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                                                                   EXHIBIT 10.26

January 20, 2003

Mr. James G. Mitchell
[ADDRESS OMITTED]


Dear Jim:

I am pleased that we have been able to explore the possibility of your taking on
the assignment of General Manager, United Kingdom for a three-year period. You
have been provided a draft copy of the details of transfer, outlining
information regarding the compensation and benefits that you may receive in this
ex-pat assignment.

During the past several weeks, we have been discussing the terms and conditions
upon which you would continue your employment with Steelcase Inc., (who,
together with its subsidiaries is referred to as "Steelcase" or the "Company" in
this letter agreement) and accept this ex-pat assignment.

Upon execution of this agreement by both parties, the following will constitute
our entire agreement on the subjects addressed in this letter, including the
benefits available to you upon termination of your employment. This letter
agreement shall serve as the complete and final resolution on these issues
reached between you and the company.

1. Definitions. As used in this letter agreement, unless the context otherwise
   requires, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

"Cause" means:

         (a) a breach by you of any of the Company's policies that include
termination as a consequential disciplinary action;


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Mr. James G. Mitchell
January 20, 2003
Page 2

         (b)  excessive absenteeism, flagrant neglect of duties, serious
misconduct, or conviction of crime or fraud; or

         (c) any act or omission that, under the laws of Ontario, Canada, would
permit an employer to, without notice or payment in lieu of notice, terminate
your employment.

"Confidential or Proprietary Information" includes, but is not limited to,
financial statements or information, marketing plans, product research and
development, sales plans, ideas or other information regarding Steelcase's
objectives and strategies and any information about the business and practices
of Steelcase that was obtained during your course of employment or as a
consultant with the company.

"Disability" means your inability to substantially fulfill your duties for a
continuous period of not less than six (6) months, as attested by an appropriate
medical certificate, or your inability to substantially fulfill your duties for
an aggregate period of not less than nine (9) months during any consecutive
twenty-four (24) month period. If there is any disagreement between the Company
and you as to your Disability or as to the date any such Disability began or
ended, it shall be determined by a physician mutually agreeable to the Company
and the Employee. The determination by such physician shall be conclusive
evidence of any such Disability and of the date any such Disability began or
ended.

"Effective Date" means January 1, 2003, regardless of the date of execution of
this agreement by the parties.

"Normal Retirement" means, for purposes of the Steelcase 1994 Supplemental
Executive Retirement Plan only, the age at which your age plus your years of
employment with the Company are equal to 73, being November 26, 2007.

"Plans" means the Steelcase Inc. Money Purchase Plan, Steelcase Inc. Profit
Sharing Plan, Steelcase Inc. 401(k) Plan, Steelcase Inc. Restoration Retirement
Plan and any deferred compensation arrangements entered into between you and the
Company.

2. Ex-Pat Assignment. You have agreed to continue your employment with
   Steelcase in the position of General Manager, United Kingdom, with the base
   salary shown in the Details of Transfer provided to you, and attached as
   Schedule A. You will begin

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Mr. James G. Mitchell
January 20, 2003
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   working in the United Kingdom starting on July 1, 2003. Notwithstanding the
   fact that your employment is for an indefinite period until terminated by
   either party in accordance with this Agreement, we currently anticipate that
   this ex-pat assignment will be for a three-year period. The parties agree
   that between the Effective Date and July 1, 2003 (the "Term"), you report
   directly to me, on special assignment, focusing on key sales and dealer
   issues, and that during this period, your base salary will continue at its
   current level. As of the Effective Date, you agree that your eligibility for
   any benefits under the ex-pat program for employees of the United States is
   terminated and that for the purposes of your assignment in the United
   Kingdom, you will be considered an ex-pat of Canada. As of the Effective Date
   you will also be enrolled in any retirement plans generally available to
   employees of Steelcase Canada Ltd. You will no longer be eligible for future
   participation in U.S.-based benefit plans, including the Steelcase Inc. Money
   Purchase Plan, Steelcase Inc. Profit Sharing Plan, Steelcase Inc. 401(k) Plan
   and the Steelcase Inc. Restoration Retirement Plan. Upon expiry of the Term,
   you will be paid a minimum annual base salary in accordance with Schedule A
   for the duration of your U.K. assignment. As you undertake other future
   assignments for the Company, the Company will place you in assignments which
   will provide base salary compensation at a comparable or higher level,
   consistent with market data, as administered under the Company's Salary
   Administration Guidelines, and position placement fulfillment needs for
   executives with your level of performance, experience, skills, competencies,
   and future potential; provided, however, that: (1) in the event that special
   circumstances cause the Company to reduce the compensation of all executive
   officers, or an identified subgroup of six (6) or more executive officers
   (e.g., the current Strategy Sub-Team), at a specified amount (e.g., a
   temporary adjustment under which compensation is reduced by 5%), you will
   remain subject to any such adjustment; and (2) the Company may adjust your
   salary downward if you make a request for a specific assignment which is not
   commensurate with your preexisting duties and responsibilities, and the
   Company agrees to accommodate your request on that condition. All other terms
   and conditions as contained in this Agreement shall remain the same.

