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Essendant Inc fka ESND RSS Feed

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Essendant Inc.
  • Essendant Corporate Headquarters
    One Parkway North Blvd
    Deerfield, IL 60015
  • MEDCO Main Office
    3201 South 76st Street
    Philadelphia, PA 19153
    (215) 492-6700
     
 

  •  



Essendant Inc. (Essendant), formerly United Stationers Inc., is a wholesale distributor of workplace items. The Company stocks an assortment of over 180,000 products in categories, including janitorial and breakroom supplies, technology products, traditional office products, industrial supplies, office furniture, and automotive aftermarket tools and equipment. The Company has four operating segments: Business and Facility Essentials, ORS Industrial, CPO Commerce, Inc. (CPO) and Automotive. Business and Facility Essentials also included operations in Mexico conducted through a subsidiary, Azerty de Mexico. It offers private brand products within each of its product categories, which include Innovera technology products, Universal office products, Windsoft paper products, Boardwalk and UniSan janitorial and sanitation products, Alera office furniture and Anchor Brand and Best Welds welding, industrial, safety and oil field pipeline products.


 

United Stationers

United Stationers
Essendant, formerly known as United Stationers, is a leading national wholesale distributor of workplace essentials, with consolidated net sales of $5.3 billion. In 2013, it ranked 484 out of the Fortune 500 companies. Essendant stocks a …
 
Essendant, formerly known as United Stationers, is a leading national wholesale distributor of workplace essentials, with consolidated net sales of $5.3 billion. In 2013, it ranked 484 out of the Fortune 500 companies. Essendant stocks a broad assortment of over 160,000 items including traditional office products, office furniture, janitorial and break room supplies, technology products, industrial supplies and automotive aftermarket tools and equipment. The company's network of 70+ distribution centers allows it to ship products, most overnight, to more than 90% of the U.S. and next-day delivery to major cities in Canada for its 30,000 reseller customers. Essendant is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois and also has operations in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. In addition, the company operates as an online retailer and sells industrial tools direct to end consumers.
 
  • Founded: 1922
     





 
Primary IR Contacts:
Kaveh Bakhtiari
Director, Investor Relations
Phone: (847) 627-2900
investorrelations@essendant.com

Emma Gutheim
Essendant
IR Coordinator
1 Parkway N. Blvd, Suite 100
Deerfield, IL 60015
Phone: (847) 627-2084
investorrelations@essendant.com

 
  Transfer Agent:
Wells Fargo Shareowner Services
1110 Centre Pointe Curve
Suite 101
Mendota Heights, MN 55120-4100
Phone: (800) 468-9716
Website: Click Here
  Accountants:
Ernst & Young
233 S. Wacker Drive
Chicago, IL 60606
Phone: (312) 879-2000

 
Name Age Since Current Position

Charles Crovitz

61 2011 Non-Executive Independent Chairman of the Board

Robert Aiken

53 2015 President, Chief Executive Officer, Director

Timothy Connolly

52 2015 President, Chief Operating Officer

Earl Shanks

59 2015 Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President

Richard Phillips

45 2013 President - Online and New Channels

Carole Tomko

61 2014 Chief Human Resource Officer, Senior Vice President

Janet Zelenka

57 2015 Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer

Eric Blanchard

59 2006 Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary

Girisha Chandraraj

40 2015 Senior Vice President Marketing and Chief Digital

Paul Williams

56 2014 Director

Jean Blackwell

61 2007 Independent Director

Roy Haley

68 1998 Independent Director

Dennis Martin

66 2016 Independent Director

Susan Riley

52 2012 Independent Director

Alexander Schmelkin

38 2012 Independent Director

Stuart Taylor

55 2011 Independent Director

Alex Zoghlin

45 2008 Independent Director

Emma Gutheim

    IR Officer
 

Biographies

Name Description

Charles Crovitz

Mr. Charles K. Crovitz is Non-Executive Independent Chairman of the Board of United Stationers Inc. Mr. Crovitz serves as Chair of the Executive Committee and as a member of the Technology Advisory and Governance Committees. In September 2007, Mr. Crovitz was appointed as the Interim Chief Executive Officer of The Children’s Place Retail Stores, Inc., a children’s clothing and accessories retailer, which position he held until his retirement in January 2010. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Crovitz was a member of the executive leadership team of Gap Inc. from 1993 until 2003, most recently serving as Executive Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer. During his ten-year career with Gap, Mr. Crovitz was also Executive Vice President, Supply Chain and Technology and Senior Vice President, Strategy and Business Development. Prior to that, he held various positions with Safeway Inc., including serving as a member of the operating committee, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, and Vice President, Director of Marketing for Safeway Manufacturing Group. Mr. Crovitz also spent several years with McKinsey & Company, Inc. where he was an Engagement Manager, leading client service teams in retail, forest products, steel and personal computer industries. He has over the past five years served as a board member for The Children’s Place Retail Stores, Inc. Mr. Crovitz’ responsibility for information technology during his tenure at Gap and Safeway and his experience in supply chain management are particularly relevant to the strategic direction of the Company. His extensive operating experience allows him to make significant contributions to the Company’s continuing efforts to pursue growth strategies, increase productivity and reduce its cost structure making him an effective Chairman of the Board. Mr. Crovitz also holds an MBA and a law degree from Stanford University.
 

