AMIny i. audi
Aminy Inati Audi, CEO and chairman of L. & J.G. Stickley, with her late husband, Alfred, purchased a struggling company with only 25 employees in 1974 and turned it into a thriving enterprise known throughout the world for its quality Arts & Crafts designs.
Today, Stickley employs more than 1,500 people with three manufacturing plants and 14 company-owned stores. An accomplished leader in an industry traditionally led by men, Mrs. Audi has grown Stickley by leveraging the company’s revered brand name, modernizing operations and sparking a resurgence of interest in high-end Arts & Crafts styling.
Throughout her career, Mrs. Audi has made a major impact on manufacturing operations, helping lead seven expansions of the company’s facility in Manlius, N.Y. The factory now covers more than 400,000 square feet, runs two full shifts and has never had a layoff. A workplace innovator, Mrs. Audi and her late husband established an employee wellness initiative at Stickley, which includes a registered nurse onsite and one of the industry’s first smoking cessation programs.
On the retail side, Mrs. Audi oversees planning, staffing and advertising of each company-owned store. Stickley’s distribution policy is designed to nurture cooperation, enabling its strong network of independent dealers and company stores to work together as partners. In addition, Mrs. Audi’s dedication to preserving historic brands led to Stickley’s purchase of Nichols & Stone, John Widdicomb, Heirloom Upholstery, Cibola Leather and Madison Square.
An active mentor and industry champion, Mrs. Audi has served on the boards of the American Home Furnishings Alliance, Fine Furnishings International and the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame Foundation. She has received the Legacy Award and the Woman of the Year in Manufacturing Award from WithIt (Women in the Home Industries Today) and the Laurel Award for excellence from the International Furnishings and Design Association’s New York Chapter.
Among her other honors are the Interfaith Leadership Award, the Humanitarian award from Catholic Charities, the Small Business Administration Entrepreneurial Success Award, the American Red Cross Women Who Mean Business Award and The Syracuse Post Standard Woman of Achievement in Business.
Early in her career, Mrs. Audi, a graduate of NY University, was a freelance writer and reporter for The Voice of America. She served as a non-governmental delegate to the United Nations Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993 and to the U.N. World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. She participated in the 1996 Women Leaders’ Summit and has served as a trustee for the State University of New York. She received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Colgate University in 2006.
Mrs. Audi is a founding member of the Women’s Fund of Central New York and an Elder in her church. Her interest in education led her to establish several scholarships for college bound children of Stickley employees.
Mrs. Audi and her late husband Alfred, who was inducted in the Furniture Hall of Fame in 2008, have 3 children and 4 grandchildren. Their son Edward is now President of the company.
In 2015, Mrs. Audi was inducted into the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame. Mrs. Audi personifies her personal and business philosophy: Live with integrity, work hard and be passionate, positive and persistent.