Congratulations to Mark Baker on His Retirement from One Workplace and Dealer Council

Steelcase congratulates and thanks Mark Baker as he retires from his role as Chief Executive Officer of One Workplace and the Steelcase Dealer Council. 

Mark’s impact spans decades of partnership and progress. During his 17 years with Steelcase, he served in global leadership roles including Global Operations Officer and leader of Growth Initiatives, strengthening operational excellence and customer-focused execution around the world.

Since joining One Workplace in 2016, Mark has led the organization through meaningful growth across furniture, technology, construction, services and hospitality. He embraced the company’s proud heritage, cultivating a close relationship with the Ferrari family and taking genuine joy in stewarding a third-generation, family-owned business.

For the past three years, Mark’s deep expertise and broad perspective on the furniture industry—shaped by his experience across both manufacturing and dealership—have made him an invaluable contributor to Dealer Council. His insights and critical thinking enriched the Council’s work, including his participation in several workstreams.

As he turns the page, Mark will be returning to the Saugatuck, Michigan, area where he plans to continue serving on the boards he supports and most importantly, spend quality time with his wife, children and grandchildren. He will kick off his retirement with some well-timed and well-deserved travel.

From all of us at Steelcase and Dealer Council, thank you Mark, for your leadership, partnership and friendship. We wish you safe trips and countless moments of joy with your family in the years ahead.

Dealer Council Welcomes Meredith Waldner Stern

With Mark Baker’s departure from Dealer Council, Meredith Waldner Stern, President and CEO of Waldner’s Business Environments, has accepted a position on the Council, effective September 12.  

With over three decades of experience, Meredith has been instrumental in shaping some of the most innovative and high-profile workspaces across the tri-state area and nationwide. Under her leadership, Waldner’s continues to deliver cutting-edge solutions that enhance productivity, foster collaboration and promote employee well-being. 

A graduate of Tulane University, Meredith launched her career through the Steelcase PACE Program at our global headquarters in Grand Rapids, gaining comprehensive experience across key business functions. Her expertise and leadership have been featured in Forbes, Newsday and Long Island Business News. She has also been honored by Long Island Business News, YPO and the Long Island Herald for her contributions to the industry. 

Meredith and her husband of 30 years, Steven, reside in Dix Hills, New York, and take great pride in their two grown sons, Harrison and Jayson.

We are excited to have Meredith join Dealer Council.

Flex Mobile Power Shipments Begin

We are pleased to share that Steelcase has officially begun shipping the new Flex Mobile Power units to customers impacted by the recall and those with outstanding backorders.

Shipments are being scheduled on a weekly basis, aligned with the arrival of battery inventory at our facility. This phased approach ensures a steady and reliable distribution process while maintaining our commitment to quality and safety. 

Due to the scope and volume of the backlog, shipments will continue through December. We understand the importance of these products to your teams and are working diligently to fulfill all outstanding orders as quickly and efficiently as possible. 

We sincerely appreciate your continued patience and partnership throughout this process.  

Casey™ AI Assistant Enhancements

We're excited to share two key enhancements for Casey AI Assistant that are now live. Casey AI Assistant helps Steelcase dealers get fast, reliable answers by accessing information from across our systems. This powerful AI tool is fielding thousands of questions a week, so far 95 dealerships and 2,000 dealer users have used it.

Since launching Casey in June, we've been listening closely to dealer feedback and working quickly to develop new capabilities and improve the experience. Casey’s latest updates include:  

• Streaming Functionality: Casey now delivers responses in a scrolling format, allowing you to see answers more quickly. This change was both a planned upgrade and a direct result of feedback from user labs with dealers.  

• Source Tagging: To improve transparency, Casey now highlights where information is coming from—especially when pulling from Village. A lock symbol will indicate when source details are available, helping dealers better understand the origin of the information.  

These updates are part of our ongoing commitment to make Casey smarter, faster and more useful. This is just the beginning—more updates are already in the works.  Another exciting update includes the addition of pop-up modules on the most frequently visited Village pages, offering easy access to Casey for support. In just the initial minutes of launching, we saw over 25 clicks to Casey!

Join the Dealer AI Community of Practice 

We're excited to launch the Steelcase Dealer AI Community of Practice this fall—a space for dealers to connect, learn and share as we all navigate our AI journeys together. The CoP is for those who are leading or influencing the direction of AI at your dealership. Whether you're just starting or already exploring advanced use cases, this community will give you: 

• Ideas on how other dealer and Steelcase are using AI 

• Early access to updates on new Steelcase AI tools 

• A forum to exchange best practices, tips and ideas with fellow dealers 

We had incredible interest during the Dealer Conference, and we can’t wait to bring this to life. Sign up now to receive more details as we get closer to launch. 

Designing Culture: Donna Flynn on Human-Centered Workplaces

Recently on the Built By People podcast, Donna Flynn, Steelcase Chief People Officer, explores how workplace design can shape culture, support wellbeing and foster belonging. 
 
Drawing from her unconventional journey from anthropology to tech to manufacturing, Donna shares how Steelcase applies human-centered design to rethink not just furniture, but the entire employee experience. 
 
From redesigning HR spaces to launching global employee resource groups, this episode offers practical insights for leaders navigating hybrid work, culture and inclusion.