#42 Sandy Gonzalez

MadeToOrder (asi/259540) – CEO

2024 Rank: #44

Industry Experience: 42 years

Previous Appearances on Counselor Power 50: 3

This year was all about change management for Sandy Gonzalez, the CEO of MadeToOrder (asi/259540) who moves two spots up the list this year thanks in part to higher influence ratings by her Counselor Power 50 peers. After last year’s merger with Red Promotions (asi/590025), Gonzalez had to oversee the effort to integrate the two distributors.

“Change management is never easy, especially during leadership transitions,” she says. “We had to reset expectations, rebuild processes and bring clarity to roles and responsibilities. We tackled it by being transparent, leaning into open communication and ensuring collaboration across departments. The result has been a stronger, more unified team with a clearer path forward.”

Gonzalez’s 40-year tenure in the industry started in the 1980s, when she got a job as a customer service representative for a supplier. She went on to work for several distributors before she landed at MadeToOrder. Gonzalez has since climbed up the ranks, becoming CEO of the company in 2019 and receiving Counselor’s 2021 Woman of Distinction award shortly after.

A saleswoman at heart, Gonzalez’s focus for the coming year is to strengthen the sales organization at MadeToOrder and continue to prioritize growth. “The goal is to scale our core custom programs while continuing to evolve our e-commerce and fulfillment platforms,” she says.

But an organization is only as good as its people, and Gonzalez enjoys identifying talent and training the leaders of the future. “I’m committed to developing the next generation of leadership within MadeToOrder to ensure we have the right people and structure in place to thrive long term,” she says.