Welcome to the 2018 Power 50 list, which ranks the most influential people in the industry.

#7 CJ Schmidt, Hit Promotional Products (asi/61125)

2017 Rank: 2
Title: President
Industry Experience: 14 years

While sales at Schmidt-led Hit keep increasing – reaching nearly $400 million in 2017 – amongst the continuing buyer loyalty shown to the company and to Schmidt in particular, there have been a few customer complaints in ESP's rating section in recent months. Schmidt admits to some growing pains, something he and his team are currently remedying. He continues to receive high scores from his Power 50 peers and remains one of the industry's most influential people.