25 Execs To Watch From The 2008 VARBusiness 500

#21

2007 Revenue: $4.195 billion

Lead Executive: Steve Odland

The economic climate has hit Office Depot and its Business Solutions division hard. First quarter 2008 sales in the North American Business Solutions Division were $1.1 billion, down 5 percent compared with the same period last year. Sales to small to midsize customers were down 12 percent. However, sales did increase slightly -- 3 percent -- among large, national account customers and 4 percent in the public sector. Sales were also negatively impacted by continued softness among customers in Florida and California, which accounted for roughly 30 percent of the division's sales in the quarter and nearly two-thirds of the decline. Operating profit was $60 million for the first quarter of 2008 compared to $72 million for the same period of the prior year, but $59 million higher than the fourth quarter of 2007. [READ MORE]