When times get tough, tough people step up.

Certainly, that can be said of Carey Trevill.

She rose to the CEO position at the British Promotional Merchandise Association in 2020 and led the professional trade body serving the U.K. promo products market through one of its darkest ever periods – the historic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Carey Trevill, BPMA

Now, after four years at the helm, the experienced executive leader is calling it a day on her time with BPMA. She’s stepping down as CEO, with her tenure formally concluding at the end of March. Her last public-facing event with the association is slated to be International Women’s Day in Birmingham, England on March 8.

“Taking an initial six-month interim role just as the pandemic broke, Carey took the reins during a period of intense global economic disruption, providing members with guidance on everything from furlough and business grants to Brexit,” the BPMA board of directors said in a statement. She also helped lead the industry forward on important sustainability initiatives.

BPMA announced Trevill’s departure at its annual awards ceremony, which was held in conjunction with Merchandise World, the U.K.’s largest promo trade show. BPMA teams up with Sourcing City, an ASI partner and trade service organization that provides a suite of solutions to the U.K. promo market, to produce the show – this year held Jan. 24 and 25 in Coventry, England.

Beyond helping guide promo U.K. through the challenges of the pandemic, Trevill contended with other pressing issues on behalf of the industry, such as a proposed ban (not implemented) on alcohol-related branded merch in Scotland.

She also helped raise promo’s profile – going to Parliament, for instance, and successfully arguing in favor of a motion that declared “promotional merchandise is the medium which forges the most effective and long-term emotional relationship with its audience.” Trevill’s voice rang internationally too, as she frequently provided insights on the U.K. merch market to North America promo audiences through outlets like ASI Media.

Led by board chair Haydn Willetts of supplier Midocean and Clive Alcott of supplier Direct Textiles & Bags Europe, BPMA is actively looking for a successor to Trevill.

“Taking an initial six-month interim role just as the pandemic broke, Carey took the reins during a period of intense global economic disruption, providing members with guidance on everything from furlough and business grants to Brexit.” BPMA Board

Still, the board emphasized that the association is in a strong place. It boasts a secretariat led by Membership Director Tom Robey, Events & Operations Manager Georgie Yeats, Sustainability & Compliance Manager Jenny Dawes, and Membership Executive Kian Clews Braddon. The team is also searching for a marketing executive to further strengthen the internal team, the board noted.

“The recent additions to the team echo important investment and programs now in place, such as the StepForward sustainability initiative, which Trevill worked closely with Board Director Melissa Chevin to launch in 2023,” the board said.

“Recent membership announcements have also signaled the next stage of future growth for the association and its members,” the board continued. “The strong roadmap for sustainable business is supported by the 14-strong BPMA board.”

The United Kingdom’s promotional products industry has emerged from the woes of the pandemic. Sourcing City released research this week that shows collective industry sales in the U.K./Ireland in 2023 surpassed the last pre-COVID year of 2019 and reached an all-time record high. ASI Research, through a sweeping study of the European Union and U.K. markets, has estimated total distributor sales in the United Kingdom in 2022 were about $2 billion.