Mark Larson

Mark Larson, Digi-Key Corporation’s president and chief operating officer graduated
from Lincoln High School in 1961. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in

Business Administration from University of Minnesota in 1966. Prior to joining Digi-
Key, he worked in several sales and management positions in addition to running his own

business. Larson assumed management of Digi-Key in 1976 when the business had only
14 employees and annual sales of just $800,000. Under his management, annual sales for
2014 are projected to exceed $1,800,000,000. The company has 3,200 employees
worldwide with 3,000 of this total employed at its headquarters and product distribution
center in Thief River Falls.
Larson successfully developed and implemented strategies that have uniquely positioned
Digi-Key as a leader in the electronic distribution industry. Independent industry surveys
consistently rank Digi-Key #1 for Overall Performance. He successfully lead the
company into the international market and through a series of initiatives has grown
export sales from essentially zero to more than 40% of Digi-Key’s total sales. He has
leveraged technology and, in a very real sense, “Redefined Distribution” for electronic
components.
Digi-Key is a “bricks and mortar” company that derives more than 85 percent of its sales
from the Internet and has the top rated and most visited website in the industry. The
power of his redefinition is clearly substantiated by the performance of Digi-Key relative
to its peers. This performance has resulted in major gains in market share, with Digi-Key
becoming the fourth largest electronic component distributor in North America and the
seventh largest in the world. This is particularly remarkable in the respect that Digi-Key’s
growth is totally organic –i.e., without any acquisitions.
Larson was named to Northwest Minnesota’s IDEA Hall of Fame in 2013. In 2014
Larson was inducted into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame. He serves on the
advisory board of Stone Arch Capital, a regionally focused venture capital firm based in
Minneapolis and previously served on the Rural Economic Development Council of
former Senator Norm Coleman. He has been a member of the client advisory board of
Leonard, Street and Deinard, a Minneapolis based law firm, for a number of years. He is
an honorary member of the University of North Dakota chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma.
In 2003 Larson was selected one of the electronic industry’s “Movers and Shakers”. This
ranked his influence on the industry with the CEO’s of some of the leading multi-billion
dollar electronic manufacturers and distributors. Larson served on the board of directors
and executive committee of the National Electronic Distributors Association (NEDA).
He currently serves on the board of the Electronic Component Industry Association
(ECIA). Larson is also a member of the industry leaders group the Electronic
Distribution Industry Council (EDIC).

Locally, Larson served a number of years on the board of the TRF Jobs, Inc. and was its
president when Land O’ Lakes closed the turkey processing plant and Jobs Inc.
successfully facilitated the purchase and refinancing of the operation by a group of turkey
growers who have continued to successfully operate as Northern Pride. He also served as
president of Rotary and has been involved locally and regionally in leadership roles of
numerous clubs, committees and organizations. He was an active member of a small
group of TRF citizens that successfully planned and funded the restoration of the historic
Carnegie Library to its original grandeur.
Larson served on the original Facilities Planning Committee that initiated the process that
ultimately led to the construction of Challenger Elementary School. He also played an
active role in successfully marketing the need for this project which pulled the students of
three existing but aging elementary schools under one roof.
He is supported by his wife, Jean, and two daughters, Brittany and Jillian.