3. Termination of Employment. You shall remain employed by Steelcase for an
   indefinite period. Steelcase may terminate your employment at any time, for
   any or no reason, subject to the terms and conditions in this agreement . In
   this way, your employment is on the same basis as other employees of the
   Company. Similarly,


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Mr. James G. Mitchell
January 20, 2003
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   you may terminate your employment at any time for any or no reason. Depending
   upon the reason for your termination of employment, the following shall
   apply:

   (a) Termination of Employment by You or by the Company for Cause. If your
       employment is terminated by you or is terminated by Steelcase for Cause
       or by reason of your death or Disability, you shall be entitled to
       receive any base salary earned up to the date of termination, the value
       of any unused vacation days accrued up to the date of termination,
       reimbursement of any business expenses reasonably incurred up to the
       date of termination and any vested balances you have under the Plans,
       subject to and payable in accordance with the terms of the Plans.
       Nothing in this provision is intended or shall limit any benefit to
       which you are entitled under the benefit programs offered by the
       Company in which you are a participant and for which you are eligible
       by virtue of your death or Disability.

   (b) Termination of Employment by the Company without Cause. If the Company
       terminates your employment without Cause at any time prior to November
       1, 2003, you will be entitled to a payment of $ 1,241,545, which is
       inclusive of twelve (12) months severance pay. If the Company
       terminates your employment without Cause on or after November 1, 2003,
       you will be entitled to a payment of $ 1,349,324, which is inclusive of
       twelve months severance pay. You shall also be entitled to receive any
       base salary earned up to the date of termination, the value of any
       unused vacation days accrued to the date of termination, reimbursement
       of any business expenses reasonably incurred up to the date of
       termination and any vested balances you have under the Plans, subject to
       and payable in accordance with the terms of the Plans. You will also be
       eligible for executive outplacement services.

   (c) Termination of Employment by Reason of Retirement. If your employment is
       terminated by you or the company for any reason or no reason after you
       have reached the age of Normal Retirement, you will be entitled to
       receive any severance payments as may be required by the applicable
       employment standards legislation and the amounts calculated and payable
       under the current provisions of the Steelcase Inc. 1994 Executive
       Supplemental Retirement Plan (the "SRP"), subject to and payable in
       accordance with the terms and conditions of the SRP. You shall also be
       entitled to receive any base salary earned up to the date of termination,
       the value of any unused vacation days accrued to the date of


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Mr. James G. Mitchell
January 20, 2003
Page 5


       termination, reimbursement of any business expenses reasonably incurred
       up to the date of termination and any vested balances you have under the
       Plans, subject to and payable in accordance with the terms of the Plans.

   We have conclusively agreed that at the time of the termination of your
   employment with the Company you will be eligible to receive either the
   payment under paragraph a, b or c above and the non-applicable options shall
   be null and void. In no event will you be able to receive the payment under
   paragraph c in addition to the payment under paragraphs a or b. All payments
   are subject to any applicable payroll taxes and deductions, and any amounts
   owed by you to the Company or the Plans, Plan Administrator or Trustee shall
   be deducted from the payments made.

4. Non-Compete. You agree that during your employment and, upon payment by the
   Company of the amounts payable under this Agreement, after termination of
   your employment, you shall be bound by the following covenant not to compete:

       Covenant Not to Compete. You covenant and agree that during your
       employment and for a period of one (1) year from the effective date of
       the termination of your employment, you shall not directly or indirectly,
       whether as an employee, employer, officer, director, owner, partner,
       member, investor, shareholder, independent contractor, consultant, agent,
       representative, volunteer or in any other capacity perform professional
       or technical services or solicit business on behalf of yourself, or any
       other person, entity or business in competition with any line of business
       in which Steelcase is or has been engaged as of the date of the
       termination of your employment and any prospective line of business in
       which, to your knowledge, Steelcase is assessing or developing. "Line of
       business" shall be defined to include all product and service lines of
       business, and specifically any and all products and product concepts
       (whether or not commercialized or reduced to practice) that Steelcase has
       conceived, considered, researched, developed, marketed or produced before
       or during the tenure of your employment with the company, in the
       Territory. For the purposes of this Section, "Territory" shall mean North
       America and any country for which you had employment responsibilities
       while an employee of Steelcase.

