Stephen Chen, 59, the President of MLILY USA passed away last week, after suffering from an illness the past several weeks. MLILY USA’s senior management team had assumed his responsibilities since he became ill.
“The MLILY family mourns the death of Stephen. He was a wonderful man, husband, father and a treasured member of our team. He will be sorely missed. Stephen was the face of MLILY USA and had a passion for the brand. We will honor him by continuing that passion with our commitment to our team, staff, customers and community to grow the company in the way Stephen envisioned it to grow. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time,” said Suns Jian, CEO of MLILY USA.
Chen was credited with leading MLILY USA’s successful growth these pass several years including expanding its retail base from a handful of independent dealers to more multi-store chains and regional players.
He joined the Rugao, China-based producer of memory foam mattresses and pillows in 2014 and held a succession of sales and management posts for the company.
Before joining MLILY, Chen spent 25 years in the telecommunications industry, where he worked in a variety of sales, sales management and customer service posts, overseeing B2B sales and marketing of telecommunications and managed IT products. Much of his telecommunication’s career was spent with Windstream Communications, which focuses on B2B telecommunications products for small and medium-sized customers.
A graduate of Purdue University, he also had a three-year stint as vice president of sales for In10sity Interactive, a Knoxville-based website development company.
Chen is survived by his wife, Patty, and the couple’s five children and four grandchildren. Funeral details have not yet been announced.