Chinaberry: Reinventing the Wheel

The end result has been a successful shift to management by committee. Fuller-Rowell and the Ruethlings each run the company’s three key departments: Ed oversees marketing, Ann, merchandising and Fuller-Rowell, e-commerce.

“The management structure is more, if not completely, horizontal,” says Ed Ruethling, “with each manager, including Ann and myself, being more like co-workers. Decisions [on most matters, including mailing plans] are generally made with consensus from the management group and are not top-down.”