Industry veterans named to top roles at Palliser Furniture, EQ3

Palliser Holdings Ltd. has named new leadership at two of its Winnipeg-based companies.

Cary Benson has been appointed president and CEO of Palliser Furniture and Jim Hunt has been appointed president of retail design brand EQ3.

The appointments came into effect on Monday.

Benson returns to his role after previously serving as president and CEO of Palliser from 2010 to 2017. He takes over from Steve Ambeau.

Hunt succeeds Mark Letain, who retired last year.

Benson and Hunt bring a wealth of experience to their roles, said Peter Tielmann, president and CEO of Palliser Holdings Ltd.

“He’s a known entity,” Tielmann said of Benson. “We feel good about it.”

Hunt, meanwhile, is a great leader with strong retail experience, Tielmann said. “We’re excited to have Jim take on this larger role now.”

Known for its upholstered furniture and eight-decade history in Winnipeg, Palliser employs 2,000 people. About 1,400 of those employees work at its Mexico site.

During Benson’s earlier tenure as president and CEO, Palliser Furniture achieved improvements in sales performance and profitability, strengthened its operating foundation and built longstanding relationships across its retail network, the company said in a news release.

Since 2018, the Texas-based executive has served as president and CEO of Encore, Palliser’s cinema seating division. Under Benson’s leadership, Encore experienced significant growth and delivered record results in 2025, according to the release.

EQ3 was founded in 2001. It designs, manufactures and sells furniture. The company operates 11 retail stores across Canada, including its 43,000-square-foot flagship location at CF Polo Park in Winnipeg.

Hunt has a long history with the company. He joined its head office in 2008 as the brand transitioned from a franchise model to corporately owned retail. Five franchise locations owned by Hunt were the first to make the transition.

At that time, Hunt joined EQ3 in Winnipeg as vice-president of retail operations, later assuming responsibility for sales and marketing. He moved to Palliser in 2016, where he spent almost nine years leading sales teams across the U.S. and Canada.

In 2024, Hunt rejoined EQ3 and most recently served as chief commercial officer across both EQ3 and Palliser.

Last year was “a mixed bag” for Palliser and EQ3, Tielmann said, with both lows and highs. U.S. President Donald Trump hit the furniture sector with 25 per cent tariffs in October, impacting Palliser; more than 60 per cent of the company’s sales go into the U.S.

At the same time, Palliser saw “massive growth” in its cinema seating division, Tielmann said. The division has customers across North America, Europe and the Middle East.

He declined to disclose Palliser Furniture’s and EQ3’s annual revenue.

Benson and Hunt were unavailable for comment on Friday.

“I believe in Palliser’s people, our product offering and our future, and I’m ready to lead the company forward,” Benson said in a news release.

Hunt said in a news release that EQ3 has always been special to him. “I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built together and I’m excited to lead EQ3 into this next era,” he said.

Four months ago, Palliser Furniture restructured its executive leadership team, reducing it to four people from eight. At the same time, the company reduced its Winnipeg workforce by 11 administrative positions. The changes did not affect Palliser’s manufacturing team, Tielmann said at the time.

Palliser Furniture was, at one time, the largest private-sector employer in Winnipeg, with more than 3,500 workers in the city.

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca