2023 Hall of Fame Inductee Robert Anderson Is Focused on the Future

Robert Anderson

Some people are born with printing ink running through their veins, while others find their way into the printing industry by sheer chance — and proceed to re-think everything it means to be a printer. The latter is the path Robert “Bob” Anderson has taken.

At 63, the CEO of Phoenix, Arizona-based Prisma hasn’t walked the well-worn path of others, but rather has actively blazed his own trail. Whether it was waiting to start college for a few years after high school, getting his start in the HVAC business; switching his major from mechanical engineering to business/journalism. He left a successful sales career at Cenveo to buy and revive a failing-at-the-time Prisma.

Anderson has never marched to the proverbial beat of anyone’s drums but his own.

In the case of Prisma, the 2023 Printing Impressions Printing Industry Hall of Fame inductee didn’t follow the usual business acquisition steps either. He was friends with the owners, who had sold the company to three employees in 1997. After those new owners began to lose money, the original owners stepped back in long enough to rebuild the company to a point where they could confidently step aside again.

“When we took over, Prisma was roughly $1 million in revenue, and by the end of the first year Prisma did $5 million in revenue,” Anderson says. “Our budget for 2023 is $93 million in revenue between our Phoenix and Nashville campuses.”

Not Just a Printer

Anderson is adamant that while print is the legacy of the graphic arts industry, it is so much more. “I prefer to talk about where we’re going with our industry — not just where we are,” he says, which is a perfect summary to his philosophy of business. He isn’t afraid to explore new technologies or services, and describes himself as a marketing logistics provider, rather than a printer. Offset and digital printing is a result of the marketing solutions Prisma provides its clients.

One great example is when Anderson first joined Prisma, online ordering wasn’t something anyone was thinking about, much less offering, especially in the printing industry. He saw an opportunity, and now, Prisma’s dokshop online ordering platform has operated for 23 years. “We currently ship 10,000 POD orders and 10,000 pick-and-pack orders per month.”

He’s also proud of the evolution of Prisma’s direct mail services, supported by a 109,000-sq.-ft. new location in Nashville, Tennessee, combined with the headquarters location in Phoenix. This footprint allows Prisma to reach 95% of the U.S. population in two days or less via USPS, and 90% for small ground package shipping for dokshop in two days or less.

In July of last year, Anderson signed a deal with private equity firm CenterGate Capital to partner with Prisma to grow even faster. In particular, he is targeting further M&A opportunities, as well as capital investments, to ensure Prisma’s technology capabilities continue to stay ahead of the curve.

“We’re currently looking at more locations now,” he reveals. “Possibly one in the Southeast, the Midwest, and Texas. We’re looking for increased speed to market for our clients across the United States. CenterGate is a great partner, and sees the evolution of our industry.”

The Prisma leadership team (back row, from left): Kerry LaBatt, VP of operations; Michael Juskiewicz, CFO; James Hill, COO; Bob Anderson, CEO; (front row) Karen Rausch, VP of HR; Julie Volz, VP of sales; and Marissa Bernard, VP of technology.

Beyond the Job

Anyone who knows Anderson knows that he goes above and beyond the typical call of duty.

“I have known Bob for 15 years,” Don Mader, CEO of Southeastern Printing, says. “When I think of Bob and the impact he has had on Prisma, as well as the printing industry itself, the phrase ‘Act from the Future’ comes to mind. From the moment I met Bob, he [has been] constantly thinking about how to stay ahead of where his clients are going. That forward thinking has propelled Prisma to become an industry leader in innovation. He is a client-focused, solutions-oriented leader.”

According to Anderson though, he doesn’t see his greatest strength as being a printer, a tech guy, or even as a sales guy. Rather, he notes, “my No. 1 strength is I’m a great people picker. Nothing happens without people, and finding team members who can see our vision and see the changes we want to make helps us grow as a company.”

Anderson points out he has tried to go outside of the printing industry to find people with fresh ideas and enthusiasm to bring something new to the table. “I would encourage print providers to look at other industries for employees,” he says. “Other types of manufacturers, online companies, third-party logistics providers (3PL) — they all work differently. Print has a rich history, but there is a lot of inbreeding in our industry — things happen, and we don’t evolve in response. There is not enough new technology innovation, so we need to learn from other industries.”

In fact, Anderson’s ability to identify new technology and innovation is a strength that his peers acknowledge.

“I have known Bob for many years and have witnessed his many accomplishments,” Chris Kurtzman, president and CEO of CJK Group, says. “He has a great talent in recognizing new technology and adapting to it. Not only has he built a great company, but he has also surrounded himself with amazing people. I consider him to be a great friend.”

However, Anderson is more than just the CEO of a hugely successful marketing logistics company, which rose from the ashes of near bankruptcy. He is also a family man, with his wife Robyn, and two sons Tyler and Andrew, one of whom works at Prisma on the sales team.

“Our sons are looking to set their own paths in business, and I am proud of what they are both doing,” remarked Anderson. “I’ve seen some great companies pass from one generation to the next, but more often than not, you see more failures than successes. And that’s not just within our industry.”

Anderson has started stepping back, though. His leadership style encourages his team to innovate and bring new ideas to the table. “I’ve looked at a lot of companies in the last five years for acquisitions, and I’ve seen a lot of people who should have stepped aside and let others take the reins,” he says

“I’m good at letting the team upset my vision — they have their own vision, so I’ve started stepping back the last few months. I know we’re on the right track; I have fabulous leadership from my COO James Hill and the rest of my executive team. They make it easy to lead from behind.”

Outside of work, Anderson is a fly fisherman and a private pilot, although he notes he is in between planes right now. But that hobby led him to another thing he’s passionate about: saving birds of prey.

A retired friend of Anderson’s volunteers for an organization called Liberty Wildlife in Phoenix. He called Anderson one day to note that there was a condor in Northern Arizona, which needed to be picked up and brought back to Phoenix to be rehabilitated — it needed lead removed from its stomach. Anderson agreed and soon became passionate about the cause. He laughs, “It was not a pretty smell. Condors eat anything that is dead.”

The organization works with pilots like him to bring the birds in, where they have an intense program to ensure the birds don’t imprint on any humans but are healed and can be released back into the wild. And just recently, he notes, they have gotten approval to start catching them and giving them the vaccine for the bird flu, which is decimating the population. “They were back up to close to 100 pairs of the California Condor, and now they’re starting to die from the bird flu. We don’t want to see that wipe out the flock.”

Robert Anderson works with an organization that helps
rehabilitate and release sick or injured condors. Once they
are ready, the birds are then released back into the wild.

No matter what he does, or where life takes him, Anderson is never afraid to take risks, try new things, or move outside of his comfort zone. That philosophy of life and business is one that he hopes to see others in our industry embrace, to create a vibrant future he knows is possible.

“I really want to fight for our industry, and for the direction we’re heading in the future,” he says. “We need to self-examine our companies and our people. If you say you’re a printer, you’re getting categorized as a legacy business. So how do we recategorize ourselves into something that’s more attuned to what we’re actually doing?

“As an industry, we provide complex solutions for our clients — online digital storefronts, data compliance, high security mailings, distribution, vendor managed inventory, franchise marketing management, packaging engineering, 3PL warehousing, and of course print,” Anderson notes. “Most of us are fully integrated marketing solutions providers, so how do we reshape and rename the industry to communicate what it is we really do?”