Jay Cochran, left, is the new president of U.S. sales and marketing for Ausen Furniture.

At right is Shirley Jia, owner and general manager.

Chinese upholstery producer Ausen Furniture has named Jay Cochran as president of U.S. sales and marketing. In the newly created post, Cochran will oversee all facets of sales and product development for the company in the U.S.

Most recently, he was vice president of merchandising at Albany Inds., a Mississippi-based upholstery producer. Earlier, he spent 19 years in various merchandising and sales positions at Berkline/BenchCraft.

“We are excited to have Jay join our Ausen family and spearhead our growth in the U.S. market,” said Shirley Jia, owner and general manager. “Under his leadership, we look forward to significantly growing our range of product offerings as well as strengthening our growing U.S. customer base.”

Ausen produces leather and fabric motion upholstery at its plant in Haining, Zhejiang Province of China.

Cochran will be based in New Albany, Miss.