Robert Aiken

Mr. Robert Blaine Aiken, Jr., is President, Chief Executive Officer, Director of the Company. Mr. Aiken serves as a member of the Executive Committees. He previously served on the Company’s Board of Directors from December 2010 to May 2014, at which time he stepped down from the Board due to the demands of his position as the Chief Executive Officer of Feeding America, the nation’s leading hunger relief organization. Mr. Aiken was appointed CEO of Feeding America in November 2012. Prior to this role, Mr. Aiken was the CEO of the food company portfolio at Bolder Capital, a private equity firm. Mr. Aiken previously served as Managing Director of Capwell Partners LLC, a private-equity firm focused on companies offering health and wellness products and services. Mr. Aiken was in the private-equity business from February 2010 until his appointment at Feeding America. Prior to that time, Mr. Aiken was the President and Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Foodservice, one of the country’s premier foodservice distributors. Mr. Aiken joined U.S. Foodservice in 2004 and held several senior executive positions including President and Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Strategy and Governance before being named Chief Executive Officer in 2007. From 2000 until 2004, Mr. Aiken also served as President and Principal of Milwaukee Sign Co., a privately-held manufacturing firm. From 1994 to 2000, Mr. Aiken was an executive with Specialty Foods Corporation, where he held several positions, including President and Chief Executive Officer of Metz Baking Company. Early in Mr. Aiken’s career, he worked as a business lawyer. Since February 2010, Mr. Aiken has served as a director of Red Robin Gourmet Burgers. Mr. Aiken brings to the Board of Directors and to the Executive Committee his experience as a chief executive officer of both public and private corporations with significant operations and a large, labor-intensive workforce. He has a broad background in foodservice distribution,
 

Timothy Connolly

Mr. Timothy P. Connolly President, Chief Operating Officer of the Company. Mr. Connolly served as President, Business Transformation and Supply Chain since 2013, President, Operations and Logistics Services from 2011 to 2013 and Senior Vice President, Operations from 2006 until 2011. In 2006, Mr. Connolly was Vice President, Field Operations Support and Facility Engineering. He joined the Company in 2003 as Region Vice President Operations, Midwest. He also served as the President of the Essendant Charitable Foundation. Before joining the Company, Mr. Connolly was the Regional Vice President, Midwest Region for Cardinal Health where he directed operations, sales, human resources, finance, and customer service for one of Cardinal’s largest pharmaceutical distribution centers.
 

Earl Shanks

Mr. Earl C. Shanks is Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President of the Company. Mr. Shanks currently serves as a director of Verint, a global leader in Actionable Intelligence solutions, and has previously served as the chief financial officer at Convergys Corporation, a global leader in relationship management solutions and a major provider of outsourced business services, from 2003 to 2012. Prior to that, Mr. Shanks held various financial leadership roles with NCR Corporation, including serving as the chief financial officer from 2001 to 2003 where he oversaw treasury, finance, real estate, tax, and six business unit finance teams. In addition, Mr. Shanks previously served as the vice president and treasurer of Farley Industries and Fruit of the Loom Inc. Mr. Phillips has been with Essendant since 2013, as President of Online and New Channels. Over the last 2 years, he led the $500+ million dollar New Channels business to profitable growth. He also successfully led Essendant’s relationships with major e-tail and other large resellers, and in addition was responsible for the advancement of the company’s online capabilities. Prior to joining Essendant, he spent over a decade at McKinsey & Company in various consulting roles. He was elected partner at McKinsey in 2005. Previously, Mr. Phillips worked for Baxter Healthcare, where he held several roles, including serving as a Manager of National Accounts.
 

Richard Phillips

Mr. Richard D. Phillips is President - Online and New Channels of United Stationers Inc. Prior to this position he served as President, Online and New Channels. Prior to joining the Company in 2013, Mr. Phillips spent 14 years at McKinsey & Company, where he was elected Partner in 2005. Prior to joining McKinsey, he spent six years at Baxter Healthcare in finance and sales.
 

Carole Tomko

Ms. Carole W. Tomko is Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources of the Company. Ms. Tomko was a partner in an executive search and human resources consulting firm. Prior to launching her consulting practice, Ms. Tomko held the role of Senior Vice President, Human Resources for Cardinal Health where she led the function for nine years. Additionally Ms. Tomko has held Human Resources leadership positions for The Chemlawn Corporation, The Standard Register Company and Federated Department Stores. Ms. Tomko has also served in leadership positions on several non-profit boards over the last twenty years.
 

