Shelley Salomon, vice president Home, Pets and Toys at Amazon; Bill Dillard III, senior vice president, Dillard’s; and Georg J. Riedel, owner, Riedel, will be honored for their philanthropic endeavors by the Housewares Charity Foundation (HCF) during its 21st annual gala on Monday, March 12 during the 2018 International Home + Housewares Show in Chicago.
Salomon will receive the Lifetime Humanitarian Award; Dillard will receive the Humanitarian of the Year Award; and Reidel will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Gala, which will be held at Navy Pier, will start with a reception at 5:30 p.m. Proceeds will benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), the HCF’s legacy charity. Since the first gala in 1998, HCF has raised more than $49 million and has been credited with donating more than $28 million to BCRF.
Co-chairs for the 2018 event are Phil Brandl, president & CEO of the International Housewares Association, and Herb Landsman, senior vice president of merchandising at TJX Companies. The 2018 theme, “Unite, Celebrate, Support,” reflects the philosophy and mission of the HCF, which brings the housewares industry together to unite and promote its philanthropic image, raise fund for charities and celebrate the honorees who are selected for their humanitarian support and exceptional leadership.
The star-studded evening will include auctions and entertainment, along with the honoree tributes. The Gala will begin with a cocktail reception featuring 8 tasting stations hosted by James Beard Foundation chefs, including Jimmy Bannos Jr., Rick Bayless, Abraham Conlon, Gale Gand, Sarah Grueneberg, Beverly Kim & Johnny Clark, Bruce Sherman and Lee Wolen. Dinner will feature a three-course meal designed by Tony Mantuano, chef/partner, Spiaggia Restaurant.
The Honorees
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Shelley Salomon leads Amazon’s Home businesses, including Home, Kitchen and Furniture as well as the Pets and Toys categories and Amazon’s Fabric.com subsidiary. Her Amazon career began in finance in 2003 where she led the Global Financial Planning & Analysis team and then the Softlines Finance team. Salomon’s first retail role was in Softlines, leading the Shoes and Accessories business on Amazon and Endless.com. She also led the IT & Office business until assuming her current role in 2014. In her current position, Salomon is responsible for the P&L for the aforementioned categories as well as creating a world class shopping experience through innovative technologies that incorporate visualization (augmented reality), machine learning and programs such as the Amazon Wedding Registry. She also has spent the past four years working closely with Amazon’s supply chain teams to drive operational excellence, innovation and lowering costs in their operations. |
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Bill Dillard III is entering his 24th year in the retail/fashion industry. In his role as senior vice president at Dillard’s, Inc., based in Little Rock, Ark., he is responsible for the Beauty, Home and Accessories areas. Since joining the family business in 1994, Dillard has served in several areas of the company, including selling, management, buying, product development and merchandising. He also lived and worked in Hong Kong, working directly with overseas manufacturers as an agent for fashion retailers. Dillard serves on the boards of several organizations in Little Rock, including eStem Public Charter Schools, Arkansans for Education Reform Foundation, St. Vincent Health Systems, Young Life, Search Ministries, Our House and Restore Hope, Inc. |
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Georg J. Riedel is the 10th-generation owner of Riedel, the Austrian leader in fine crystal glassware established in 1756, joining the company as an accountant in 1973 and serving as CEO from 1987 until 2013. Through its proprietary sales companies in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, the family business has a market presence in 125 countries. From 1987, Riedel served as co-CEO alongside his father, Claus, before taking over as sole chief executive in 1994. Working closely with his father and a team of experts, he vastly expanded the company’s wine-friendly and varietal-specific glass collections. Realizing that wine-friendly glasses should highlight the best expression of wine as determined by winemakers, Riedel approached the world’s leading winemakers, including Robert Mondavi and Angelo Gaja, to enlist their senses in creating the ideal glassware designs. In 1986, he introduced the benchmark Vinum glassware series, the first machine-made varietal-specific fine crystal glasses. In 2013, Riedel opened new areas of innovation, applying his knowledge of form and function to non-alcoholic beverages and beginning a new era of product development opportunities for the brand. |
BCRF was founded by Evelyn H. Lauder in 1993. Ms. Lauder, a champion for advancing the world’s most promising research to eradicate breast cancer, passed away in November 2012 in New York City.
For more information about the HCF, its honorees and its charities, please visit the Housewares Charity Foundation page or contact Paul Murphy via email or at 508.272.0717.
