Jesse Itzler, entrepreneur and founder of Marquis Jet.

Colin O'Brady is a professional endurance athlete and two-time world record holder. He grew up exploring the mountains of the Pacific Northwest and cultivated a passion for adventure in the outdoors. His success swimming in Oregon led him to Yale University. After years as a professional triathlete, he returned to his first love - the mountains. In 2016 Colin conquered the speed records for the Explorers Grand Slam and Seven Summits, a global mountaineering challenge to climb the tallest mountain on every continent including Mt. Everest and ski to the North and South Poles.

Colin uses his athletic pursuits to fuel his charitable work. His non-profit, Beyond 7/2, works to inspire others to lead active, healthy lives and pursue their biggest dreams.

As one of America's most experienced endurance athletes and a savvy entrepreneur, O'Brady embodies what it means to overcome obstacles, test limits, dream big, set goals, and never give up.

Featured on CBS Sunday Morning, The Washington Post, Huffington Post, Men's Journal, Outside Magazine, People.com, and TODAY among many other national media outlets, Colin is a sought after public speaker with a reputation that inspires.

Peter Hirsch is the founder of Hirsch Gifts, one of the leading businesses within the promotional products industry. Hirsch is well known for his impactful volunteer work, especially during Hurricane Katrina relief efforts; he led an effort to collect generous donations from the industry and distribute the resources to those left displaced and destitute after the floods in Louisiana. He will be joining us at the Power Summit to discuss his success within the industry and the importance of lending a helping hand.

Norm is currently the Chief Executive Officer at alphabroder. With almost 15 years in the Promotional Apparel business, he's developed a passion for the entrepreneurial spirit of our Industry. He's a strong proponent of Team-driven, collaborative Management, and strives to build businesses based on a thorough understanding of the Customer. He believes in innovation - and that ideas can come from anywhere.

Phil Koosed is the president and founder of Los Angeles-based BAMKO. Since founding the firm as a 17-year-old in 1999, Koosed has built BAMKO into a $90+ million/year distributor with offices across North America as well as in China, India, Brazil, and the UK. In 2017, Koosed was recognized as Counselor’s Humanitarian of the Year for his efforts with his nonprofit Save the Syrian Children, which has developed a supply chain to help procure and deliver hundreds of thousands of pounds of emergency medical supplies to war-torn regions of Syria.

Tony Poston is an entrepreneur, business owner and sales director. He founded his design firm, The College Hill Group, in 2011 and his visionary leadership led the company to Inc. 5000’s list of Fastest Growing Private Companies in America (2016). His Pullman, WA-based custom apparel and graphic design firm has grown exponentially, with two locations, collegiate and corporate divisions, and the expertise to produce apparel for businesses, charitable causes and college organizations at over 400 universities in all 50 states.

Jamie Stone started Gifts By Design in 1989, with a mission: To provide innovative and creative quality merchandise that not only reflects her clients’ brand, but helps expand the idea of what effective branded merchandise can achieve. Gifts By Design has continued to grow and innovate, designing custom products when the right thing doesn’t exist, which has made them a preferred partner to companies like Microsoft, Boeing, Berkshire Hathaway, Amazon, Comcast, Century Link, HP, Nestlé and many more, both large and small.

Michael Freter is the managing director of PSI,the largest member-based promotional products association in Europe.Based in Germany,Freter oversees the annual PSI Dusseldorf Show held in January,that attracts over 2,000 global exhibitors and 15,000 attendees.Along with ASI and UK-based Sourcing City,PSI is a member of PromoAlliance.

A perennial member of Counselor’s Power 50 list,Jo-an Lantz is the executive vice president of Top 40 distributor Geiger,and is a founding member of the World Advertising Gift Exchange(WAGE),a collective of global distributors who meet to benchmark company and worldwide promo trends.

Steve Levschuk is the owner of Talbot Marketing, a large distributor firm based in London, Ontario. A member of PPPC's Hall of Fame, Levschuk's leadership is a main reason the company is regularly named to Counselor's Best Places to Work.

David is a Principal in H.I.G. Capital's Miami office. He is responsible for all aspects of the investment process including sourcing, transaction structuring, financing and executing post-closing growth, operational and add-on acquisition strategies. He currently serves on the board of directors of multiple H.I.G. portfolio companies.

