National Wholesale Co. was well-prepared long before its founder’s passing

By Paul Miller

Even Executive Vice President Mike Tate, one of Swann’s closest confidants with just 15 years at the company, is firmly entrenched in Eddie Smith culture. “Philosophi-cally, we’re all committed to continuing his ideals,” Tate says. “To me, there’s so much of a before/after difference, so much as the world has changed and we’ve had to evolve. But we’re devoted to living and conducting the business as he did.”