Industry & Services >> CEO Interviews >> November 6, 2002
DAVID J. VANDER ZANDEN joined School Specialty as President and
Chief Operating Officer in March 1998. He became interim Chief
Executive Officer in March 2002 following the unexpected death of
Dan Spalding, the company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. Vander Zanden became President and Chief Executive Officer of
School Specialty in September 2002. School Specialty is the
largest and fastest-growing supplier of non-textbook educational
products to educators in the United States offering over 80,000
products to more than 118,000 schools across the country. Sales
for the fiscal year ending April 27, 2002, exceeded $767 million.
From 1992 to March 1998, Mr. Vander Zanden served as CEO of
Ariens Company, a manufacturer of outdoor lawn and garden
equipment. Mr. Vander Zanden has been a director of School
Specialty since completion of the spinoff from U.S. Office
Products in June 1998 and serves on the board and executive
committee of the National School Supply and Equipment
Association. He has also served on the boards of several local
organizations including the executive board for the Boy Scouts of
America, Bay-Lakes Council, where he has served as overall
program chairman for both the 'Friends of Scouting' and 'Scouting
for Food' fundraising campaigns on more than one occasion. Profile
has gone on over the past year or so?
Mr. Vander Zanden: School Specialty is an acquisitive company, so
we've had a couple of
