Devashish Saxena, vice president and chief digital officer, Imperial Dade

Devashish Saxena — a former senior ecommerce executive at manufacturer PPG and electrical supplies distributor Rexel — will focus on building a “world-class omnichannel customer experience as the new chief digital officer at Imperial Dade, the Jersey City, New Jersey-based company said today.

Leading that effort will be Devashish Saxena, a veteran B2B ecommerce executive Imperial Dade announced today as its first chief digital officer.

“Devashish is an excellent addition to our organization, contributing his expertise and passion to further develop and execute our digital strategy,” said Charlie D’Elia Jr., chief commercial officer of Imperial Dade. “Digital transformation has a critical role to play in our disciplined growth plans, and his experience and leadership will be invaluable in the years ahead.”

Saxena, a long-time veteran of digital commerce and marketing who also serves on the adjunct faculty at Carnegie Mellon University, most recently served as vice president and chief digital officer at PPG, the Pittsburgh-based coatings manufacturer.

Prior to PPG, Saxena was group vice president, global digital business and ecommerce at Rexel, a France-based omnichannel electrical supplies distributor. In earlier positions, he led digital operations at electronics distributor Premier Farnell (now part of Avnet) and Texas Instruments.

Acquiring distributors and opening logistics hubs

Imperial Dade, founded in 1935, says it has experienced substantial growth organically and through acquisitions since 2007, when it was acquired by Robert Tillis, its chairman, and Jason Tillis, CEO. The company does not break revenue figures.

In recent weeks, it has acquired such companies as janitorial-sanitation products distributor Classic Solutions Inc., Columbus, Ohio; Fresno, California-based food-service packaging distributor Focus Packaging & Supply Co.; and packaging and janitorial supplies distributor Solutions Sherby, Granby, Quebec.

In addition, Imperial Dade opened new logistics hubs this month in Las Vegas and Orlando, Florida.

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