Awards October 26, 2026
Counselor Power 50 2026: No. 33 Susan Lewandowski
Welcome to the 2026 Counselor Power 50 list, which ranks the most influential people in the promo products industry.
#33 Susan Lewandowski
2025 Rank: #35
Industry Experience: 36 years
Previous Appearances on Counselor Power 50: 2
With more than 35 years of industry experience, Susan Lewandowski, who was most recently BEL Promo’s managing director, has always focused on developing sales teams that ensure every client receives personal attention. “I never want a customer to feel like they aren’t important because of their size or how much they spend with us,” Lewandowski says. She’s proud of the BEL team’s growth under her leadership and how employees are given ample opportunities to grow their careers – one of the many reasons BEL landed on this year’s Counselor Best Places to Work list.
Mentorship remains one of Lewandowski’s main passions. “I want to continue mentoring the younger generation coming into our industry and especially women who want to grow into leadership roles,” says the Counselor 2024 Woman of Distinction. “As an industry, we need to be thinking about growing our talent just as much as we think about growing our sales. We need to make sure we’re developing the next generation of leaders who will take this industry forward.”
AI Perspective
“I use AI every day. For me, it’s become another set of eyes. I use it to analyze data and trends, prepare for meetings, work through different business scenarios and help me take a lot of information and get to what matters. I also use it to challenge me. Sometimes I’ll have an idea and use AI to poke holes in it or make me think about something I may not have considered. Personally, I use it for research, planning and everyday things. The more I use it, the more I find ways it can help me.
“I think in 2027 we’re going to see AI become a much bigger part of how we work every day. There are so many opportunities in our industry, from sales and customer service to forecasting, product recommendations, artwork and operations. But I don’t think AI replaces relationships, and our industry is still very much a relationship business. AI can help us be faster, give us better information and make us more efficient, but at the end of the day, people still want to do business with people they trust. I think the real opportunity is figuring out how to use both.”