Click here to download 2022 Chameleon Chair Brochure
 

Key Personnel


Jerome M. Smolar,
President and Chief Executive Officer

Jerry Smolar has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Chameleon Chairs LLC since April 2008.  In addition, he is the majority shareholder of the Company.  Mr. Smolar began his career at Arthur Andersen & Co. as a certified public accountant.  During his eight year tenure with that company, he held a series of positions with increasing management responsibilities.  In 1978, he joined Safeco Title Insurance Company as Vice President and Controller.  In 1980, he was promoted to Chief Financial Officer and was appointed to the company's Board of Directors in 1981.  At that time, Safeco was the nation's third largest title insurance company.  In 1987, Safeco Title was sold to Chicago Title Insurance Company and Mr. Smolar played an integral role in the successful merger of Safeco into Chicago Title.  After leaving Safeco, Mr. Smolar served as the Chief Financial Officer for two publicly traded companies, PIP Printing, Inc. and Image Entertainment, Inc.

For twelve years prior to joining Chameleon Chair, Mr. Smolar served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Nations Holding Group, a holding company for several title insurance related subsidiaries, including United Title Company and United Capital Title Insurance Company.  Under his leadership, Nations Holding Group grew from a small company with annual revenues of approximately $12 million to a regional company with approximately $140 million in revenues.

In September 2002, Nations Holding Group merged with Capital Title Group, Inc. a Phoenix-based, publicly traded title company.  In September 2006, along with Capital Title Group, Inc., Nations Holding Group was sold to LandAmerica Financial Group, Inc., a Fortune 500 company.  Mr. Smolar played a key role in facilitating the transition and integration of the NHG family of companies into LandAmerica until joining Chameleon Chair.

Jerry's educational background includes a BA in Economics as well as a Masters of Business Administration from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1971 and 1978, respectively.  He is also licensed as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in California since 1973. 


Behshad Shokouhi,
AIA, CCIDC,Designer

Mr. Shokouhi arrived in America at age 18 after attending boarding school in England. He received a Bachelor's Degree of Architecture from the University of Tennessee and a Master's Degree from the University of Southern California. He is a licensed architect with twenty-five years experience and is the designer of the Chameleon Chair product line.

Prior to opening the firm of Arcus Aetus, Mr. Shokouhi worked for Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, in both Chicago and Los Angeles. He also spent two years doing hands-on construction management. With a portfolio of many notable buildings in this country and abroad, he has garnered a reputation for outstanding architectural and design work.

An interest in furniture arose from Mr. Shokouhi's involvement in interior design. "Looking for furniture made me realize that there really wasn't much choice," says Shokouhi. "It was either traditional or modern with very little in-between." Thus, he began creating furniture and has since been featured in Leslie Pena's book, Furniture 2000, his work described as "among the best of Twentieth Century furniture."

In architecture as in furniture, Mr. Shokouhi applies the same concept of versatility and adaptability to extend the life and usefulness of his designs. With an economy of means his design work, particularly his choice of materials, reflects a strong belief and effort to preserve the environment.


Barbara Starler,
Vice President

Barbara joins the firm following a thirty year career in education. Her skills in personal relations and administration are a few of the many assets she brings to our marketing and advertising efforts. Her main purpose is to build the Chameleon name and expand the recognition of our trendsetting and innovative product.

Since her arrival at the company, the Chameleon Chair Collection has been featured in such prestigious publications including: Los Angeles Magazine, People, Special Events, BiZBash, Inside Weddings, Grace Ormonde Wedding Style Magazine, Ceremony Magazine, Your Wedding Day, and San Diego Style Weddings, and has been seen in a growing number of television shows and motion pictures.



Teri Rudin (1953-2018),
Co-Founder

Teri's talent and imagination at creating extraordinary parties for her son led to the opening of Reigning Parties, a party planning business. Her company's distinctive stylized centerpieces and stage props constructed from foam board, foam rubber, wood, glitter, sequins, and hand-painted fabrics were familiar to those with discerning taste.

It was Teri's work for one of the principals of Regal Rents that led to her employment with the prestigious rental company. Charged with product development, Teri created an upscale linen department and embellished their tabletops with bold new china patterns, glassware and flatware.

She was instrumental in bringing about new choices to shape the growth of their chair and barstool inventory and gave the Chiavari Chair a refreshing faux finish. Regal Rents gained a strong company branding at the Special Events Industry and American Rental Association shows with her award-winning booth designs. Teri had been invovlved with Chamelon since 2005 and passed away in 2018, and she was always committed to keeping the Chameleon Chair Collection the item that every distinguished party and event should demand. Her extensive collection of chair covers remain a significant asset to the company's offerings.