Daria Russell currently serves as Executive Vice President, Legal and General Counsel of Mattress Firm, Inc. A trusted member of the company’s executive leadership team, she oversees all legal affairs, guiding strategic business decisions and ensuring corporate compliance across a broad range of matters including mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, commercial transactions, intellectual property, marketing, labor and employment, litigation and regulatory compliance. Additionally, Mattress Firm’s Health & Safety and Loss Prevention functions report to her.
Since joining Mattress Firm in 2015, she has played a key role in several high-profile transactions, including the company’s $5 billion acquisition by Somnigroup International (formerly Tempur Sealy International, Inc.), its public company readiness efforts and related Registration Statement filing, its successful $3.1 billion Chapter 11 restructuring and the acquisitions that grew Mattress Firm to a nationwide, border-to-border, coast-to-coast retailer. She has also been instrumental in strengthening and streamlining the company’s legal operations and risk management framework, partnering closely with business leaders across the organization to support growth initiatives, enhance operational effectiveness, and foster a culture of integrity and accountability. Known for her practical, business-oriented approach, she works collaboratively with stakeholders to navigate complex legal and regulatory challenges while enabling innovation and driving long-term value creation.
Before joining Mattress Firm, she served as Assistant General Counsel, Corporate and Assistant Secretary at Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, Inc., formerly a publicly traded nationwide retailer. From 2006 to 2011, she practiced law at Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. (now Norton Rose Fulbright LLP) in Houston, where she began her legal career advising clients on complex corporate and transactional matters.
She earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2006 and holds a B.A. in Economics and Spanish from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. She is an active member of the community, most recently having served as chair of the Houston Independent School District Foundation’s board of directors and is on the board of directors of the Texas Lawbook Foundation, a non-profit that covers pro bono, public service and diversity in Texas. A Houston native, she lives in Afton Oaks with her family.
General Counsel
