Karthik Chidambaram is the Founder & CEO of DCKAP. He bootstrapped the company in 2005 from his small apartment in Chicago, Illinois. DCKAP was started with 2 people, 2 computers and 2 desks and is now a global team with headquarters in the Greater Austin area (Round Rock, TX) and operations in Chennai, India.
What does it take to lead a 100-year-old family business — and set it up for the next 100? Brian Schlise, President of APR Supply, joins Karthik Chidambaram on the podcast to share how a fourth-generation wholesale distribution company is embracing...
Adam Derry, President of Field Fastener, grew up watching his father and uncle build a 12-person fastener company into a 400-person operation growing at 18% year over year. He wasn’t sure he’d join. He did anyway — and in 2022, he...
Why would a successful CEO choose an ESOP over private equity? In this episode of Driven by DCKAP, JD Ewing — CEO of COE Distributing — shares why he chose an employee ownership model over a private equity exit, and what that decision means for the...
What does it really mean to build a company that matters? In this special behind-the-scenes episode, DCKAP Founder and CEO Karthik Chidambaram steps away from the conference floor to share what actually drives him — and the heart behind everything...
Most family-owned distributors don’t make it to the fourth generation. Standard Electric Supply has, and Larry Stern and Matt Stern share exactly how the family business has thrived. From untangling a complicated 17-owner inheritance structure...
Most distributors aren’t failing at AI because of the technology — they’re failing because of the people. Rick Pozniak, Founder & CEO of Move78 Solutions, spent over 30 years inside distribution at Rexel, Westburne, and Gescan...
Before most distributors had even heard the word e-commerce, Paul Gatens was already building it. Now, as Vice President of Global Sales at ECI Software Solutions — Paul brings a rare, ground-level perspective on why electrical, plumbing, and HVAC...
What does the future of electrical distribution look like — and how can distributors of every size prepare? In this episode, Karthik Chidambaram sits down with Paul Kennedy, President & CEO of DSG and current Board Chair of NAED. They dig into...
How does a 103-year-old packaging distributor double its revenue to $1 billion in just four years? In this episode of Driven by DCKAP, Rob Onorato, CEO of Shorr Packaging, reveals the strategic decisions and leadership philosophy that transformed...
Discover how Grainger, one of the world’s largest industrial distributors, built competitive advantage with data infrastructure. In this episode of Driven by DCKAP, Brian Walker, Chief Product Officer, reveals how Grainger transformed from 50%...
As 2025 comes to a close, join our host Karthik Chidambaram for a special year-end reflection on the Driven by DCKAP podcast. In this episode, Karthik looks back at the incredible conversations we’ve had this year—the insights shared by our...
What’s the difference between a public servant and a politician? Former Border States CEO and North Dakota Lieutenant Governor Tammy Miller doesn’t hold back in this raw conversation about leadership, loss, and what really matters. From...
From working on a dairy farm at age 10 to leading a major distribution company, Paul Kennedy’s path to the C-suite is anything but typical. In this episode of the Driven by DCKAP podcast, Paul shares how he went from Navy intelligence analyst...
Discover how AI-powered sales automation is transforming the distribution industry! In this episode, Justin Johnson, founder of Motivate, shares how distributors can free up 50%+ of their inside sales teams’ time through intelligent order and...
Is AI just another buzzword in the ERP world, or is there real value for manufacturers and distributors? In this episode, Brad Feakes, President and Partner at Estes Group, shares 20 years of hard-earned insights about what AI really means for ERP...