Dave Kamis: Centered on Service

“My whole career has been about service. Whether you’re on the printing side or the publishing side of things, your role is customer service,” says Dave Kamis, vice president, production and manufacturing for Detroit-based Crain Communications.

“That’s been my approach,” Kamis notes. “[To consider], ‘how can I meet the needs of my clients?’ And … in my current job, those [clients] are the publishers, the editors, the art directors and our advertising clients. What can I do to support their specific goals and objectives? That’s always been my objective, and looking back, I’d say that it’s been a consistent theme throughout my career—customer service.”

It would seem that it’s also been a consistent advantage in his career, leading Kamis to a top post at Crain—publisher of 32 print titles, plus as many Web sites and other digital products—and to his induction into the Publishing Executive Hall of Fame.
Hooked on Publishing

Fresh out of high school, Kamis would have thought mad anyone who suggested that his career path would lead him to magazines. He had simple goals: to join the military, to get a college degree, and ultimately, to get married and start a family of his own.

Following his time in the Armed Forces, Kamis graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in psychology, and took his first job as a salesman. Two years later, fate led him to the printing industry, straight to RR Donnelley.

Kamis spent 16 years with the printer, holding various positions in sales and customer service.

“Right from the start, the industry fascinated me,” Kamis recalls. “I was immediately hooked, and even when I was back at Donnelley, I remember thinking that the magazine group was the coolest within the company. Later, about five years into my career with Donnelley, I had the chance to become part of a group that sold magazines, and I worked on all sorts of accounts—small entrepreneurial companies and very large consumer publications. Magazines have been in my blood ever since.”