Mary Ann Schmidt- President

Mary Ann graduated Temple University in 1983, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism, with a dual major in News Editorial and Advertising.  Immediately after graduation, she joined Herman Miller/ Spectrum, which was at that time a dealer of both Knoll and Herman Miller products.   Her first position with the company was as a Project Manager.  She worked as a Project Manager for two years coordinating multi-million dollar projects with regard to shipping, scheduling, installation, and sub-contractor management.  This provided the training ground that was required to become a Marketing Representative, a position she held for the next twelve years.  During this time, she developed her assigned territory to become an annual multi-million dollar producer.  Mary Ann then became Herman Miller/ Spectrum’s Director of Business Development and a member of their Leadership Team.  She joined Raff Company Builders in January 2000 managing their marketing and sales departments.  She became Vice President of Marketing in April 2000 and saw a need for furniture management & installation services with their existing construction customers.  Mary Ann founded The Riff Group in 2002 combining her vast experience and knowledge of the furniture & construction industries. The Riff Group began providing furniture installation services and inventory management to businesses and furniture dealers. The Riff Group presently operates three divisions including Installation Services Division, Moving & Storage Services Division, and Building & Construction Services Division. Mary Ann oversees all three company divisions with her primary focus being in the areas of Administration, Sales and Marketing.

George W. Schmidt – Chief Executive Officer

George was graduated from Bloomsburg State College in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration.  He completed post-graduate construction management courses at Spring Garden College. While earning his degree, George was employed by the A. Raymond Raff Company where he gained invaluable hands on construction experience. Upon graduation and through 1987, George was employed by ARA Services at the Director level where he managed various project sites including Warminster General Hospital, Rolling Hills Hospital, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.  George joined Raff Company Builders in l987 as Estimator/Project Manager. George held the position of President at Raff Company Builders from 1994 through 2009. During his tenure with Raff he estimated and managed projects ranging in size from several thousand dollars to 10 million dollars for clients such as Independence Blue Cross, Disney, The US Mint, Keystone Health Plan East, Accorr North America, Northeast Treatment Centers, National Park Service, Villanova University, The Fairmount Park Art Association and Wyeth. Presently, George’s primary focus is in the areas of Administration and Estimating for the Building & Construction Services Division of The Riff Group.

Bob Schlear - Vice President of Installation Services Division

Bob began with The Riff Group as our Lead Foreman in 2002 and came to us with over 14 years of furniture experience. He had worked as a Lead Installer for a major installation company, running corporate end-user installations. As our company grew, Bob began to manage the manpower and scheduling of our projects, thus becoming our Director of Installation Services. He developed formats for job tracking, field payroll reporting, and customer sign-offs and tickets which streamlined our processes, enabling us to work with increased efficiency. Bob oversees and coordinates our Estimating and Project Management departments. He is a member of the Metropolitan Regional Council of Philadelphia United Brotherhood of Carpenters.

Bill Letier - Director of Installation Services

Bill joined The Riff Group in 2005 after spending 12 years with another Philadelphia based installation firm. His experience includes general carpentry, millwork installations, system furniture, and floor-to-ceiling demountable partitions. He is proficient with estimation, project management, and sales. Bill is responsible for managing and maintaining relationships with several of our primary dealers, insuring that Riff is considered in any and all bidding opportunities. His input with regard to streamling our processes has been invaluable. Bill has taken the lead as head of our Moving and Storage Division, successfully managing several of our turnkey projects for both new and existing customers. He is a member of the Metropolitan Regional Council of Philadelphia United Brotherhood of Carpenters.