Awards October 26, 2026
Counselor Power 50 2026: No. 50 Millie Tadewaldt, Brilliant
Welcome to the 2026 Counselor Power 50 list, which ranks the most influential people in the promo products industry.
#50 Millie Tadewaldt
Brilliant (asi/146116) – Founder & CEO
2025 Rank: NR
Industry Experience: 11 years
Previous Appearances on Counselor Power 50: 0
In just a decade, Millie Tadewaldt has orchestrated the meteoric rise of her company from a one-person corporate-gifting operation to a private equity-backed, tech-forward powerhouse with offices across the country and over $50 million in annual revenue. Spearheading such rapid growth lands the founder and CEO of Brilliant (asi/146116) on the Counselor Power 50 for the first time.
Tadewaldt continues to build on the company’s 25% year-over-year growth. Two focal points this year have been bringing in key hires – including President Frank Giovinazzo, an executive with experience scaling founder-led, PE-backed firms – and developing technology and an organizational structure that meet customer needs.
“We’re orienting around selling solely to enterprise clients,” says Tadewaldt, who was named the 2025 Counselor Distributor Entrepreneur of the Year. “We used to cast the net wide as we figured out who we were as an organization. Big, complex projects are a sweet spot for us. We have specialized teams and we’re codifying a lot that used to be trial and error.”
That includes developing a custom-built enterprise operating system that’s fully integrated with accounts, helping the Brilliant team know what clients will need next and providing meaningful data on campaigns’ impact and success.
“It’s not just ‘swag,’” says Tadewaldt. “It can make unique contributions to clients’ ROI, and it keeps people happy and helps them feel a sense of belonging. But it shouldn’t be done on vibes – we want to measure impact and make it all manageable. We want to ensure the end-buyer spends the least amount of time possible to get the best possible outcome. We have to understand all the suppliers we work with, and we need to have an efficient, clear relationship with the end-buyer.”
“Millie has a clear vision for how technology can transform branded-merchandise gifting, paired with sharp strategic thinking and a genuine commitment to her clients.” Frank Carpenito, Gemline (asi/56070)
Tadewaldt’s commitment to fostering a high-performing environment hasn’t gone unnoticed among her industry peers. “Millie has a clear vision for how technology can transform branded-merchandise gifting, paired with sharp strategic thinking and a genuine commitment to her clients,” says Frank Carpenito, president & CEO of Counselor Top 40 supplier Gemline (asi/56070) and a fellow member of the Counselor Power 50. “She builds supplier relationships on trust, transparency and shared ambition, and she pushes partners like us to exceed expectations. Millie is exactly the kind of leader who makes our whole industry better.”
As Brilliant adopts new technology and reshapes roles, Tadewaldt has maintained the culture of human connection and transparency she established in the company’s early days. Indeed, Brilliant was named a 2026 Counselor Best Place to Work because of attributes like flexible work, alignment with company goals and team cooperation, all cited by employees. Tadewaldt also gives her creative team freedom to ideate, design and execute on unique projects – like a soap opera self-promo created with AI that won a Counselor Promo Campaign Award this year.
“I’m pushing myself to hire the right experts while retaining our open-door culture – anyone can talk to me,” says Tadewaldt. “I’ve got well-running functions, and my job is helping the functions connect with each other.”
AI Perspective
“Internally, we’ve realized efficiency gains. We support our AMs and AEs with integrated client data. We help them prioritize next steps with clients based on that data. We also use it for lookbook creation. What I’ve found is that AI is nowhere near possessing the human creativity and judgment needed to create campaigns. AI does take out the drudgery, but human judgment, touch and emotion are necessary to be successful. Giving the right gift elicits an emotional response; promo is the counterpoint to our AI-infiltrated world. It’s more important than ever. Facilitating the human touch is the secret weapon in business now. I’ve pushed my kids away from it – you have to learn judgment first. It can be a ‘yes man’ and lead you into weird directions. Be critical, skeptical and think for yourself. It can’t beat the human touch.”
That combination of leveraging the power of both technology and humanity, says Tim Earle, a sales rep for Counselor Top 40 supplier PCNA (asi/66887) who’s worked with Brilliant for six years, is what has made Brilliant a different type of customer.
“Millie has a thorough knowledge of the industry, and a distinct vision for doing things differently,” notes Earle. “She’s built a team that drives relentless growth while remaining an absolute joy to collaborate with. By balancing high performance with genuine human connection, she makes ‘work’ mean something different and refreshing. Millie is a strategic thinker, an entrepreneur and a true industry disruptor.”
Five years ago, Tadewaldt hired COO Carrie McComb, and McComb still remembers their first interaction.
“It was one of the most real and honest conversations I’ve ever had about work and growth,” says McComb. “Millie leads with kindness and genuine authenticity, making people feel like they can show up as themselves. She can move from writing code to negotiating a contract to digging into data to delighting a client in no time at all, earning respect and trust from everyone she works with because she truly cares. Her questions always get to the ‘why,’ and she brings a perspective that sharpens my own. She’s taught me that being vulnerable takes strength and owning it takes courage, and that what matters most is how you move forward. I’m so grateful to grow with her and to build Brilliant alongside her.”