PPAS Power Session: State of the Industry Presentation & Panel
Tim Andrews, President & CEO of Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI), will moderate a panel discussion covering current, key issues and opportunities facing the promotional products industry. This presentation will also address research and trends regarding the size and scope of the promotional products industry.
Panelists: Tracey Barton, Safeguard; Bob Lilly, Jr., Bob Lilly Promotional Products; Steven Meyer, MAS, RiteLine USA
About Timothy M. Andrews
Timothy M. Andrews is president and chief executive officer of the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI), which has 450 employees and serves a network of 23,500 suppliers, distributors and decorators in the $24.7 billion promotional products industry.
Andrews joined ASI as president in 2003 and is responsible for the vision and operations of the privately held company. Under his guidance, ASI has become the industry leader in technology and multimedia marketing across all platforms.
Andrews is also president of ASI Show, which annually hosts 15,500 distributor attendees at trade shows and events across North America, and vice chairman of ASI Computer Systems Inc., whose accounting and business platform is used by nearly 1,000 companies.
Andrews has more than 30 years of experience in digital media, publishing, information services, marketing and advertising, including 16 years at Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal.
About Tracey Barton
Tracey has a long history of putting customers first as she has served in both sales and customer service management roles throughout her career. Guided by her “yes we can” attitude, Tracey has successfully demonstrated through her leadership and her team’s performance that bringing together sales with service delivers a one-of-a-kind experience for Safeguard distributors, customers, employees and suppliers.
Tracey joined Safeguard in 2002 at a time when the company was just beginning to embark on adding promotional products and apparel to their product offering. For many years, Tracey has been an integral part of leading the company to profitable growth in this category. In fact, in 2019, Safeguard and Deluxe, moved up in the Counselor Top 40 Distributor ranking to #16. In 2018, Tracey joined Counselor’s Power 50 list and was ranked #38 in 2019.
Another of Safeguard’s most notable distinctions, a prestigious Gold Stevie® Award was given to its Customer Service and Operations – Promotional Products and Apparel team, led by Tracey, for the “Customer Service Team of the Year.” As the department responsible for keeping distributors up to speed on the latest industry trends, the team is valued for creating a number of ongoing training tools for distributors, including an electronic newsletter “In the Know With Promo,” a monthly webinar called “Fired Up Fridays” and a video series that educates distributors on new promotional products and apparel.
Tracey continues to serve as Director of Productional Products & Distributor Support for Safeguard, supporting a network of distributors who provide the products, services and expertise needed by business owners to help their businesses grow. Through innovation, dedication and a commitment to quality and integrity, Safeguard has transformed itself from a small check printing business to a fully diversified business solutions enterprise.
About Robert L. (Bob) Lilly, Jr.
Bob Lilly, Jr. began his career in corporate merchandising and promotions in 1995 and in 1999 founded Bob Lilly Promotions (BLP), a company now recognized among it’s more than 20,000 industry peers as one of the premiere Integrated Marketing Solutions companies in the country. Industry recognition includes being named to The Counselor magazine’s list of Fastest Growing Companies and Top 40 under 40 promotional professionals as well as Inc. Magazine’s 5,000 fastest growing privately held companies twice. BLPP has been recognized eight times as one of the industry’s Top 50 Best Places to Work byThe Counselor magazine.
Bob was also founding partner in Global Fulfillment Solutions, LLP – a shipping, warehousing and fulfillment company based in Dallas. In 2011 BLPP was invited to join the prestigious PeerNet Group a national consortium of top promotional agencies with annual sales topping $400 million. In 2019 BLP was awarded an NFL Master Licensee designation.
About Steven Meyer, MAS
Steve has had a wide and interesting journey in our industry since his start with Molenaar 22 years ago.. He enjoys the creativity, the opportunities and most of all, the people. Every day has been different and brings a new challenge. He was part of a great team that included both inside and outside reps at Molenaar and helped modernize the line. After a brief stint at Quickpoint, he was fortunate to join an industry start up, RiteLine LLC., in Dallas.
Starting from an idea, RiteLine is now recognized as the freshest, most creatively designed writing instrument supplier in the industry and recently was touted by ASI as one of the Top 5 fastest growing companies in the industry.
Steve has been very active as a volunteer in the industry serving on many committees, regionally, nationally and internationally and was President of UMAPP, the Upper Midwest Association of Promotional Professionals in 2009 and of the Promotional Products Association of the Southwest, PPAS in 2018. He was recognized as the Regional Volunteer of the year in our industry in 2018 also. Steve was selected in 2012 to be the Promotional Products Association Internationals, Chairman of the Board, and encourages all of you to volunteer. Working with others, you can move mountains!
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