Tribute
Industry past and present pays tribute to Tom Stemberg Tom Stemberg, who sadly passed away in October, meant a lot to a lot of people. Industry icons past and present share their memories of him
OPI
has asked current and former Staples’ executives, competitors and suppliers to offer their personal recollections and reflections of the legendary Tom Stemberg – how he changed the industry and what he meant to them.
Below is a rich array of often very personal anecdotes, observations and admissions. All of them confirm the indelible mark that Tom has left on the office products industry as a whole and on all those he came into contact with.
Ron Sargent Chairman & CEO, Staples I’ll always remember when I first met with Tom back in 1988. I asked him how many Staples stores there were. He said there were 15, but there would be hundreds someday. I asked him about profits and he told me that they were working on becoming profitable. I asked him about total sales and Tom told me that he hoped for total sales of $40 million in 1988, but he thought Staples could be a billion dollar company someday. I went home and told my wife: “Well, the entrepreneur thinks Staples can get to a billion in sales... I think we can probably get to half a billion.” Almost 28 years later Tom’s company is over $22 billion in sales. Tom was the rare entrepreneur who could come up with a great idea and could also execute it successfully. He was a visionary and a giant of our industry. On a personal level, he cared deeply about others. Tom was a great friend to many of us at Staples, and a great mentor to me. To everything he did, Tom brought tremendous energy, passion and, of course, a sense of humour.
Jay Baitler Former EVP, Staples Contract I worked for Tom Stemberg for well over a decade, but never fully appreciated his genius until I didn’t work for him any longer.
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There are few people in history who through the sheer power of their vision and insight totally reinvent an industry. Henry Ford, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison… and Tom Stemberg. He single-handedly drove the highly fragmented office products industry into the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. His sense of humour was cutting and hysterical. He was once asked at an investors’ conference 25 years ago how he felt being the father of the office products superstore industry when there were 10-15 copycats at that point. His instantaneous answer was: “I should have used a condom!” He had no patience for pretenders or phonies, but infinite wisdom to share with those of us who surrounded and learned from him.
Jamie Fellowes Chairman, Fellowes It was a sad day for our industry when we learned of Tom Stemberg’s passing. More than anyone else, Tom was the ‘game changer’ for our industry. His launch of the first office products superstore in Brighton, Massachusetts, in 1986 changed the success paradigms for every segment of the industry. Tom was a ‘one-off-the-mould’ kind of character. I have never met anyone more competitive and driven. He was brilliant and opinionated about most things. At one of his vendor shows in the early days, I listened to his detailed instruction of what
OPI Magazine | December 2015/January 2016
the world needed in the way of a 5.25-inch diskette tray! Ours was apparently all wrong...! After growing the business to substantial levels, he remained nevertheless a ‘ground level’ executive with a great command of the details of the business. He had a vision of what a great business looked like and he drove it. He remained accessible to vendors and especially warm-hearted to those who had been with him from the beginning. He once flew in to speak to our global leadership team: he was in and out in a couple of hours, leaving the audience spellbound. I have always admired Tom for his selection and partnership, and ultimately his CEO succession to Ron Sargent. Here were two strong individuals with very different make up and temperament. Tom understood what his business needed to be successful for the future and turned to Ron for next-generation leadership.
Mike Feuer Founder, OfficeMax Tom Stemberg was unique, to say the least, but in a good way. He wore many hats and had numerous faces and changed them as frequently as others change socks. He combined street smarts with academic knowledge and produced one of the great retail and direct-to-business powerhouses in the world.