2007 Printing Industry Hall of Fame — Master of the Deal - Chris Colville

“As Joe used to say, he trained the guys who trained me,” Colville says. “So he knew I received good training.”

The Jarvis and Frederic deals—Davis had letters of intent signed just as Colville came aboard—began the steady procession of acquisitions. While repetition did not make the process easier per se, Colville did develop a sense for identifying the critical points and the minute details. It was important to know when to let the lawyers have their say and when he needed to step in to make sure a deal didn’t fall apart.