Meyers' New CEO: Michael Lane

Read the Printing Impressions article here.

For the first time in nearly 70 years, Meyers, a Minneapolis-based national brand marketing firm and commercial and packaging printer, has named a new CEO outside of the Dillon family. Micheal Lane, formerly president of Meyers’ retail marketing solutions division, has been named the new CEO for all of Meyers’ divisions.

“Mike’s experience at a very senior level, along with his discipline and experience building effective sales, marketing and production operations, made him an ideal choice to fill the position of CEO,” says David Dillon, former CEO and co-owner, who with his brother and co-owner Chris Dillon Sr., remain on the company’s board of directors. “We are confident Mike will continue to lead and position Meyers for future success, while paving the way for the next generation of the Dillon family to grow into more senior leadership positions within the organization.”

Prior to joining Meyers, Lane served as CEO of Lofton Label, a label and flexible packaging printer/converter based in Inver Grove Heights, Minn. In addition, he worked for Cargill Inc. for 27 years as a VP of sales and marketing and as senior chair of the Cargill Foods corporate marketing initiative. Lane also served on the board of directors for TLMI for three years and remains active in industry leadership.

Collaboration at Meyers Is Its Key to Success

According to Lane, filling the role of CEO as a non-family member means respecting the legacy that the Dillon family has brought to the business – sharing their values, understanding the company structure and concerns, and having respect for where the Dillon family wants the business to go.

“When there is a move to turn a company over to the next wave of leadership, the question becomes, how do you preserve that brand? We talked to our customers, vendors, owners and employees, and found that at the core of this company is the word collaboration, which traces back to the founder of Meyers, Gerry Dillon.”

Since its founding in 1949 under the guidance of Gerry Dillon and two generations of the Dillon family, Meyers has grown into a 250-employee, 250,000-sq.-ft. operation that reported $62 million in most recent fiscal year sales, placing it at No. #78 on the 2017 Printing Impressions 400 list (click here to access the list). According to Lane, Meyers has a plan in place to grow the company at a 7% to 10% annual growth rate, doubling the size of the company in the next 10 years.

As both a commercial and packaging printer, Meyers provides a wide variety of printing and marketing services, including retail marketing solutions, custom-engineered packaging and displays, wide-format graphics, cards, labels, signage, and distribution and installation logistics. Meyers works with national brands and retailers across the U.S. in a wide variety of vertical markets such as sports apparel, food, technology, medical, health and beauty. Among its clientele are well-known companies such as Aveda, Ulta, Target, Starbucks, Hormel and Verizon.

It’s All About Branding – Inside and Out

Meyers takes the approach that the brand on the outside is only as good as the brand on the inside. “For example, we’ve worked to create a strategic brand platform around the concept of collaboration where everyone in our organization understands what it is we’re about. As a result, customers feel a different relationship when they interact with us.”

Lane adds that part of his role as CEO is to ensure that Dillon family members coming up through the ranks learn the necessary skills to eventually lead a company like Meyers.

“I really applaud the Dillon family on establishing a requirement for family members working at Meyers to start out at entry-level positions,” Lane notes. “This enables them to work through the process of gaining an understanding of the processes, systems and fundamental strategic issues that affect our business and the industry overall.”

Moving forward, Meyers will continue to deliver completely customized solutions for its clients. “Meyers has maintained a leadership position in custom labels and retail marketing and merchandising by listening to what our customers need and by responding with one-of-a-kind solutions,” concludes Lane. “As CEO, I am confident we will continue to build on this legacy for many years to come.”