CT Bauer Announces Naming of Stephen Stagner Sales Excellence Institute Thanks to Generous Gift

The C.T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston recently announced that the college’s sales program will now be known as the Stephen Stagner Sales Excellence Institute, in recognition of a generous gift from Mattress Firm CEO Stephen Stagner.

This announcement came during the program’s Graduate & Awards Ceremony, which celebrates students and faculty in the program and inducts the new class of students.

Stagner has a long history of involvement with Bauer College, beginning as a guest speaker in a Program for Excellence in Selling (PES) class. Since that time, he has remained as a strong supporter for the PES class, often recruiting graduates from the program and returning as a speaker, include delivering the keynote address at last semester’s Graduate and Awards Ceremony.

According to Stagner, his vision for the institute is to capitalize on the proven record of student success to help it become the world’s foremost authority on the sales profession. “Steve is passionate about the role of sales, but even more importantly, he is passionate about our students and their success,” said Randy Webb, executive director of PES. “He shares our vision for making sure the Sales Excellence Institute continues to be the leading sales program in the country. We are excited about working with him to take our program to the next level.”

As the CEO of Mattress Firm, Stagner oversees roughly 2,500 company and franchise stores throughout the United States. The first franchise location opened in Atlanta in 1996, when Stagner had only $1,300 in the bank. Within just eight years, Stagner and his business partner had grown their company into more than 50 franchise locations and $62 million in annual sales.

In 2016, PES will celebrate its 20th anniversary, boasting more than 2,200 alumni and more than 1,000 organization relationships around the globe.

regions: Houston

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