Management Team
Ennis brings together the experience and expertise of our corporate officers to form a unified vision of both short and long term goals for the future of printed business products.
Chairman, CEO & President
Keith S. Walters
Mr. Walters joined Ennis, Inc. in August 1997 as Vice President of Commercial Printing Operations, successfully anchoring Ennis’ spot in the commercial printing market. In November 1997, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO). His role with the Company then expanded to include the titles of Chairman of the Board and President. Since then, under Mr. Walters’ leadership, the Company has become the largest wholesale printer in the nation with one of the most robust collections of product lines in the industry.
During his more than 20 years as CEO, Mr. Walters has overseen 61 acquisitions. This includes the addition of 40 brands under the Ennis umbrella, resulting in a strategic diversification of the Company beyond traditional business forms. Mr. Walters led a business forms company with $153 million in sales to a diverse, nationwide print solutions company that now grosses more than $400 million annually. Shareholder value, EPS, and the Company’s dividend have all been increased during this time frame.
He also led the company-wide rollout of a new ERP system. This ERP allows Ennis to design systems that accurately determine costs while efficiently and profitably producing their extensive product line. The ERP system is implemented into each acquisition giving management valuable information that hasn’t been available in their legacy systems. These systems have directly affected the speed at which new acquisitions are showing positive returns to the Company.
Mr. Walters’ ability to think outside the box has earned Ennis numerous accolades within and outside of the printing industry. One noteworthy example is Forbes Magazine’s “Top 200 Small Businesses” list, in which Ennis is the only wholesale printer named, plus Ennis reached this list for five consecutive years until sales growth exceeded eligibility for the Small Business Category. Ennis has also firmly established its place at the top with its #1 ranking on Print+Promo’s “Top 50 Suppliers” list, as well as PSDA’s “Top 50 Member Trade Printers” list for more than a decade. Mr. Walters has been named on ASI’s “Counselor Power 50,” which ranks the most influential executives in the ad specialty industry, for several years in a row.
Mr. Walters served the industry on the PSDA Board from November 2002 to October 2007, as well as the IBFI Board before the two merged. During his tenure, he helped transition and strengthen the associations by pushing for enforcement of the existing by-laws and merging the PERF Trust with the PSDA Board. Mr. Walters’ ongoing efforts over the past three decades have helped bring about positive change to organizations that were in need of strategic plans.
Residing in Waxahachie, Texas, Mr. Walters enjoys spending time and traveling with his wife, Margaret, and his two grown daughters. His vision to expand a forms manufacturing plant in the small town of Ennis, Texas into the leading national printer for the wholesale trade continues to prosper through the execution of a results-oriented production, sales and marketing strategy.
Prior to joining Ennis, Mr. Walters was with Atlas/Soundolier, a division of American Trading and Production Company, a manufacturer of electronic sound and warning systems, from 1989 to 1997, as Vice President of Manufacturing. For the 15 years prior, he was with the Automotive Division of United Technologies Corporation, an automotive parts and manufacturing company, primarily in manufacturing and operations.
CFO and Treasurer
Vera Burnett
Ms. Burnett has served as Ennis’ accounting manager since June 1997. She joined the Company in February 1997. Ms. Burnett has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting from the University of Texas at Arlington. She also holds designations as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA).
Vice President Administration
Ronald M. Graham
Mr. Graham joined the Company in January 1998 as Director of Human Resources and subsequently was elected to Vice President Administration and Officer in June 1998. Mr. Graham served as a Director from 1998-1999 by appointment and was elected and served as Director from June 2003 until June 2008. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Graham was with E.V. International, Inc. (formerly Mark IV Industries, Inc.), an electronics manufacturing company, for 17 years as Director Employee Relations and Vice President Administration. Prior to that time, Mr. Graham was with Sheller-Globe Corporation, an automotive manufacturing company, for three years as Director of Labor Relations. Mr. Graham has primarily been responsible for managing the human resource functions and related administration including benefit plans, organizational planning, insurance, labor relations and payroll.
General Counsel and Assistant Secretary
Dan Gus
Mr. Gus is a 1995 graduate of Boise State University, with a B.A. in Political Science. He received his juris doctorate degree from Boston College Law School from which he graduated in 1998. Mr. Gus has been a licensed attorney in Texas since 1998 and is admitted to practice before several federal district and appellate courts. Mr. Gus began his legal career with the Dallas office of what is now the Locke Lord law firm. After Locke Lord, Mr. Gus served as in-house counsel and financial controller for Q Investments, a hedge fund in Fort Worth, Texas. Prior to joining Ennis, Mr. Gus was the president of the Gus & Gilbert Law Firm where he represented a diverse roster of clients in litigation, real estate and transactional matters. Mr. Gus served as outside counsel for Ennis, Inc. for several years prior to being appointed General Counsel and Assistant Secretary in 2021.
Chief Operating Officer
Wade Brewer
Mr. Brewer brings a total of 38 years of print industry experience to the Chief Operating Officer position. He has served as Ennis’ Director of Manufacturing since 2021 and before that, held the title of Business Unit Director for nine years, helping manage all of the company’s 50+ production facilities. Mr. Brewer started his printing career in 1984 at Transkirt as a Senior Product Manager and played an integral part in developing their pressure seal products. Mr. Brewer has also previously held management positions at Ward Kraft, Cenveo, and PrintXcel. During his time with Cenveo, he held the title of Director of Manufacturing and Vice President of Operation – Documents division, where he oversaw 11 different plants, all of which are a part of Ennis today.
Chief Revenue Officer
Terry Pennington
Mr. Pennington served in various senior and executive management roles in the printing sector for 26 years before joining Ennis, Inc. in 2006. Mr. Pennington was initially responsible for 15 Ennis printing facilities until 2010 when he assumed Vice President of Sales. As V.P. of Sales, he was responsible for managing the company’s Regional Sales Managers and supporting the sales efforts of Ennis’ 35,000 independent distributors. Mr. Pennington is a part of the acquisition team that has helped the company diversify the company’s product offerings including envelope manufacturing over 10 years ago. He has played a role in expanding the company’s sales of labels, tags, and commercial print during his tenure by acquisition or new product offerings.