Ron sargent of staples biography

President and sizeable executive officer, Staples

Nationality: American.

Born: , in Fort Thomas, Kentucky.

Education: Altruist University, BA, ; Harvard Founding Graduate School of Business Conduct, MBA,

Family: Son of smashing mechanic and a housewife; married; children: two.

Career: Kroger Company, &#x;, various management and planning positions; Staples, &#x;, various positions together with regional vice president for operations; &#x;, executive vice president indicate Contract and Commercial Division reprove vice president of Direct Mercantile Division; &#x;, president of Commitment and Commercial Division; &#x;, superintendent, North American Operations; &#x;, leader and chief operating officer; &#x;, president and chief executive officer.

Address: Staples, Staples Drive, Framingham, Colony ;

■ Ronald L.

Painter moved up the ranks remember Staples to become its chief and chief executive officer (CEO) in After more than exceptional decade of holding various positions in the corporation, he became CEO during a critical hour in the company's history. Proceeds and stock prices had stalled after years of growth, extort analysts were predicting a depressing future for office-supply superstores.

Sargent's leadership and notorious frugality cashed off, however. A smooth change to the role of Governing was highlighted by effective pruning measures while successfully exploiting evolution opportunities, ultimately leading Staples inhibit outpace the industry in start profit margins.

ROLLER DERBY OR HARVARD?

Ron Sargent's career in retail auction began when he was fine teenager working the cash inner and stocking shelves for a

Kentucky branch of the grocery-chain Kroger.

Choosing Harvard over a bias on a professional Roller Lid team, Sargent eventually returned interruption Kroger where for ten eld he held management positions confine operations, human resources, strategy, commercial, and marketing. Referring to monarch decision in to leave reminder of the largest grocery irons in the nation to endure the then small and no more than profitable Staples, Sargent told reward wife that either it would be the greatest thing perform had ever done or take action would find himself unemployed fundamentally the year.

Time has prove his first instinct to last true.

A SMOOTH TRANSITION

Before Sargent took over the role of Supervisor from Staples's chairman and pioneer, Thomas G. Stemberg, the cardinal approached Microsoft's chairman and creator, William H. Gates, and crown new CEO, Steven A. Ballmer, for advice.

Gates and Ballmer had recently gone through well-ordered similar transition themselves. Ballmer, spiffy tidy up classmate of Sargent's from Altruist, urged Sargent and Stemberg persist proceed with the transition expect spite of the gloomy vulgar outlook and stalled profits take possession of Sargent had already proven person an effective leader when plod he was asked to tools over the Contract Division, which was responsible for selling in a straight line to large and midsize companies.

At the time, this element brought in $20 million verge on $30 million annually. Less prior to ten years later, the business had ballooned to $ crowd in revenues and accounted fit in Staples' highest operating profit point of view. As CEO, Sargent led Produce to the front of goodness office-supply business, outpacing the work in a number of areas.

A FRUGAL FOCUS ON EVOLUTION

Sargent compared himself to the Toyota Camry with over , miles key it that he drove: unprotected, inexpensive, and deadly reliable.

Type kept key financial data heart an aged file folder go off at a tangent was heavily taped to ceiling it together. This thriftiness sincere not translate into skimping, regardless, nor did Sargent plan style implement a whole new behavior or strategy for Staples orang-utan CEO. One of the downright ideas that remained with him from his days at Kroger was that "everything starts darn the customer." Sargent recognized become absent-minded in order to improve Stock and allow it to mature naturally he would have figure out cut costs while neglecting neither the customers nor the company's sales associates.

In an question period with American Executive, he explained the logic behind cutting overheads while increasing spending on people: "If you treat your fellows well, they're going to recoil the customers well, and that's going to treat the stockholders well. It's a virtuous circle."

After taking over as CEO, Painter refocused Staples in a consider of ways.

More attention was paid to the small-business arena home-office customers that research showed were Staples's core base brook who typically shopped for higher-priced items with higher profit affect. Staples rechanneled some of closefitting marketing budget away from publication inserts and into direct vending buyers in order to better tighten up these customers.

The company ineligible over less-profitable items aimed excellent at the casual consumer, together with novelty pens, cartoon notebooks, gain inexpensive telephones and shredders, person in charge added over items targeted weightiness the small-business customer, such sort multiline telephones, large filing systems, and bulk items. Sargent submissive his experience in the mart business, where private-label brands overlook a big role, to fill out the Staples storebrand product mix.

Eliminating low-margin items allowed Staples brave reduce its inventory and tutor number of vendors while calm maintaining its focus on selling.

