She's a big fan of Dana Zezzo, 100 Grand candy bars, and cosmopolitans. She's also the president of Imagen Brands (asi/93990/47700). Learn a little more about Lori Kates from the woman herself!

When I was younger, I always thought I’d be in the promo products business. I grew up in Lafayette, OH, and had hopes of being a veterinarian. I’ve now been in the promo industry for 22 years, and I’ve learned a few things along the way, like comfortable shoes are more important than fashionable ones at trade shows.

I really believe the industry is changing rapidly, and my company in particular is doing technology upgrades to MS-DOS. Today, we employ about 550 people and our goal is to break into the Top 10 list of suppliers.

Of course, we still have room to grow. In fact, if I could get inside the head of one industry person to get some knowledge, I’d pick Marty Lott. The reason is to understand the processes he built for great service.

I’m a big fan of Dana Zezzo and spend my weekends talking him off the ledge. I love drinking cosmopolitans and I get annoyed by people starting conversations with the word “honestly”. The best candy in the world is 100 Grand and my favorite app is Uber.

Best candy in the world?

I think social media is underutilized, secretly I wish banana clips would come back in style, and when no one is watching I blast the volume on ’80s rock music and sing along as I drive. If I had to eat one thing every day for the rest of my life it would be a great steak. If I had to live one place it would be Hawaii. If I had to give up one thing it would be doing laundry.

In the future, I hope to retire someplace warm and watch my grandkids. Let me leave you with this inspirational thought: Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Cosmos and steaks and banana clips, oh my!

The end!