Following the resignation of ceo Tony Sturrus, Pergo AB and its North American arm Pergo Inc. have restructured their management ranks, naming separate ceos to fill the duel posts previously held by Sturrus. Leading the company’s North American operations will be George R. Kelley, who takes over as president and ceo of the newly integrated flooring companies Pergo Inc and Uniboard. In addition the company has named Michael Ernst as ceo of  the global parent company Pergo AB.

Kelley is a veteran of the steel and metal industry who most recently served seven years as president of Bohler-Uddeholm Specialty Metals Inc., a Virginia-based arm of High Speed Steels and Powder Metallurgy. Kelley was previously president at Zapp USA Inc., a high-precision metals company.

Ernst serves as a board member of Pergo AB parent company Pfleiderer Sweden AG, which purchased the laminate flooring maker earlier this year. Additionally, Frida Rosenholm has been named deputy CEO of Pergo’s European operations.

Before his departure, Sturrus served for two years as ceo and President of Pergo AB and the North American arm Pergo Inc. He was named to the post in April 2005 shortly after the resignation of Goran Bernhoff. Sturrus joined Pergo in 2003 after serving for nine years as president of Baldwin Hardware, a building materials company.

A pioneer in the development of laminate flooring,  Pergo launched its product in Europe during the 1980s and began selling its products in the US in 1994 and in Asia the following year. The company’s products have been marketed under the Pergo brand since 1989 and under the SimpleSolutions brand since 2005.