ASI's Counselor Magazine Names Promo Industry's Most Powerful People of 2016

Hit Promotional Products President C.J. Schmidt is No. 1

TREVOSE, PA – November 11, 2016 –The Advertising Specialty Institute® (ASI) today named the 50 most influential business leaders in the $22 billion promotional products industry, topped this year by Hit Promotional Products President C.J. Schmidt.

“Posting record-breaking growth every year since 2010, our industry is a genuine marketing powerhouse that impacts millions of consumers and companies across the globe,” said Timothy M. Andrews, president and chief executive officer of ASI. “And the top 50 on ASI’s annual list represent the key people and organizations whose decisions and actions will impact the direction of our industry for years to come.”

The Power 50 rankings are determined by editors of ASI’s Counselor® magazine, along with results of a survey of the industry and the Power 50 themselves rating whether each person on last year’s list has gained or lost influence over the past 12 months.

Schmidt has climbed the Power 50 list since his debut in 2010, ranking No. 34. Now in the No. 1 spot, “It’s no surprise that his meteoric rise to the Power 50 top spot matches the scintillating growth of his company,” said C.J. Mittica, executive editor of Counselor. “Hit has more than doubled its sales in the last five years, and has become the fifth-largest supplier in the industry.”

Hit has evolved into a dominant player while expanding into new product categories (apparel included), and both Schmidt’s Power 50 peers and the industry at large recognize his significant and growing influence.

The high-ranking executives on the 2016 Power 50 list were recognized at a celebratory dinner during the 10th anniversary of the ASI Power Summit, held November 3-4 at the National Doral resort in Miami, FL, and attended by entrepreneurs, multinational CEOs and small-business owners throughout the promotional products industry. Speakers included keynoter Dawn Hudson, chief marketing officer for the National Football League, Kam Diba, founder of Reverge VR, and ASI’s 2016 Counselor Person of the Year, Chuck Fandos, CEO of Brand Addition US.

The top-ranked executives on the 2016 Counselor Power 50 list are:

C.J. Schmidt, Hit Promotional Products, asi/61125
Kevin Lyons-Tarr, 4imprint, asi/197045
Norm Hullinger, alphabroder, asi/34063
Marty Lott & Jeremy Lott, SanMar, asi/84863
Greg Muzzillo & Vera Muzzillo, Proforma, asi/300094
Gene Colleran & David Nicholson, Polyconcept North America
Marc Simon, HALO Branded Solutions, asi/356000
Gene Geiger and Jo-an Lantz, Geiger, asi/202900
Rich Witaszak, Staples Promotional Products, asi/120601
Jeff Lederer, Prime Line, asi/79530

Click here to read the entire Power 50 list.

This year, six newcomers hit the annual list:

No. 13: Kevin Plank, Under Armour
No. 19: Don LeBlanc, Vistaprint
No. 34: Brandon Mackay, SnugZ, asi/88060
No. 43: Heather Sanderson, Overture Promotions, asi/288473
No. 45: Forrest Fairley, Safeguard, asi/316203
No. 50: Chelsea Grayson, American Apparel, asi/35297

Learn more about the Power 50 in the December online and print editions of Counselor magazine. Published 13 times a year by ASI, the Jesse H. Neal award-winning Counselor magazine has served as the voice of the promotional products industry for 60 years. The magazine has recognized the industry’s Power 50 every year since 2006.

Andy Cohen is ASI’s vice president of editorial and marketing services. ASI publishes four magazines, six catalogs and nine digital newsletters. ASI’s growing magazine circulation is audited, which ensures the quality of the readership, and Counselor magazine’s collection of “top” lists – including the Top 40 distributors and suppliers – are now the industry standard.

For more info about the Counselor Power 50 list contact C.J. Mittica at cmittica@asicentral.com.

About ASI
The Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI®) serves a network of 23,500 suppliers, distributors and decorators in the $22 billion promotional products industry. ASI’s flagship product, the technology platform ESP®, manages the industry’s entire supply and marketing chain. ASI also produces award-winning digital and print content, live events and educational programs that enable companies in 61 countries to be more efficient, productive and profitable. ASI’s Counselor® magazine provides the most authoritative business content in the industry, and the ASI Certification Program features 500+ live and online education courses for over 40,000 professionals. The company, family owned and operated since 1962, is proud to have been consistently ranked among the “Best Places to Work” in Philadelphia and Bucks County, PA. For more info: www.asicentral.com.

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