Mark Larson is exiting stage left to stand in the wings at Digi-Key. Entering stage right into the spotlight is Dave Doherty (pictured) the soon to be President and Chief Operating Officer at Digi-Key.
Doherty moves up from his position as Executive Vice President of Operations. He is a 25 years plus industry veteran and has worked for semiconductor suppliers – Toshiba and Exar – and distributor Arrow Electronics. He takes up his new role on July 1, 2015.
He follows a class act. In my goodness knows how many years covering the distribution business I reckon Larson’s impact matches that of Steve Kaufman another industry icon who grew Arrow Electronics into the global force it is today. His impact has been recognised by a slew of awards including induction into the IDEA Hall of Fame in 2013. Last year he was presented with the Elektra European Electronic Industry Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as the electronic component industry’s greatest acknowledgement, the Gail S. Carter Award, which pays tribute to Larson for his accomplishments and his contribution to the electronics industry.
And speaking personally you couldn’t meet a nicer bloke.
Consider – Digi-Key was a small time local distributor reporting revenues of $800,000 when Larson took up his role. Today it operates across the globe with revenues of $1.7bn revenue.
Under Larson’s guidance the company has built a trust with its customers – delivering orders in full and on time – traits recognised by independent market surveys where it regularly outscores the competition.
The theatre of this long-running success is Thief River Falls, a small town in northern Minnesota. Under Larson Digi-Key has stayed faithful to its locale when it might have been tempted to shift operations to a more convenient locale.
Mark Larson will continue to play a supporting role at Digi-Key. He will take up a board level position where he will serve as a company adviser.
“It’s certainly been an amazing ride, commented Larson. “ Over the past 39 years, I’ve enjoyed the daily challenge of adapting and improving our business to better serve our customers. By staying the course and focusing on the fundamentals, we just kept doing what we did best better and better each day. Looking forward, as the industry continues to evolve, Digi-Key is well positioned for the next stage and I’m extremely confident in the future of the company with Dave Doherty at the helm.”
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