Promobilia, the custom overseas sourcing division of St Regis Group (asi/84592; Canada, asi/84595), has appointed Ian Kalna as sales director. He has more than 15 years of industry experience and will now be responsible for nurturing existing client relationships and pursuing growth opportunities.

Ian Kalna, Promobilia

“My philosophy in overseas sourcing has always been really simple,” said Kalna. “I want to make cool things with cool people and answer the phone when those people call. Now to be aligned with such a premier supplier as St Regis and its resources, I’ll be able to bring custom products to a larger group of distributors and hopefully some who didn’t think it was an option. The best is yet to come from both of us, and it’s incredibly exciting.”

Kalna has sales and sourcing experience at several industry suppliers, including The Hershey Group; Top 40 supplier alphabroder (asi/34063); ROI-Line by Source Abroad, now part of alphabroder; Pop! Promos (asi/45657); and Pinnacle Designs (asi/78140).

“We’re thrilled to welcome Ian to the Promobilia team, and we love his enthusiasm and genuine excitement for innovative and impactful promotional products,” said Merrick Falkenstien, chief revenue officer of St Regis Group. “His rich knowledge of the custom direct-sourcing process, focus on customer experience and creative marketing eye make him a major asset to our customers and our organization. Along with Edward Huang and the entire sourcing team, we feel fortunate to have a seasoned specialist like Ian on board.”

Kalna’s appointment is the latest in St Regis Group’s continued expansion of its executive team – Kirk Russell became vice president of U.S. sales in February, after Jesse Waltman was named chief financial officer in October.