IFB Beat – Important Update for February 6, 2023

Headshot of Dan Kelly

From Dan Kelly, IFB Solutions President and CEO

IFB Solutions is undergoing a transformation, even as we hold tight to our mission of creating jobs for people who are blind. We’re facing though economic situations in our country, and our business is complex. To be successful, we need a simpler organizational structure.

My new executive team will consist of the following:

  • Jason Moser – Chief Financial Officer – all aspects of finance, accounting, and human resources report to him
  • Ken Edwards – Chief Supply Chain Officer – all aspects of supply chain, contracts, customer service, Clemmons, NC Distribution Center, BSC retail and sales operations, IFB’s Workforce Services division, Community Low Vision Centers and S.E.E. Programs report to him
  • Vasudha Rangapathy – Vice President of Information Technology and Ecommerce – all aspects of IT including infrastructure, software and security, as well as ecommerce through bscsource.com and our Pinnacle Mercantile operations report to her
  • Randy Buckner – Vice President of Manufacturing Operations – all manufacturing operations at Winston-Salem, Asheville, Little Rock and Puerto Rico as well as safety, engineering, quality and training report to him
  • Seth Anderson – Senior Director of Marketing and Development – all aspects of marketing, communications, philanthropy, commodity product sales and channel management and Impulse Merchandising Program and Military Resale merchandising.

If you have a chance to see or interact with these folks in the coming months, please extend congratulations and encouragement. If you have questions regarding the oversight of a particular function or business unit, please share those with your supervisor and we’ll work to get you answers.

With this team, and with all of your efforts, IFB Solutions will grow in ways that create more career options for people who are blind. These include:

  • Upwardly mobile careers through jobs across our Workforce Services division, BSC retail and e-commerce operations, as well as in IFB company administration
  • Competitive and integrated, highly technical jobs in our complex textile operations.
  • Jobs for those who are adjusting to blindness, seeking part-time work, and/or have multiple disabilities

I’m challenging our leaders to address the following questions:

  • Where can IFB Solutions create the greatest number of jobs, while achieving the most efficiency in production, to meet our customers’ pricing, quality and delivery expectations?
  • How should we best leverage our buildings and other assets to invest in mission and business growth?
  • Are there partnerships and relationships we can foster to ensure long-term employment across our geographic reach?
  • What products or services should we choose to stop providing, or say no to opportunities to take on, because they don’t meet our employment need or financial performance metrics?

I look forward to sharing additional updates as we work on answers to these questions. As you have thoughts and ideas, please don’t hold back – share them with your supervisor, ask for a meeting with a member of my team, or send me an email at dkelly@ifbsolutions.org.

Today’s changes are the building blocks that ensure we hold our position as America’s leader in building life-changing opportunities for people who are blind.

Sincerely,

Dan Kelly

IFB Solutions President and CEO