Russ Blake Email Address

Chief Executive Officer and CCO and President ~ Retail Grocery and Specialty Foods Distribution Executive

DPI is one of the largest specialty food distributors in the United States.

•Leading and inspiring individuals and organizations to achieve significant results. ♦ I am a high-energy, industry savvy leader developing, influencing and strategically executing business objectives that deliver meaningful shareholder value. I create high functioning teams and inspire them to achieve shared objectives. My vocational dreams were formed at the age of 12 when my father was a bakery manager in a retail grocery store. One day he came home and told us he had been promoted into a divisional management job. This was an exciting time in his career, one that carried a level of significance and impact within his company. That moment sparked a passion in me, a dream to become a “professional business leader.” A few years later I began my career in the grocery business. More than 20 years later, I have the privilege of being the President of a Specialty Foods company, working alongside an amazing team, while impacting the culture and performance of the organization. I love the process of guiding teams through challenging situations to achieve both individual and organizational objectives. I am a “hands-on Executive” with a will and determination to lead fast-growing companies that have aggressive capital structures to support investments for future acquisitions and green fielding activity. ♦♦ Core Strengths (SF 2.0): Achiever, Significance, Relator, Learner, Focus I am a life-long student of business, always interested in learning and unpacking “the why” to understand how I can lead better and reach for more. With keen and tested observational skills; I have the ability to pick up on nuances a lot of people miss. In the broader context, my focus is the horizon and on how things will unfold, striving for the “win” that comes with doing a job well. I am relentlessly goal driven, tackling whatever is in front of me, deciding what needs to be done and mapping out a course for success. ♦ LEADERSHIP THEME: Executing strategy through relational influence