       During your employment and the restrictive time period you also agree, in
       any of the capacities defined above, not to directly or indirectly (a)
       divert or attempt to divert any business from Steelcase or any entity
       distributing Steelcase

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Mr. James G. Mitchell
January 20, 2003
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       products ("Steelcase distributor") during the twelve (12) months prior to
       the termination of your employment, solicit on behalf of anyone other
       than Steelcase any current or past customer of Steelcase, who was a
       customer of Steelcase during the twelve (12) month period prior to the
       termination of your employment ("Customer"), or any Steelcase
       distributor, or attempt to influence on behalf of anyone other than
       Steelcase any Customer of Steelcase or any Steelcase distributor; or (b)
       hire, solicit, contact or attempt to hire or solicit any employee or
       representative of Steelcase for the purpose of inducing that person to
       end his/her employment or business relationship with Steelcase whether to
       enter into an employment or other business relationship with any other
       entity, or for any other purpose.

       You agree that the restrictions are reasonable and that you have received
       adequate consideration. If you breach or attempt to breach this covenant
       not to compete, Steelcase shall be entitled to an immediate injunction or
       restraining order, in addition to all other remedies available under law
       or equity, from a court of competent jurisdiction enforcing the terms of
       the non-compete provision, and, if Steelcase obtains an order or judgment
       enforcing any of the terms of this non-compete provision, you shall be
       liable to Steelcase for all reasonable attorney's fees, costs and
       expenses incurred by Steelcase in enforcing the non-compete provision.

       If any court of competent jurisdiction shall at any time deem the
       foregoing time period too lengthy or the scope of the covenants too
       broad, the restrictive time period shall be deemed to be the longest
       period permissible by law, and the scope shall be deemed to comprise the
       largest scope permissible by law under the circumstances.

5. Release. You acknowledge and agree that any severance or retirement payments
   to be made under this Agreement shall be contingent upon the execution of a
   release in the following form, and will be payable following the effective
   date of the release:

       Release. In consideration of the various payments and benefits to be
       provided to me, I hereby release and forever discharge Steelcase Inc.,
       its divisions, subsidiaries, affiliates, joint ventures and their past,
       present or future officers, directors, shareholders, employees, agents
       and representatives, from any and all claims, causes of action, demands,
       rights, damages, liability, costs or expenses, of

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Mr. James G. Mitchell
January 20, 2003
Page 7



       every kind and description, whether known or unknown, whether arising out
       of or in any way connected, directly or indirectly, with my employment
       and/or separation from employment with Steelcase, or arising from any
       other circumstances involving the company's interests, including but not
       limited to protection or enforcement of the company's confidential and
       proprietary information. This release is intended as a general release,
       including all claims whatsoever, whether arising under state or Federal
       laws of the United States of America or any other country and whether
       founded upon contract, tort, statute or regulation, wrongful discharge or
       discrimination, and specifically includes, but is not limited to, claims
       under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as amended, 20
       U.S.C. Section 621 et.seq., applicable Canadian human rights legislation,
       or similar laws under the laws of other countries, and claims for any
       lack of notice or any claim under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining
       Notification Act and/or the applicable Canadian employment standards
       legislation including claims for bonus, overtime pay, interest, variation
       pay, and pension benefits. This waiver of rights and release of claims is
       knowing and voluntary. The invalidity in whole or in part of any
       provision of this release shall not effect the validity of any other
       provision. In light of the general nature of the release intended by this
       provision, you agree that, at the time of your termination, this release
       may be modified as necessary or desirable under applicable law in order
       to achieve the intended scope of release.

       It is acknowledged that, following your termination, Steelcase will
       provide you a release to execute, and will provide you a period of
       forty-five (45) days from that time in which to consider it. For a period
       of seven (7) days following the execution of the release, you may revoke
       it by notifying the Company's General Counsel in writing. If not revoked
       in this matter, the release will become effective on the eighth day after
       you sign it (the "effective date of the Release").

