The eighth-largest supplier in the promotional products industry has made two key promotions it believes will help accelerate the company’s growth.

Top 40 supplier HPG (asi/61966) has appointed Alex Symms to the position of director of sales for the firm’s western U.S. brands: California-based Origaudio and Evans Manufacturing (asi/52840) and Utah-headquartered Handstands. Meanwhile, Nick Lateur, a popular social media influencer within the promo space, is rising to the role of brand director at HPG.

Alex Symms and Nick Lateur, HPG

Symms, who has worked in sales/sales management on the supplier side of the promotional products business for 20 years, joined HPG in June as director of sales of Evans Manufacturing, a former Top 40 supplier that HPG acquired in January. He’s impressed amply since, setting himself up for the swift promotion.

“We already knew Alex would be an excellent addition to the team, and he proved us right even faster than expected,” said Trina Bicknell, chief revenue officer at HPG. “I’m excited to expand his influence even further within the HPG enterprise and consolidate our West Coast sales leadership for our customers.”

Before joining HPG, Symms was a national account manager with Powerstick.com (asi/51566). Prior to that, he spent around seven years with Chameleon Like (asi/44558) in roles that included national account manager and digital marketing manager. Other past positions include being a regional sales manager for KTI Promo (asi/63776).

Lateur joined HPG at the end of 2020, having previously held industry roles that included being a national sales manager at IMAGEN Brands (asi/93990), which was a Top 40 supplier until being acquired by Koozie Group (asi/40480).

At HPG, Lateur was in a sales director position. But given his strong presence on social media – where he shares original, often humorous videos that draw considerable industry attention – HPG saw potential to augment his role.

“As one of the industry’s best-known social media influencers and content creators, it became clear to Nick that customers were starting to ask about HPG more broadly and a new opportunity for HPG was emerging,” the company said.

That opportunity led to the creation of the brand director position – through which Lateur, with the support of the marketing team, will “truly evangelize our brand, our superior products, our unique services and our incredible people, all of which enable our customers to win more business,” he said.

Based on reported 2022 North American promo product revenue of $268.8 million, HPG ranked eighth on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest suppliers in the industry. Eleven brands operate under the HPG umbrella.