Blake Nordstrom, co-president of the iconic retailer that bears his family’s name, died yesterday at age 58, just a month after he told employees that he had been diagnosed with a treatable form of lymphoma and would be cutting back his schedule to undergo treatment.
"It is with deep sadness that we announce the unexpected passing of Blake Nordstrom," the company said in a statement. "Blake died in Seattle early this morning, January 2, 2019, at the age of 58. Executive leadership of Nordstrom will continue under company co-presidents Pete and Erik Nordstrom. We appreciate your respect for the privacy of the family during this difficult time.”
Blake Nordstrom had been operating as co-president with his brothers Erik and Pete since May 2015. The company was founded by their great-grandfather John W. Nordstrom; while publicly traded, it remains controlled by the family.
"It is with deep sadness that we announce the unexpected passing of Blake Nordstrom," the company said in a statement. "Blake died in Seattle early this morning, January 2, 2019, at the age of 58. Executive leadership of Nordstrom will continue under company co-presidents Pete and Erik Nordstrom. We appreciate your respect for the privacy of the family during this difficult time.”
Blake Nordstrom had been operating as co-president with his brothers Erik and Pete since May 2015. The company was founded by their great-grandfather John W. Nordstrom; while publicly traded, it remains controlled by the family.
- KC's View:
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The tributes to Blake Nordstrom that were posted and published yesterday all pointed to him as being a community leader and part of the soul of Seattle; there’s no question that the company and city has lost a remarkable leader.
One of the things highlighted in the various stories was the degree to which Blake Nordstrom was involved in the company’s successful embrace of an omnichannel strategy, focusing on creating a seamless and frictionless ecosystem that was largely agnostic about whether customers shopped in stores or online, and investing in technologies that drove the company into the future rather than spending time looking in the rear-view mirror.
