Kramer served the majority of his career with ShopKo Stores headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He started with them in 1971 and watched it grow from $30 million with 11 stores to over $2 billion and over 250 stores. e company went public on the NYSE in 1991. He served his last 10 years as chairman, president, and CEO. He has extensive experience in private and public markets. As a hobby he is a part-owner in a private consulting firm.
Brother Kramer enrolled at Purdue in 1958. “The four years spent at Purdue were arguably the most relevant four years of my life,” he recalls.
“The academic experience was a major challenge, moving from high school in a small Midwestern town to a major university. To acquire academic excellence or maximize my quest and thirst for knowledge, I quickly found it was diffcult, challenging, demanding, and requiring a great deal of self-discipline. However, it was exciting and rewarding as I grew with knowledge. The interaction with professors and graduate students was so positive that I strongly considered going to graduate school and considered a teaching career at the college level and living in the academic environment. In retrospect, I wish I would have extended my studies for an additional year or two to broaden my academic skills.”
Dale spent a decade working at Walgreens, first as a pharmacist, later as a store manager, then as a drug merchandiser.
Kramer joined ShopKo Stores, Inc. in 1971 to lead the company in development of its strategic entry into health care. ShopKo opened its first pharmacy in 1971 and was the first mass merchant to do so. In 1978, ShopKo opened its first full service optical center. In 1982, a full service optical lab opened to service the eye care centers. Health Services represents 15% of its revenues and close to 30% of ShopKo profits.
Kramer took over as president and CEO of ShopKo Stores, Inc. in 1991, and led the strategic repositioning of the company with his “Vision 2000” plan, which successfully positioned the company for favorable financial results in the 1990’s.
A pharmacist by education, he implemented a successful retail health care strategy, which culminated in the creation of ProVantage, Inc., a prescription benefit management company which started in 1993 and grew to $1 billion in revenues before going public in 1999. ProVantage, Inc. was eventually sold to Merck in 2001.
Professional accolades that Dale has earned include receiving the National Discounter in Service to Community Award in 1995, being named Discount Store News Retailer of the Year in 1996, as well as his 1999 induction into the Discount Store News Retail Hall of Fame, alongside the likes of Sam Walton (founder of Wal-Mart) and Richie Cunningham (Founder of K-Mart).
In addition to professional success, Brother Kramer has offered his leadership and experience to the community, serving on the Board of Directors for Concordia University in Mequon, Wisconsin, and the Board of Directors for Junior Achievement Northern Wisconsin. He has served on many other school boards and was active with both the Special Olympics and Golden Apple.
Dale has two daughters and enjoys spending time with them, as well as fishing, golfing, scuba diving, and “trying to play bridge.”
Looking back at his time at Purdue and Chi Chapter, Brother Kramer reflected, “While the academic experience was extremely gratifying, it was the social and interpersonal skills, the importance of teamwork, and learning that in life there is something bigger than you as an individual, and being a part of that was truly important.”
“It was the development and reshaping of my personality, resetting personal values and the importance of establishing personal and team goals. Being part of a team, learning the importance of teamwork, and most of all taking pride in being part of the team was bigger than life. Making friends and brothers for life.”
“There is no question this was the most important aspect of the entire educational process. This came from Kappa Sigma. The Kappa Sigma experience was critical to me in preparing me for many challenges that were coming in my life both professionally and personally. Unquestionably, Kappa Sigma was the most relevant part of the most relevant four years of my life.”
