DavidBoone_Staples

Essendant Inc., a multibillion-dollar distributor of business and industrial supplies, has a new interim CEO.

The company named David Boone as interim CEO to replace Harry Dochelli, who is retiring. As he steps into the new role, ecommerce will be a major focus.

Who is Essendant’s interim CEO?

Boone joins Essendant from Sycamore Partners. There, he has been working as an operating partner since March, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Before Sycamore, Boone was the CEO of Staples Canada and also has worked as executive vice president for partnerships and shared services at TD Bank USA and as senior vice president national wholesale club division for Loblaw Cos., a Canadian retailer encompassing corporate and franchise supermarkets operating under 22 regional and market-segment banners, as well as pharmacies, banking and apparel.

Ecommerce focus at Essendant

As a company, Essendant places a growing emphasis on ecommerce. “As part of our company strategy we are going to be much more focused on our role in ecommerce,” says a company spokesperson.

Essendant defines its online sales as sales processed through its thousands of online wholesalers and resellers — many of which use the company’s technology and services to operate their own ecommerce sites to sell to resellers. In addition, it provides fulfillment services to end customers. To do so, the company relies on its own network of distribution centers.

In recent years, Essendant has been expanding its product line beyond its traditional office and janitorial supplies — and looking to expand ecommerce.

“While not a household name, Essendant (and subsidiaries) counts almost all major retailers, the country’s largest B2B businesses, ecommerce platforms and many major brands as partners,” Boone wrote in a LinkedIn post. “I’m looking forward to advancing our mission of ‘The Better Way to Commerce’ making omnichannel selling easy through our 3PL, wholesale and ecommerce platforms for our customers.”

Submit a nomination

Nominate a game-changer for the Global B2B eCommerce Industry Awards from Digital Commerce 360 and the B2B Ecommerce Association.

Sign up

Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 B2B News, published 4x/week. It covers technology and business trends in the growing B2B ecommerce industry. Contact Mark Brohan, senior vice president of B2B and Market Research, at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @markbrohan. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube