Pamela Della

Pamela Besana the newly appointed CEO of Richmond Wonders, a manufacturer of high quality wooden toys with three plants in Minnesota with about 5,000 employees, is having trouble gaining the trust and respect of her fellow employees. Before hired as CEO Pamela was the general manager and later became the COO for one of Richmond Wonders largest customers, Young Ones & Company, an upscale retail chain based in Chicago. In her role at Young Ones & Company, Pamela worked closely with top employees of Richmond Wonders in developing six-month exclusives toys for Young Ones that became the best sellers for both companies. Her success has lead to the growth of Young Ones & Company from a small regional chain to having a national footprint with more than 150 stores. Pamela’s growth of Young Ones & Company caught the eye of the now retired CEO Walter Swensen. Walter knew none of his children wanted to take control of Richmond Wonders and felt Pamela would be the best choice to grow Richmond Wonders to the next level.

Pamela armed with her mission of growth set a very rapid expansion plan, which included a rigorous traveling schedule, aggressive deadline for projects, and bonus incentives for the union for improving cycle times. Pamela boldest vision of expansion was to move into offshore manufacturing to win a Bull’s-Eye contract that will jump start Richmond Wonders growth by gain a foothold in the midmarket. Although this bold move would not cut any current jobs, it was met with the greatest opposition, with the charge lead by Mark Dawson the senior vice president of operations of Richmond Wonders.

Mark Dawson has been a long time employee of Richmond Wonders of more then 25 years and running manufacturing for 14 years. Mark felt that moving manufacturing offshore would destroy Richmond Wonders relationship with the workers unions and more importantly lose the “Handcrafted with pride in the USA” status that Richmond Wonders is known for. Although Mark disagrees with...