Welcome to the 2019 Power 50 list, which ranks the most influential people in the industry.

#45 Yuh-Ling Lu, Ariel Premium Supply (asi/36730)

2018 Rank: N/A
Title: CEO
Industry Experience: 26 years

Another newcomer to the Power 50, Lu has grown Ariel Premium Supply into one of the top 25 suppliers in the market. The firm increased sales by almost 17% to $61.2 million last year and is up 15% YTD in 2019. Known for its diverse assortment of stress relievers, Counselor’s 2015 Supplier of the Year’s sales have doubled since 2013 and execs believe a new West Coast facility will only multiply gains. In this Q&A, Lu discusses market opportunities, leadership style and navigating the trade war between the U.S. and China.

Q: How is Ariel Premium Supply dealing with the trade war between the U.S. and China?
A: We’re constantly monitoring developments coming out of both governments. The Ariel teams in our three Asian offices are staying in close contact with our core Chinese vendors who are giving us valuable feedback and great market insight going on there. Of course, we’re also keeping a close eye on the financial mechanisms in play, like exchange rates, and more closely evaluating both our purchasing and new product selection processes.

Q: What specifically is Ariel doing to innovate and prepare for the future?
A: I lead a team of senior managers and we meet on a very regular basis to try and continuously answer just two questions: 1) How do we become better? 2) What do we look like in 18 months? They’re very broad questions, but they lead to open conversations and the answers have led to many innovations and initiatives for us, such as our new West Coast facility, investment in new machines and imprinting methods, creating ways to improve the happiness of our associates, hiring practices, office renovations, spotting product trends, brand development and more.

Q: What defines Ariel Premium Supply’s culture?
A: We define our culture based on our “5 Core Ariel Values.” We call it the Ariel Family Tree and there’s actually a mural of this tree with our values in our lobby. The values are painted into its roots: Partnership, Integrity, Growth, Teamwork and Communication. We’re truly a multinational company and we represent many cultures around the world, yet these values are certainly universal and global in nature. We base every new corporate strategy on how well we can honor and fulfill each value.

Q: How would you describe your leadership style?
A: I would like to think I have an open style of leadership. I’m fortunate to have a very good core management team around me and I’ve learned to trust their advice and expertise. We meet often, talk openly and make sure we’re all on the same page.

Q: What’s the biggest opportunity you see in the promo market right now?
A: While the tariffs are creating a lot of fear and uncertainty, there’s also an unanticipated opportunity for many of us suppliers. They’re pushing us to evaluate our current supply chain much more. As we do, we’re beginning to realize that different countries, sources and relationships could point to new opportunities. We don’t fully know what other countries can do for us, but we do know they’re eager to partner and show what they’re capable of.

Q: What’s one thing you’d change about the industry?
A: I would speed up our industry’s recent move toward more standardized processes for order management. It’s been a real step in the right direction but there’s still too much friction between suppliers and distributors in order processing. It’s costly and unprofitable. It would just be so much easier and profitable if we all work harder on integrating our information and work flow.

Q: What’s the biggest business mistake you’ve made and what did you learn from it?
A: It happened early when I was still learning about hiring and evaluating people. There were a couple of instances where I didn’t put people in the correct roles, but instead of trying to find out what their right roles might be, they were let go. They were good people and I didn’t fully recognize what they could’ve possibly done for us, nor did I help them reach their full potential.

Q: Who’s someone you admire in the promo industry, and why?
A: Harry Rosenberg. He was always so positive and passionate, with a wonderful sense of humor and kind heart. Harry was very instrumental in Ariel’s early days and is still active, sharing ideas and opportunities well into his 90s.

Q: What’s your top professional goal for the next year?
A: To help Ariel succeed in the future, I’m very interested in learning more about artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics and natural language processing. I’m intrigued with what they can do to help our business, reduce stress, work smarter, prepare for any continued labor shortage and help me make more meaningful business decisions.

Q: What’s your top personal goal over the next 12 months?
A: I would like to become more involved in a global cause I feel very strongly about: preserving rainforests around the world. They’re such an important part of our global environment and I think we should be doing more to protect them. I’m currently involved with The Rainforest Trust and it’s been doing important work for more than 30 years.