Howard L. Brown graduated from Syracuse University in 1967 and went to work for one of his father’s plastics companies. By 1972, he had purchased Summit Office Supply, a small office supply company, which he successfully sold to Dutch company Buhrmann-Tetterode (BT) in 1987. He remained with the company until 1998, when his contract with BT expired, and in September of that year, Brown purchased ten office supply companies in one day, including Allied Office Products in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ. By 2006, with Allied reaching sales of $375 million, Brown once again made an impressive sale—this time to Office Depot. In 2007 and 2008, Brown, his family, and investors purchased Rentacrate and ShredX. In 2010, with a running start supplied by Rentacrate and ShredX, Brown announced the founding of HiTouch Business Services, Inc. Brown is presently the chairman of HiTouch, a full-service provider of a range of business essentials from office products, supplies, and equipment to total workspace environments. He enjoys golf and giving back to the community with his wife via their local charity work.
