Buying Group Services, which manages buying groups Bath & Kitchen Buying Group (BKBG) and Forté Decorative Plumbing & Hardware Buying Group, added Bill Mathisen to its board as executive vice president of operations/buying group services. Mathisen has also been named executive director of both BKBG - for kitchen and bath dealers - and Forté - for decorative plumbing and hardware dealers.

Edward Schukar, previously executive director of both groups, has been named to the newly created position of vice president of vendor relations/ development, where he will focus on enhancing current vendor relations and bringing additional vendors into the groups. Schukar, who has more than 25 years of professional buying group management, has been with Buying Group Services since its inception.

Mathisen was director of marketing, membership, certification and training for the National Kitchen & Bath Association in the late 1980s and before that was president/CEO of New Horizon Kitchens and Matt Building Co. in Houston. Most recently, he was executive vice president/CEO of the Independent Electrical Contractors national trade association.

Thompson Price, a kitchen and bath dealer based in St. Louis, continues as vice president of membership and Jerry Johnson, a kitchen and bath dealer based in New Orleans, will remain vice president of finance and CFO/Buying Group Services. Both Price and Johnson also have been involved with the two buying groups since their inception.

Both BKBG and Forté are 100% owned by member shareholders who elect officers and a board to set policy. BKBG, founded in 1995, has grown to more than 245 members in 43 states and more than 73 vendor partners. Forté, started in 2001, has expanded to more than 80 member showrooms in 26 states and more than 60 vendor partners.

Both buying groups will exhibit at the Kitchen/Bath Industry Show in Las Vegas in May. For more information, visit their Web sites: www.bkbg.com and www.fortebuyinggroup.com.