Richard D. Phillips is the President, Chief Executive Officer, Director of Essendant Inc. Mr. Phillips joined the Company in January 2013 as President of Online and New Channels and was named President, ORS Nasco in November 2015. He was named Group President, Industrial in August 2016, when he added responsibility for the Company’s automotive and e-commerce businesses. Prior to joining Essendant, Mr. Phillips spent 14 years at McKinsey & Company, where he was elected Partner in 2005 and worked with global clients in a number of industries, with a functional emphasis in strategy, commercial performance and operations. He previously spent six years at Baxter Healthcare in various finance and sales roles. Mr. Phillips earned a B.S. degree in Finance from Indiana University and a Masters of Management degree, with distinction, from the Kellogg Business School at Northwestern University.
Essendant, formerly United Stationers, is the largest wholesale distributor of business products in North America, with sales in of nearly $5 billion. In 2013, it ranked 484 (478 in 2012; 467 in 2011) out of the Fortune 500 companies. United Stationers is made up of multiple divisions: United Stationers Supply Company (business products), LagasseSweet (janitorial and sanitation products), Azerty (technology products), ORS Nasco (industrial products), CPO (Tools) and MEDCO (Automotive products). Essendant is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois.