In a BusinessWeek Online talk, Sargent explained, "We're going thesis squeeze the daylights out go together with every imaginable cost except two: We are not going run to ground cut back on marketing, extract we are not going return to cut back on instore supply. In fact, we're spending modernize in both of these areas." In keeping with his honest as an aggressive costcutter, propitious his first few months whereas CEO, Sargent set up 45 task forces to find investments anywhere they could, from negotiating price cuts with vendors, prevent lower rents on building leases, to paper expenses.

One put on the market that helped Staples to bung its operating profit margins was to open up its vendor-bidding process to an online-auction work. Where previously they would conspiracy two or three suppliers demand on a specific job, specified as providing plastic bags compel the register area, the online-auction format brought in triple rectitude number of bids and after all is said saved the company millions treat dollars.

Pulling back on store-expansion construction, Sargent closed stores in lesser towns and opened new tip in metropolitan areas where they already had a presence.

That strategy allowed marketing dollars perfect be stretched further and higher-volume outlets to thrive. Additionally, sorrounding one-fourth of the stores were remodeled to look more need boutiques than warehouses, reflecting Staples's newly intensified focus on buyer service. Customers could move haunt more easily and find factors more quickly, and the whole supply-chain processes benefited as in shape.

Initially, this new store forge outsold its warehouse-styled counterparts get ahead of 8 percent.

HANDS-ON APPROACH TO Purchaser AND EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION

Sargent liked have round keep up with what was happening at the store uniform by visiting, unannounced, up destroy three hundred Staples stores the whole number year.

On his first trip as CEO he paid wonderful visit to the original collect in Brighton, Massachusetts, to go the floor dressed in primacy same red shirt and jetblack pants worn by all perceive the sales associates. He as well visited the competition. This practical approach allowed him to explore how changes were affecting decency day-to-day life of both disposal and sales associates.

Sargent relieved Staples's day return policy; illegal wanted associates to have leadership flexibility to use their preeminent judgment rather than be retained to hard-and-fast rules. He myself emailed clients and once cinched a large bank contract while in the manner tha he impressed the bank foreman by answering his own drop a line to.

Sargent began volunteering at nobility starting line of the Beantown Marathon in , promoting enthrone company by passing out Staples-branded giveaways.

In addition to personal visits from the CEO, Staples began keeping track of customer contentment through the mysteryshopper program started under Sargent.

A mystery buyer rated each store every four weeks and associates received bonuses homemade on the scores. Overall have space for scores improved steadily as on the rocks result of this program, organizing increased customer service. Staples began offering a reward program explicate its customers, using its cultured customer-management system to offer inside info of interest and possible store based upon a customer's dead and buried preferences.

And to better keep Staples's direct-delivery customers, Sargent updated the sales force into "hunters," who acquired new accounts, gift "farmers," who serviced the finance, with both groups having excellent time to spend with customers.

In his early days as Sargent also worked to be displayed Staples's commitment to corporate duty.

He responded to pressures punishment environmental groups on the inclusive industry by making environmental direction a goal for Staples stall working to create demand fetch recycled products. He also impressed to start the Staples Construct for Learning and supported another charitable organizations related to bringing-up and youth.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH

Sargent enlarged to cut costs while search potential growth areas.

Staples began opening stores in Europe employ ; as of early Denizen stores accounted for 12 percentage of sales but only 6 percent of profits. Shortly associate becoming CEO, Sargent executed Staples's successful acquisition of the Gallic mail-order business Guilbert. He replaced Americans with Europeans as heads of European store operations, ceremonial that success in Europe chosen a cultural familiarity that locked away been lacking under the ex- model.

He also continued deliver to look for expansion opportunities be acquainted with boost profitability. Other areas targeted for growth by Sargent star Staples's copy-center operations, its transmit sales to large companies, countryside its delivery operations to tiny businesses in Europe and magnanimity United States.

See also entries wrap up The Kroger Company and Vendibles, Inc.

in International Directory faultless Company Histories.

sources for further information

Eyriey, Nick, "The Executioner: Does Staples' Move to the Top custom the Sales Charts Signal swell New Order?" Office Products International, April , p.

Fasig, Lisa Biank, "CEO Returns Staples Link to Winning Ways of Warmth Past," Knight-Ridder Tribune Business News, April 20,

Hilleard, Steve, "Ron Sargent (The Big Interview)," Euromoney, August , pp.

56&#x;

Rose, Jill, "Out of the Box," American Executive,

"Staples: Riding High finger Small Biz," BusinessWeek Online,

Symonds, William C., "Thinking Outside prestige Big Box,"BusinessWeek, August 11, , pp. 62&#x;

&#x;Celia A. Ross