6. Additional Provisions.

   (a) Confidential or Proprietary Information. You acknowledge that in the
       course of your employment with Steelcase you have had access to and
       control of Confidential or Proprietary Information related to Steelcase's
       business, and that during the term of your employment and following the
       termination of your employment you will continue to be under an
       obligation not to disclose to any third party, nor use for your benefit
       or the benefit of any third party, any trade

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Mr. James G. Mitchell
January 20, 2003
Page 8


       secrets, Confidential or Proprietary Information concerning the financial
       and business affairs of Steelcase or any of its divisions, subsidiaries,
       affiliates, joint ventures or related entities, except as may be required
       by law. You agree that, following the termination of your employment, any
       documents in your possession including such information shall be
       expeditiously returned to Steelcase. You also acknowledge that such
       Confidential or Proprietary Information shall not be disclosed,
       published, presented in lectures or other forums or otherwise used by you
       in any manner. The parties agree that any breach or threatened breach of
       this provision would cause irreparable harm to Steelcase, that no
       adequate remedy exists at law or in damages for such a breach or
       threatened breach, and that Steelcase shall be entitled to an immediate
       injunction or restraining order in addition to any other remedies that
       may be available by law or equity.

   (b) Confidentiality of Agreement. It is mutually agreed that the terms of
       this Agreement are confidential and shall not be disclosed to any third
       party, except as required by law or in order to enforce the terms of this
       Agreement. You may, of course, disclose the terms of this Agreement to
       legal or financial advisors on a confidential basis for the sole purpose
       of obtaining legal or tax advice concerning the terms of this Agreement.

   (c) Disposition of Company Property. Following the termination of your
       employment, any company-owned property in your possession, including any
       office equipment or other items, shall be delivered to a designated
       company representative. You also agree to immediately discontinue the use
       of any credit cards issued to you by or through Steelcase and to return
       any such credit cards to an authorized Steelcase representative, and to
       promptly submit any expense reports required to account for outstanding
       charges and to cooperate in the process of reconciling any such charges
       with your expense reports. Any personal expenses incurred through use of
       company credit cards, or otherwise charged to the company, shall be
       deducted from amounts payable under this agreement.

   (d) Currency. All dollar amounts referred to in this Agreement are in United
       States funds.



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Mr. James G. Mitchell
January 20, 2003
Page 9

   (e) Amendment and Waiver. No supplement, modification, amendment or waiver
       of this Agreement shall be binding unless executed in writing by you and
       an officer of Steelcase Inc. No waiver of any of the provisions of this
       Agreement shall constitute a waiver of any other provision (whether or
       not similar) nor shall such waiver constitute a continuing waiver unless
       otherwise expressly provided.

   (f) Severability. If any provision in this Agreement is determined to be
       invalid, void or unenforceable by the decision of any court of competent
       jurisdiction, which determination is not appealed or appealable for any
       reason whatsoever, the provision in question shall not be deemed to
       affect or impair the validity or enforceability of any other provision of
       this Agreement and such invalid or unenforceable provision or portion
       thereof shall be severed from the remainder of this Agreement.

   (g) Independent Legal Advice. You acknowledge that you have been advised to
       obtain, and that you have obtained independent legal advice with respect
       to this Agreement and that you understand the nature and consequences of
       this Agreement.

   (h) Governing Law. The laws of the province of Ontario, Canada shall govern
       the validity, interpretation, construction and performance of this
       Agreement; provided, however, that any dispute between the parties
       regarding any Plans shall be governed by the laws of the State of
       Michigan, U.S.A., or United States federal law, as they may apply and
       control the disputed issues as provided in such Plans.

   (i) Jurisdiction. The parties mutually agree that any dispute arising under
       this Agreement shall be heard and determined by the Courts of the
       Province of Ontario, Canada and subject themselves to attorn to the
       jurisdiction of the aforesaid Courts.

   (j) Entire Agreement. This Agreement contains the entire understanding of the
       parties on the subjects of this agreement and there are no additional
       promises, representations, assurances, terms or provisions between the
       parties other than those specifically set forth herein. This Agreement
       may not be amended except in writing signed by you and an officer of
       Steelcase.



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Mr. James G. Mitchell
January 20, 2003
Page 10



If you agree with the foregoing, please execute both of the enclosed original
copies of this letter and return one to me.

Sincerely,



/s/ J. Hackett

James P. Hackett
President and Chief Executive Officer
Steelcase Inc.



                                            READ, UNDERSTOOD AND ACCEPTED

                                            By: /s/  James G. Mitchell
                                               ---------------------------------
                                               James G. Mitchell



                                            Date: Feb 17/03
                                                 -------------------------------



                                            Witness: /s/ Susan Dadamo
                                                    ----------------------------