Jake Himelstein is excited to lead BAMKO (asi/131431) into the future – and now he’ll have the chance.

Himelstein, who has been with the Top 40 distributor for more than eight years, is rising from the roles of chief financial officer/chief operating officer to president of BAMKO.

Himelstein’s promotion comes as BAMKO’s founder and longtime president Philip Koosed, who ranks ninth on Counselor’s Power 50 list of promo’s most influential people, is promoted to chief strategy officer of Superior Group of Companies (SGC) – BAMKO’s parent company.

Philip Koosed and Jake Himelstein have earned executive promotions.

Since founding BAMKO as an undergrad in 1999, Koosed has spearheaded growth at the Los Angeles-headquartered company, which generated global sales of more than $200 million in 2020 while increasing North American promo sales by nearly 80% despite the business challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company continued the growth in early 2021, with first quarter global sales soaring 125% year over year.

Koosed will continue to play an important part in guiding BAMKO, but in his new position his focus will expand with the aim of driving ingenuity and sales growth across Superior’s business divisions, which include a uniforms business and The Office Gurus, a global provider of custom call and contact center support.

“This is an important and momentous day for Phil, Jake, and the entire company,” said Michael Benstock, CEO of SGC. “In welcoming a new member into the C-Suite, we are bringing in a dynamic leader with a proven track record of growth, vision, and an ability to execute.”

Benstock noted that an important factor in Koosed’s promotion was that the BAMKO founder and SGC leaders believe Himelstein is the perfect next president for the fast-growing distributorship, as he has emerged as an “invaluable leader within the branded merchandise segment over the past few years.”

Speaking to ASI Media, Koosed shared similar sentiments as he reflected on his and Himelstein’s promotions.

“Jake has become such a powerhouse of a leader at BAMKO that it became obvious to all of us that a move like this was necessary,” Koosed said. “BAMKO already had the day-to-day leader it needed in Jake Himelstein and the timing is right for him to assume that role. This move allows me to do something I am passionate about across a larger platform that will allow me to have an even bigger impact on both BAMKO and SGC as a whole. It puts the right people in the right position to guide SGC into the future.”

With degrees in accounting and business finance from the University of Southern California, Himelstein spent nine years at audit/consulting/tax services firm Deloitte in roles that included audit manager and special acquisition services M&A senior manager.

He joined BAMKO in June 2013, and has been responsible for finance, accounting, operations, human resources and programming departments across BAMKO’s global offices. He’s overseen a full-scale ERP system implementation, the development of an internal order processing system, and reworked the company’s capital structure, in addition to playing a vital leadership role in BAMKO’s sale to SGC five years ago. 

Based on its 2019 North American promo revenue, BAMKO currently ranks 19^th on Counselor’s list of the largest distributors in the industry. The new rankings, which will account for BAMKO’s substantial growth in 2020, will debut in July 2021.