Learning From Leaders
Going Small Pays Off Big Dave Elkin addresses the crowd while accepting DOW’s Fourth Distributor of the Year Award at KnowledgeFest Dallas 2019.
Landing the right job at a family-owned company turned into a 25-year stint at DOW Technologies where Dave Elkin continues living the dream. WORDS BY JAMIE SORCHER
Part of a unique brotherhood of workers who have built their career with one company, Dave Elkin, senior vice president of sales and product management, found his perfect match with DOW Electronics—now DOW Technologies—right out of college. “I was bitten by the car audio bug when I was 17 or 18 years old, like a lot of young men,” he explained. After a stint at McGraw Cellular, formerly Cellular One, where he served as a regional trainer, Elkin made a strategic move. “It’s 1995,
40 Mobile Electronics March/April 2021
I’m 25 years old, and an opportunity came about at this little place called DOW Electronics. I decided to give it a whirl.” As it turned out, the choice was career-making. Elkin got into the company and had a chance to do a little bit of everything. “The fortunate thing about working for a small family-owned business is you’re asked for input in a lot of areas,” he said. “You wear a lot of hats. You see things from many different angles. You understand every aspect of what it takes to run a business.” He
added that the experience provided a 360-degree view—and it was probably the best business education he could have possibly received. Learning to Adapt and Grow Just as Elkin’s career has evolved over the years, so has DOW, which has been in business since 1959 and owned by the Yodis family since the early 70s. “I have technically worked for the grandfather, the father and now the son,” Elkin said. “And on March first, the company
