Gregg Emmer, a long-time promo industry leader, is retiring from Kaeser & Blair (asi/238600) – the Top 40 distributorship where he worked for more than 30 years.

Emmer, former chief marketing officer and vice president at the Batavia, OH-headquartered family-owned company, announced his retirement on Jan. 22.

Gregg Emmer, Kaeser & Blair.

A past member of Counselor’s Power 50 list of promo’s most influential people, Emmer joined K&B in 1991. For decades, he managed the firm’s marketing, catalog publishing and vendor relations.

“Throughout his distinguished career, Gregg demonstrated unwavering dedication, exceptional leadership and commitment to excellence,” said Kurt Kaeser, chairman of K&B and a Power 50 member. “We extend our genuine and sincere heartfelt appreciation and congratulations to Gregg on his new life chapter.”

Emmer spoke fondly of his K&B days, remembering colleagues and achievements along the way, such as leading the creation of the first “K&B Family Reunion,” which became the firm’s annual convention and trade show. In 1994, in conjunction with the company’s 100^th anniversary, Emmer created the Kaeser & Blair Century Club for top K&B Dealers.

“The longest period of my time at K&B involved working closely every day with [the late] Richard ‘Dick’ Kaeser,” Emmer reflected to ASI Media. “It was a sincere pleasure, and he shared a lifetime of experience while at the same time being extremely complimentary regarding the work we were doing together.”

Emmer continued: “More broadly, I found K&B to be exactly what they represented themselves to be: honest, straightforward, totally focused on the success of the sales team (K&B Authorized Dealers), and willing to move in new directions whenever it looked like it would help everyone continue to grow.”

In all, Emmer has worked in promo/print for over 50 years. He plans to keep a hand in the business through “Gregg Emmer Consulting,” an independent venture that provides marketing, public relations and business planning advice to industry suppliers and other businesses.

“Throughout his distinguished career, Gregg demonstrated unwavering dedication, exceptional leadership and commitment to excellence.” Kurt Kaeser, Kaeser & Blair (asi/238600)

Before joining K&B in 1991, Emmer was a district sales manager at Brown & Bigelow (asi/148500). He also owned and operated a graphic communication company that offered promo products and full-service printing. One of his best career memories comes from those early days, when he surprised a neighborhood outreach organization by printing 50 hardbound copies of a book featuring poems written by at-risk youth with whom the nonprofit was working.

“Four years later I received an invitation to a high school graduation from someone I did not know,” Emmer told ASI Media. “A note explained that the young lady had been in the poetry project and seeing her poem published in the book changed her plan to drop out of school. I have no other success story that means more to me.”

Based on reported 2022 North American promotional product revenue of $98 million, Kaeser & Blair ranked 25^th on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest distributors in the industry.

In July, Mitchell and Brad Kaeser became co-CEOs of K&B, making the brothers the fourth generation of Kaesers to lead the 130-year-old firm. Their father Kurt, hitherto CEO/president, became chairman.