John F. Dix, founder and president of Business Development Index Limited, Inc., is an accomplished, results oriented executive with over forty years of leadership positions in industry. Experience on company boards, in senior management, operations, marketing and sales provide him with in-depth knowledge and understanding of the strategic keys to maximizing results and achieving aggressive levels of return.

 

Mr. Dix holds an elite level Advanced Professional Director Certification from the Corporate Directors Group, a national education and public company director credentialing organization.

 

As president of BDI-LTD Inc. Mr. Dix provides board of director participation for a wide variety of both public and privately held product and service based companies in the U.S. and Canada. His role in these long term relationships is best described as facilitating strategic thinking and operational excellence that leverages core strengths and challenges paradigms that prevent dramatic business growth. Mr. Dix brings a long history and significant experience in the role of advisor and in providing appropriate governance.

 

John has served as a member of the board of directors of a wide variety of private and public North American companies including: The E.D. Smith Company, Canada’s leading producer of jams, jellies and condiments (retired); Acordia McElroy-Minister, Ohio’s largest insurance broker company (retired); Lord Sullivan and Yoder, Central Ohio’s leading Advertising and Public Relations firm (retired); Fiesta Salons Inc., a large chain of Beauty Salons in five Midwestern states (retired); Excel Management Systems Inc., a major technology solutions provider to business and government; Shared Resources Inc., outsourced computer services (retired); Trillium Health Care Products Inc., a Canadian manufacturer of over-the-counter and pharmaceuticals and skin care products for the North American market (retired); Cosuvina, Inc., a Saratoga, California based manufacturer of canned milk products serving North America; New Product Innovations, Inc., a Columbus, Ohio, based company providing new product engineering, innovation and commercialization for leading manufacturers of consumer and industrial products (retired); Dare Foods Inc., a North American manufacturer of crackers, cookies, and candies; Kahiki Foods, Inc., North American marketer and manufacturer of frozen entrees and appetizers for the retail and food service markets (retired); Quick Solutions, a Columbus, Ohio, information technology solutions provider (Emeritus); Kenra, LLC an Indianapolis, Indiana based manufacturer of hair care products for the professional salon market (retired); Wilson Bohannon, Inc., a Marion, Ohio manufacturer of padlocks serving the market for commercial security locks (retired); Pronto-Med Inc., a Dublin, Ohio-based provider of medical practice operating software (retired), and One Call Now, a Troy, Ohio industry leading company, in automated phone messaging.

 

Through his various board and consulting engagements, Mr. Dix brings his clients the opportunity to learn from a variety of industries and business situations. He is often able to help in the process of bringing a new point-of-view or transferring experience between a diverse group of companies and industries.

 

Prior to founding BDI-LTD, Inc., he served as Group Vice President leading the most profitable division in Borden, North America. As the senior manager, he was responsible for all functions of a $750 million profit center contributing in excess of $100 million in both profit and cash flow.

 

In his distinguished career, John rapidly progressed in both scope and level of responsibility. This included fourteen years at Armour Dial where his experience was primarily in marketing; and seventeen years at Borden, Inc. serving in senior management positions. He has a proven track record of managing large, diverse businesses and organizations while consistently improving results.

 

Among his company peers, as well as among key customers and suppliers, John was viewed a manager with outstanding experience and skills in the area of managing large, complex businesses. His long term focus on maintaining a clear, consumer defined strategy while adjusting tactics to meet market and competitive conditions is among John’s unique strengths.

 

John has broad industry experience and knowledge across a variety of products including packaged foods, consumer adhesives, aerosol paints, household cleaning products, health and beauty, and bar soap. He has extensive knowledge and relationships across multiple retailer segments including grocery, mass merchandiser, club stores, and hardware and home center stores. In addition, he has experience in products for the food service industry. During his career at Borden and at Armour Dial John was responsible for both U.S. and Canadian operations.

 

As senior manager, John was responsible for fourteen U.S. and Canadian manufacturing facilities including both union and non-union operations. Plants under his leadership consistently exceeded goals and were recognized as company standards for excellence in safety, quality, productivity and continuous improvement.

 

John served as the senior manager in defining the portfolio of businesses including both acquisitions and divestitures. In this role, he successfully planned, negotiated and executed the acquisition of Catelli Pasta, Canada’s leading brand, and a joint venture arrangement between Borden and Toagosei Chemical Company, a Tokyo, Japan based adhesive company. He led the successful divestiture of a $75 million regional food business, achieving the targeted price and cash impact.

 

Under his leadership, the concepts of Category Management and Efficient Consumer Response were introduced to the company’s sales and marketing functions. John also served as Chairman of the company’s Broker Advisory Council, assuring that the transition to new policies, procedures, and systems were industry leading, workable alternatives at the field level.

 

Outside of his business responsibilities, John’s interest and activities are broad and have impact in the community.

 

For twenty years he served in the Marketing Department of The Fisher College of Business, MBA Program at The Ohio State University, teaching a course on strategic marketing and product planning that he developed. Four times he was selected as the outstanding Elective Professor in the Graduate School of Business. In 1995, John was recognized by faculty and alumni and granted the coveted Pace Setter Graduate Teaching Award for exceptional achievement in the classroom and for promoting and encouraging student intellectual and social growth. Upon retirement from his teaching position, John received an appointment as Executive-In- Residence in the MBA Program. In this position, he conducts a series of seminars on product and strategic planning. He also serves on the Advisory Board for the Bohler School of Business at John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio.

 

John serves two university based best practices business organizations. He is Co-Director of The Center for Operational Excellence, and is on the Advisory Council for The Center for International Business Education and Research.

 

John plays a leading community role through his active participation as a member of the Emeritus Board of Trustees of Recreation Unlimited, serving the physically and mentally handicapped of Central Ohio. He is also an emeritus member and past president of the Board of Governors of The Hannah Neil Center for Children, serving the needs of abused children. John is also a member of the board of The World of Children, a global reaching program to recognize those who have devoted their lives to the betterment of children around the world. Most recently John was appointed to the Operating Board of The Cradle Society, an Evanston, Illinois adoption agency.

 

John graduated from John Carroll University in 1963 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. While at John Carroll, he served a president of Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity, and was recognized in Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities. In the 1995 celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the John Carroll University School of Business, John was chosen as one of the Fifty Finest of the First Fifty Years. John was recognized for his extensive achievements in business and contributions to education, civic and charitable fields.  In 2004, John was again recognized by John Carroll University as a Lifetime Member of “Making a Difference” in recognition of a lifetime of making significant impact in his business, academic, and non-profit activities. 

 

In 1975, he attended the sixteen-week Harvard School of Business, Program for Management Development (PMD-30).

 

John is married to Polly McNicholas Dix, and has two grown children. His wife, Polly, retired as a full time faculty member in the School of Journalism at The Ohio State University.

Career Biography

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