor and respect for people. He has since led the business in the attainment of significant results in customer satisfaction, revenue growth, and market expansion - as well as pointedly focusing upon the bringing of good people together to form a cohesive, goal-focused, customer-centric Team. Working with Charlie has been a consistent great pleasure and a reaffirmation that people make all the difference - with integrity, honesty and growing others being key components in the attainment of sustainable growth of an entrepreneurial enterprise. Actively supporting the goals of his solid, high-standards parent company and partnering with KV's exceptional leadership team while focusing intensively upon excellence at Workrite, Charlie provides a genuinely inspirational example of how to lead, mentor, place the customer and the Team first - and give the credit for success to others, rather than point to himself as the guy who did it all."
Fran Kaus, Executive Recruiter, Consultant & Coach
“Charlie is a dedicated Leader and Marketing Professional with strong long-term vision. I had the opportunity to report to him for 2 1/2 years. He led by example and believes there is no "I" in team. His efforts in building and empowering the Franke team for 2 1/2 years took the organization to the next level. Charlie manages by example and has an open-door policy no matter what the topic may be. Charlie would be a wonderful asset to any company!”
Kimberly LaPorte, Sales Manager/Ferguson National Account Manager, Franke
"I have always bought in to this theory....If Serving is Below You, then Leadership is Beyond You! The best leaders, that I have worked for, have always lead by example and invested in my personal & career growth. This in turn has driven my motivation to succeed for them and the organization. Thank you Charlie Lawrence for being a true mentor for my journey to leadership, success, motivation, growth, coaching...thank you Charlie!"
“Charlie took over the division at a very challenging time. The economy for ultra-high end products had declined severely. The brand name had been tarnished by previous management’s strategy. Charlie quickly restored confidence within the distribution network and followed up with a strong marketing plan, leading to increased sales in a down market and rapidly restoring the brand image. I would recommend Charlie to any company looking to profitably grown their business. He is very personable, open and straight forward”
Greg Weatherman, Western Regional Sales Manager, Franke
“Charlie is the rare exception of a leader who leads by example. His decorum, confidence, vision and passion galvanized our team and consistently paved the way for us to effectively do our jobs. He always made us feel as though we worked WITH him rather than simply FOR him - a subtle but powerful managerial skill. Furthermore, Charlie is adept at navigating through the tangled complexity of corporate politics in order to achieve the final goal. Even after 12 years of marketing experience, I learned quite a bit from working with Charlie. I have no doubt that he will succeed at leading Franke into positive growth in the very near future.”
Joel Berardi, Marketing Manager-Air,Water,Waste, Franke
Vice President of Marketing & Product Development Franke “Charles Lawrence has a diverse business background. Marketing, finance, global sourcing, and new product development are some areas of his expertise. Our interaction and strategic development with Charles has produced excellent results. His management style is straight forward, and he is well respected in the luxury goods industry.”
Dinny Kinloch, President, Fresh Creative
“During the time I worked for Charlie, I found him to be a very knowledgeable, goal oriented, capable manager who always seemed to be able to find the right balance of involvement in every project. He was a wonderful mentor and I learned a great deal about marketing and managing people from him. I hope to have the opportunity to work with him again someday.”
Ruby Schaefer, Marketing Executive, Retired
“Working with Charlie was a real pleasure. Charlie is a rare executive that can work both the right and left side of the brain. While he is very creative and inventive in product development, he also understands how to drive profitable, bottom line results for the company. Charlie is a people person and understands how to get objectives accomplished with a highly motivated team.”
Dave Gereau, Vice President Retail Sales, Retired
“Charlie and I worked together at Burnes developing home decor products across multiple channels of distribution. I enjoyed working for Charlie because I felt he never lost sight of the human side to the world of business. He cared immensely for the people he managed and was always a positive advocate of their effort. He had the ability to direct and communicate corporate vision - while seamlessly blending diverse personalities into a cohesive and effective marketing "team".”
Donald Shread, Creative Director, Intercraft Burnes
“Duing my time working with Charlie Lawrence I found him to be one of the most well-rounded business partners I have had the pleasure of working with. Charlie's broad based business knowledge enabled him to manage multi-function responsibility very effectively within a difficult business environment at GHP. He is a tremendous leader and motivator of people and an excellent driver of results.”
Brian Stull, VP Human Resources
“Charlie is a gifted individual with the ability to establish and drive a customer focused vision for an organization. His clear insights, innovative solutions, and passion for excellence all enable his team to become motivated around brand leadership and creating marketplace wins. I would highly recommend Charlie to anyone looking for an energetic and capable person for their organization.”
Mark Ayers, Marketing Executive
“Charlie Lawrence is a natural born leader. Charlie has tremendous insight, a clear vision, persuasive style, and the best listening skills I have ever encountered in business. He is a truley a good person. He considers all sides of the business when making a strategic decision and he has the courage to stand by his word. Charlie's strong leadership style has made a positive impact on my career and I would GLADLY work for him again. Charlie - Best wishes always, Carlene Moloney”
Carlene Moloney (nee Weachock), Marketing/PR Executive