Janet Zelenka

Ms. Janet Zelenka has been appointed as Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer of the Company. She has held leadership positions in business integration, finance, and pricing. Before joining Essendant, Janet held a variety of executive positions at SBC/Ameritech (now AT&T) including CFO of the IT division and Vice President of IT, as well as leadership roles in several areas including customer care, operations, financial planning/analytics, activity-based management, and internal audit. Janet also serves as Treasurer of the Essendant Charitable Foundation and will become President in January of 2016.
 

Eric Blanchard

Mr. Eric A. Blanchard is Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary of the Company. He served as the Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary at Tennant Company. Previously Mr. Blanchard was with Dean Foods Company where he held the positions of Chief Operating Officer, Dairy Division in 2002, Vice President and President, Dairy Division from 1999 to 2002 and General Counsel and Secretary from 1988 to 1999.
 

Girisha Chandraraj

Mr. Girisha Chandraraj is Senior Vice President Marketing and Chief Digital of the Company. He served as Head of Digital Commerce from 2013 to 2015. In addition, he has the responsibility for CPO Commerce, a wholly owned subsidiary of Essendant. Prior to joining Essendant, Mr. Chandraraj has held senior executive positions in Marketing and Digital for Digital for Blick Art Materials and Broder Bros Corporation. Mr. Chandraraj started his career as a Management Consultant.
 

Paul Williams

Mr. Paul S. Williams is Director of the Company., effective October 27, 2014. Mr. Williams is a member of the Audit and Human Resources Committees. Mr. Williams has been a partner at Major, Lindsey & Africa, LLC, a legal executive search firm, since 2005. Prior to joining Major, Lindsey & Africa he served as Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary of Cardinal Health, Inc. Mr. Williams currently serves on the boards of directors of Compass Minerals International, Inc. and Bob Evans Farms, Inc. and as presiding lead director of State Auto Financial Corporation. He is not seeking reelection to the State Auto board in May, 2015. Mr. Williams brings extensive experience and knowledge of the business operations of publicly traded companies having served on several public company boards and serving as a business executive. He also brings deep governance and M&A expertise. Mr. Williams holds a BA degree from Harvard University and a law degree from Yale University.
 

Jean Blackwell

Ms. Jean S. Blackwell, Esq., is an Independent Director of the United Stationers Inc. since May 2007. Ms. Blackwell serves as Chair of the Governance Committee and a member of the Audit Committee. Ms. Blackwell served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Cummins Foundation and Executive Vice President, Corporate Responsibility of Cummins Inc., an engine manufacturer, from 2008 until her retirement in March 2013. From 2003 until May of 2008, Ms. Blackwell served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Cummins. Ms. Blackwell also served as Vice President and General Counsel; Vice President, Human Resources; and Vice President, Cummins Business Services. Ms. Blackwell was appointed as Executive Vice President of Cummins in 2005. Ms. Blackwell holds a BA degree in economics from the College of William and Mary and a law degree (Cum Laude) from the University of Michigan. Ms. Blackwell is a member of the board of directors of Celanese, Inc., a specialty chemicals company, and serves on its audit and governance committees. She previously served as a director of The Phoenix Companies, a life insurance company.
 

Roy Haley

Mr. Roy W. Haley is an Independent Director of United Stationers Inc since March 1998. Until his retirement in May 2011, Mr. Haley serves as Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Finance Committee and Executive Committees. Mr. Haley also serves as the Non-Executive Chairman of the board of directors of Bluelinx Corporation, a wholesale supplier of building materials. Until his retirement in May 2011, Mr. Haley served as the Executive Chairman of WESCO International, Inc. (“WESCO”), a wholesale supplier of electrical and other industrial supplies and services, and, until September 2009, was the Chief Executive Officer. Prior to joining WESCO in February 1994, he was President and Chief Operating Officer of American General Corporation, one of the nation’s largest consumer financial services organizations. In addition to his service as a director of WESCO, Mr. Haley served as a director of Cambrex Corporation, a supplier of pharmaceutical and life science industry products and services, for twelve years until his retirement in April 2010. Mr. Haley has acquired significant understanding and experience in financial matters of a publicly traded company, internal controls and the functions of an audit committee. Mr. Haley holds a Bachelor of Science in industrial management from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
 

Dennis Martin

Mr. Dennis J. Martin is Independent Director of the Company. Mr. Martin has been the executive chairman of Federal Signal Corp. since January 1, 2016. He has served on the board of Federal Signal since 2008. He serves on Federal Signal’s compensation, nominating and governance, and audit committees. Mr. Martin served as chief executive officer and president of Federal Signal from October 30, 2010 until December 31, 2015. He served as the chairman and chief executive officer and President of General Binding Corporation from 2001 to 2005. Mr. Martin served on the board of directors of HNI Corporation, an office furniture business, from August 2000 through May 2016. He served as the chair of HNI’s compensation and human resources committee and as a member of HNI’s audit and governance committees. Mr. Martin holds bachelor and honorary doctorate degrees from the University of New Haven.
 

