Russ Kathrein
Russ began his Âé¶¹´«Ã½ career at a young age when he and his brother purchased and rebuilt their father’s lumber business. Russ has held leadership positions with 84 Lumber and former Builders First Source companies. Most recently, Russ was the CEO of a large independent Âé¶¹´«Ã½ dealer where he oversaw a dozen locations across Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. While leading these companies, Russ gained experience in sales, management, purchasing, and operations. In addition, he gained a thorough understanding of the Âé¶¹´«Ã½ dealer’s perspective.
Russ joined the Do it Best team in 2020 as a Business Development Manager, bringing more than 30 years of experience in the Âé¶¹´«Ã½ industry. Assuming the role of Vice President of Lumber and Building Materials in 2021, Russ ensures the Âé¶¹´«Ã½ team is positioned to support member growth by partnering with our dealers to provide the buying programs and services needed for our success.
Russ served on the board of the National Lumber and Building Materials Dealers Association (NÂé¶¹´«Ã½DA) and currently writes a leadership column for Âé¶¹´«Ã½.
Latest Articles
Leadership
The dumbest person in the room
Our society encourages people to become leaders. It glamorizes how cool it is to be the person in charge, implying that with that responsibility one will instinctively know what needs to be done.
Leadership
When (doing) less is more
There is something satisfying about taking your time in order to do some things right.
Leadership
Beware of the ladder shakers
As leaders, we have to be on the lookout for the perpetual ladder shakers because they are toxic to your company’s culture.
Leadership
Being a leader for our industry
In April, I attended the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NÂé¶¹´«Ã½DA) Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., for the first time. All I...
Leadership
The most powerful word in your vocabulary
During the building boom, I ran a region of a company that sold tens of millions of dollars to a national builder. One day,...
Leadership
You can’t judge what you don’t measure
My wife thought I was crazy when I told her the reason that I majored in finance in college was because it was the...
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Leadership
Go big or go home
When talking about commitment, there is a well-known comparison of the difference between ham and eggs. With regard to the eggs, the chicken is...
Leadership
Hire slowly, fire quickly
One of the hardest tasks we face as leaders is building our team. Most often, we inherit a team, rather than build from scratch....
Leadership
Technology: Poor planning in = garbage out
With the start of the new year, many of us are trying to figure out how to make our businesses better and more efficient....
Leadership
Your first loss is your best loss
As our business cycle is winding down, I like to look back over the year and review what we accomplished and what we could...
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