With 43 years of print industry experience, Bob Cronin delivers an enviable combination of strategic leadership and tactical know-how. A managing partner of The Open Approach, Bob collaborates with clients in directing lucrative mergers and acquisitions, value enhancement initiatives, and other wealth-generating endeavors. His efforts have been critical in bringing about positive change and growth in markets that appear to lack opportunity.

Prior to co-founding The Open Approach, Bob served as chairman and CEO of Wallace Computer Services, a global provider of printing and related services. During his eight-year tenure in this role, Bob effectively led the company through a series of strategic initiatives that increased annual revenues from $400 million to $1.5 billion. He is also credited largely with Wallace's transformation from a forms printer to a high-growth total print management supplier.

Over his career, Bob has worked with print providers and users in healthcare, financial services, distribution, retail, telecommunications, manufacturing, and transportation. This diverse background has given him a detailed understanding of the most pivotal market drivers, purchasing trends, and requirements of today's print customer. He also has forged strong ties among the financial and banking community, enabling him to customize financing arrangements around varying objectives.

Bob's vast network of industry contacts has been key in helping The Open Approach clients form meaningful business alliances, secure capital, identify acquisition targets and divestitures, and pull together high-growth enterprise opportunities. The ability to communicate to personnel at all levels positions him as a valued resource on numerous business issues.

Recognized for his value and vision, Bob is a frequent contributor to Printing Impressions, PIA/GATF analyses, and various other publications. He is also a popular speaker at industry events, including PIA/GATF's annual President's Conference, Offset & Beyond, and Label Expo, to be held September 9-11 in Rosemont, IL.

Bob is a chairman of the board of directors of Landauer, Inc. (LDR on NYSE), where he serves on the governance and auditing committee; a board member for three private corporations; and an advisory board member for an investment firm.


Ron Seavey is an accomplished leader in the graphic arts industry. Co-founder and managing partner of The Open Approach, a highly recognized niche graphic arts industry investment banking firm, he has a proven track record in providing the financial and strategic counsel to help clients achieve their objectives. His broad knowledge base is derived from a multifaceted, 40-year career spanning graphic arts, investment banking, real estate, and broadcast media. In his current role, Ron leads initiatives that enrich companies' value. This includes forging a vast network of private equity partners and providing a range of investment advisory/banking services crafted around individual clients' best opportunities. In the last three years, he has directed more than 20 of the most mutually rewarding transactions in print.

Ron has also achieved notable success in the areas of business model creation, corporate transition planning, and strategic alliance development. His tactical know-how and industry insights have consistently driven higher company valuation, profitability, and operational efficiencies. He also offers exceptional skills in devising and timing exit strategies, which often exceed wealth creation goals.

Diversely talented, Ron has been involved in nearly every facet of print operations, including engineering, sales, human resources, marketing, manufacturing, customer service, and strategic pricing. His demonstrated skills at bridging departmental gaps and creating value-enhancing organizational synergies ensure maximum returns.

Prior to founding The Open Approach, Ron served in a high-profile executive position with a major diversified print manufacturer, supporting its financial, new business development, and growth initiatives. He also has spearheaded two very successful start-ups, including a very successful print distributorship extending to virtually all facets of print and related services. He was also the founder of radio station KDGE of Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas. From the station’s inception to its sale to Bonneville Broadcasting Company, Ron and his team built it to the second largest and most popular station in the Dallas/Ft. Worth market.

Well regarded and recognized industrywide, Ron has been published in Graphic Arts Monthly, Printing Impressions, CFO Magazine, Purchasing Magazine, Printing Industries of America Monthly, Print Solutions, In-Plant Graphics, Package Printing, and Print Media. He is a Certified Merger & Acquisition Advisor (CM&AA), a prestigious title awarded by the Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors and Loyola University Chicago. This designation signifies his successful completion of an exclusive program and his demonstrated mastery of M&A knowledge.

Ron has also completed graduate-level work in printing studies. He holds a B.S. degree in business administration from Southern Illinois University, and currently serves on the board of its school of business. He is actively involved in Printing Industries of America and NAPL. Ron was integral in forging liaisons with Printing Industries of America and IPW, gaining The Open Approach status as their exclusive recommended investment banking partner to their constituencies.