Susan Riley

Ms. Susan J. Riley has been Independent Director of United Stationers Inc since September 5, 2012. Ms. Riley is Chair of the Human Resources Committee and a member of the Audit Committee. Ms. Riley is the Chief Financial Officer of Vestis Retail LLC, a private equity-owned holding company for Bob’s Store, Eastern Mountain Sports, and Sport Chalet. She previously served as a financial consultant for several retail and other companies. From April 2006 through February 2011 Ms. Riley held several senior executive positions, including Executive Vice President, Finance and Administration, at The Children’s Place Retail Stores, Inc., a children’s clothing and accessories retailer. Ms. Riley’s extensive knowledge in financial matters and her experience as chief financial officer of several companies contribute to the financial expertise on our Board and the Audit Committee. Her experience from serving as a senior executive and board member of several companies, including as the chair of the human resources committee of another board, enables Ms. Riley to provide key insights to our Human Resources Committee and to the Board operations in general. Ms. Riley earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the Rochester Institute of Technology and an MBA from Pace University.
 

Alexander Schmelkin

Mr. Alexander M. Schmelkin is Independent Director of United Stationers Inc. Mr. Schmelkin is a member of the Human Resources and Technology Advisory Committees. Mr. Schmelkin is Co- Founder, Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors of Alexander Interactive, a web design and engineering firm, and has held these positions since 2002. Before founding Alexander Interactive, Mr. Schmelkin co-founded New York-based Davanita Design, which was later acquired by Avatar Technology, where he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the New York division. Mr. Schmelkin brings to the Board and the Technology Advisory Committee extensive experience in technology and e-business, digital expertise and entrepreneurial insights as a CEO. Mr. Schmelkin earned a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University.
 

Stuart Taylor

Mr. Stuart A. Taylor, II is Independent Director of United Stationers Inc., since December 2011. Mr. Taylor is Chair of the Finance Committee and a member of the Governance Committee. Mr. Taylor is Chief Executive Officer of The Taylor Group LLC, a private equity firm, and has been with The Taylor Group since 2002. Prior to founding The Taylor Group in 2002, Mr. Taylor was Senior Managing Director of Bear Stearns Companies Inc., a brokerage firm. Over a span of 19 years, Mr. Taylor served as Managing Director of CIBC World Markets (US), Managing Director, Automotive Industry Group, BT Alex Brown, Inc. of Bankers Trust Company and as Vice President, Corporate Finance Department of Morgan Stanley & Company, Inc. Mr. Taylor currently serves as a director of Ball Corporation and Hillenbrand, Inc. Mr. Taylor has demonstrated leadership as a CEO and is a seasoned investment banker. His extensive experience in finance, business development, strategic diversification and mergers and acquisitions allows him to make significant contributions to the company’s strategic initiatives and to the Finance and Governance Committees. Mr. Taylor holds an MBA in finance from Harvard Business School and an undergraduate degree from Yale University.
 

Alex Zoghlin

Mr. Alex D. Zoghlin is an Independent Director of the United Stationers Inc. In March 2013, Mr. Zoghlin serves as Chair of the Technology Advisory Committee. In March 2013, Mr. Zoghlin was appointed as the Global Head of Technology for Hyatt Hotels Corporation, a global hospitality company. Prior to joining Hyatt, Mr. Zoghlin served as the Chief Executive Officer of VHT, Inc., a marketing services provider for the real estate industry, a position he held from 2009 to February 2013. He previously served on the Board from November of 2000 until May 2006. He resigned at that time to focus primarily on building G2 Switchworks, a Chicago-based travel/technology firm, where he was President and Chief Executive Officer until its change of ownership in 2008. He previously served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of neoVentures Inc., a venture capital investment company for emerging technology companies. Prior to that, he was Chief Technology Officer of Orbitz, LLC, a consumer-oriented travel industry portal backed by major airline companies. Mr. Zoghlin has a history of demonstrated leadership in enterprise technology and e-commerce. His experience in enterprise-wide programming, developing and implementing web-based solutions enables Mr. Zoghlin to offer key insights to our Technology Advisory Committee, which provides critical guidance on the Company’s portfolio of information technology assets and systems. Mr. Zoghlin also brings an entrepreneurial orientation to the Board’s deliberations. Mr. Zoghlin also serves as a director of State Farm Insurance Co., an insurance and financial services company.
 










 
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