#13 John Bruellman & Kevin Walsh

Showdown Displays (asi/87188)

2024 Rank: #13

John Bruellman – CEO

Industry Experience: 19 years

Previous Appearances on Counselor Power 50: 5

Kevin Walsh – President

Industry Experience: 39 years

Previous Appearances on Counselor Power 50: 5

John Bruellman and Kevin Walsh, the dual leaders of Counselor Top 40 supplier Showdown Displays (asi/87188), made a splashy move last year when they acquired AAA Innovations, but the culmination of that deal came to fruition this year in June when the supplier’s entire product line was fully integrated into Showdown Displays.

“In the process, Showdown Displays has amplified our assortment of outdoor and event products, increasing our relevance and ability to participate in more of our reseller partners’ programs and RFPs,” says Walsh. “In the process, we’ve established an East Coast manufacturing location, which will eventually reduce our shipping transit times and costs for our partners in the East.”

The year wasn’t without difficulty, though. Walsh says that the implementation of a new ERP system, which took more than two years of planning and development, had more impact on customers than they had originally hoped.

“What was rewarding in the process was to experience the level of commitment and dedication across the Showdown Displays team,” Walsh says. “Equally rewarding to experience was the patience and commitment that our reseller partners demonstrated as we worked through those first few weeks of implementation.”

Walsh and his team are hoping the rest of 2025 and 2026 will be “simple.” By that, he means following what he believes are simple goals for the brand. “To grow as a business, as a team, as a leader and as a professional,” he says. “As Andy Dufresne’s character said in The Shawshank Redemption, ‘Get busy living, or get busy dying.’”