Backed by 35 years of print industry experience, Rich Campbell delivers exceptional skill sets in strategic development, sales program design and deployment, and operational improvement. He is also a proven leader in devising print industry segment strategies for the equity/capital markets.

Prior to joining The Open Approach, Rich held a number of executive-level positions at Standard Register. There he played an integral role in a major corporate restructuring, with his efforts yielding significantly reduced operational costs, vast productivity gains and systems improvements, and streamlined business activities. He also headed up the company's sales and marketing operation for the western U.S., growing its healthcare and label businesses by 40% over three years.

During his distinguished career, Rich has effectively cultivated profitable relationships and long-term contracts with print buyers in the high-growth financial services, healthcare/medical, manufacturing, and transportation industries. He is well known in the print business, with demonstrated strengths in strategic planning and value creation.

Rich serves on the board of directors of the Banner Health Foundation, is a director of the Safeway International LPGA tournament, and is a lifetime committee member of the Fiesta Bowl. He holds an M.B.A. from the University of Phoenix and a B.S. in Marketing from Florida State University.


An accomplished print executive, Tom Playford offers demonstrated strengths in strategic direction and planning, corporate development, operations and financial management, acquisitions, new business development, business plan modeling and enterprise account management. Over his 35-year career, he has been integral in creating new strategic business units, repositioning business units to achieve sustainable profits, and championing sales teams to create exponential growth in national and global accounts.

Tom's relentless drive for corporate excellence and solid financial performance has been key in creating new wealth opportunities for clients of The Open Approach.

Prior to joining the firm, Tom was president and CEO of Advance Business Graphics, a $40-million privately held manufacturer of digital direct mail, labels, forms and literature fulfillment. While at the helm of Advance, Tom implemented strategies that positioned the company in the fast-growing digital fulfillment market, reduced breakeven by over 20%, implemented programs to drive continuous improvement and operational excellence, and implemented a new ERP system, the largest conversion in the company's history.

Prior to joining Advance Business Graphics, Tom was president of The International Association for Forms, Documents and Information Management Solutions and Executive Director of the IBFI Foundation.

A major part of Tom's career was with Moore Corporation where he held a variety of senior management positions including director, corporate enterprise accounts, for Moore North America, where he managed a global team of sales executives that grew Moore's largest global account over 300%. He was also director of Strategic Planning and Development, responsible for building the strategic plans and conducting operational assessments working with Moore North America business units. Working closely with the president of Moore North America, Tom was also responsible for acquisitions, joint ventures, partnerships, and all corporate development and value enhancement activities.

Tom is twice past chairman of International Business Forms Industries, Inc., past president of IBFI, and past Executive Director of the IBFI Foundation. He has written numerous articles on print industry trends, corporate repositioning, and successful strategies in maturing markets. He is on the Board of Directors of the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management, Claremont, CA.

Tom holds an M.B.A. and a B.S. in Marketing from Canisius College in Buffalo, NY.


Talmadge Steele provides expertise in M&A, enterprise transitions, corporate development, and strategic alliance formation for the western U.S. territory. A veteran of the industry, Tam's 38 years of experience spans virtually every aspect of print.

Most recently, Tam served as President and CEO of a specialty printing startup, a position for which he was sought out based on his impeccable industry reputation and proven abilities.

Prior to that, Tam founded a company specializing in print sales and management, cultivating it into one of the 50 largest companies of its type in the nation. His in-depth understanding of sales force development, print technology, equipment utilization, purchasing, inventory management, financial planning, and general business practices enabled him to consistently expand the organization while maintaining extraordinary customer and supplier relations.

Tam also held the distinction of top sales executive for a major diversified print manufacturer where he worked for 12 years. Over that time, he developed and implemented numerous integrated programs that became models for increasing sales across all business units.

Tam's leadership and vision have delivered significantly higher profitability and increased opportunity to every organization with which he has worked. He continues to leverage his tactical experience and know-how to help The Open Approach clients maximize their greatest opportunities.