David has over a decade of experience in private equity in which he has invested across a number of industries including technology, aerospace, business services, consumer products and healthcare. He earned an M.B.A. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating as a Palmer Scholar, and earned a B.S. in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, graduating with honors.

Based outside Philadelphia, John Glinski is the Owner of eXcellent Analytics, an international marketing analytics agency. In his 10+ years of helping companies drive growth and reduce costs through analytics, he has worked with silicon valley start-ups, multi-channel media companies, and top tier financial service clients.

In his free time, when he's not analyzing the latest box office trends or putting a dent in the ever growing backlog of newly acquired books, his hobbies include running, world traveling, and trying to perfect his omelette making technique.

With over 11 years of experience in social media marketing, influencer marketing, and managing digital marketing programs, Adam has a distinct view on building a better customer experience.

He's worked with companies like Cabela’s and Columbia Sportswear and is the host of the Marketing Trust podcast, where he helps businesses infuse more trust with their clients to grow their sales and brand loyalty.

Nabeel Malik is a Washington D.C.-based investor and enthusiast of crypto currency. He’s a GBA Certified Blockchain Instructor and the CEO of Cryptolitics Inc., which is dedicated to facilitating analytics and discussions on current crypto events.

Recent trends have proven that digital currency is a global phenomenon. Digital currency has penetrated the market at a rapid rate and it is critical that we measure how and where it can take us. Nabeel is a subject matter expert in digital currency and specializes in mining, setting up bit coin ATM machines, conducting ICO research and development, and taxes and state compliance around digital currency.

Kim Bakalyar, PromoShop Inc.’s Chief Compliance Officer, started work in the promotional products industry in 1980 on the distributor side and joined forces with Counselor Top 40 PromoShop in 2004 as Director of Supplier Relations. Kim has worked in all aspects on the distributor side while focusing primarily on research, sourcing, vendor relations and product safety and responsibility.

Brandon Bell, vice president of Top 40 supplier ETS Express, has been in the industry for 13 years and oversees the sales team for the industry's leading drinkware supplier. He has spent the last 8 years at ETS Express helping to navigate the organizational changes required to accommodate an employee base that has more than quadrupled in size.

Olivia Mannix is the Founder, CEO and Chairman of the Board at Cannabrand.

Olivia Mannix is a cannabis industry pioneer and cannabis marketing and business expert. At 23 years old, she founded Cannabrand –an award-winning, full-service marketing agency and business consultancy and the first to specialize solely in the cannabis industry. Cannabrand has successfully gone through a merger and is now not only a marketing agency but a consultancy that aids cannabis companies with business operations and capital services as well as mergers and acquisitions resources. The agency has played an integral role in shaping cannabis brands since its launch in January 2014 (at the onset of the burgeoning adult-use market), and helps clients to establish their unique brand identities so that they might position themselves competitively in the marketplace. Olivia predicted the future of the cannabis industry by creating a company that “rebrands” cannabis, bettering its image while opening up cannabis use to broader demographics through information and education. She is also an advocate for the medicinal benefits of cannabis and the adult use market. Olivia’s passion and drive are magnetic. The Cannabrand team features top talent from big brand companies like: Osprey Packs, Merrill Lynch, Starbucks, AT&T and Disney.

Erik Swanholt is a partner and litigation attorney with Foley & Lardner LLP. Mr. Swanholt has substantial experience in a broad range of litigation matters, with an emphasis on product liability, pharmaceutical defects, complex commercial and consumer class action litigation, toxic torts, as well as cybersecurity, privacy, and data protection. He has defended individual and class action product liability and toxic tort claims in a variety of industries, including consumer products, fashion, pharmaceuticals, off-road vehicles, industrial safety equipment, asbestos, lead paint, and silica. He has defended businesses sued under California’s Unfair Competition Laws (UCL), the Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CLRA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA) and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to name a few*.* His experience in complex commercial litigation matters includes unfair competition, deceptive trade practices, and antitrust claims under state and federal consumer protection statutes involving health care, food and beverage, and other consumer products. Erik has also represented clients before the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) in connection with investigations and recalls.

Chris Lee is the managing director of BrandAddition, one of the largest distributors in the UK, with a U.S. office in St. Louis. An industry veteran, Lee was given Counselor’s International Person of the Year award in 2013 and BrandAddition has repeatedly been one of the companies named to Counselor’s Best Places to Work list.