ASI’s Counselor Magazine Celebrates 2019 Hot List

The up-and-coming stars and creative standouts putting the sizzle in branded merch

TREVOSE, PA – June 4, 2019 – Counselor^® magazine today announced the game changers on its 2019 Hot List, an annual celebration of the gutsiest trail blazers heating up the promotional products industry.

Counselor’s 12th annual Hot List showcases a diverse mix of 10 women and 10 men, including 12 distributors and eight suppliers. They range from company founders and tech wizards to savvy strategists and marketing masters. In addition to starting, growing or transforming promo businesses, these A-listers have founded charities, excelled at jiu-jitsu, played in a band, competed on Shark Tank, enjoyed million-dollar sales and cashed in on the cannabis “green rush.”

“The promo stars who made this year’s list are never-give-up inventors, do-everything parents and all-night-long networkers,” said Counselor Editor-in-Chief Dave Vagnoni (@VagnoniASI). “They possess the energy, grit and confidence to shape the future of the industry through bold ideas, new ways of doing business and an unqualified passion for success.”

Counselor magazine, which provides news, trends and business strategies to top distributor decision-makers, is published by the Advertising Specialty Institute^® (ASI).

The 2019 Counselor Hot List, in alphabetical order by last names:

• Tiffany Anderson, corporate channel manager, Dri Duck Traders (asi/50835)
• Katie Bauer, VP of sales, Blank2Branded (asi/141113)
• Sam Brown, director of corporate marketing,BrandVia Alliance (asi/145037)
• Jen Carver, field sales manager, PCNA (asi/ 78897)
• Matt Del Valle, owner and president, Stan Miller & Associates powered by Proforma (asi/300094)
• Mike Ferriter, director of sales, Sobe Promos (asi/245603)
• Carlos Franco, account executive, PromoShop (asi/300446)
• Mitch Freed, VP of strategic initiatives, Genumark (asi/204588)
• Kimberly A. Fulford, senior VP of owner success, AIA Corporation (asi/109480)
• Rener Gracie, founder, Quikflip Apparel (asi/89364)
• Lucas Guariglia, president/sales director, Rowboat Creative (asi/313715/83710)
• Melissa Guthrie, account manager, Swag Promo (asi/340491)
• RJ Hagel, marketing manager, Goldstar (asi/73295)
• Maggie Mason, sales and marketing director, City Paper Company (asi/162267)
• Steve Peters, co-founder and VP of operations, Emperor Promos (asi/52371)
• Ali Rizvi, co-founder, Promotional Drives (asi/54536)
• Ankur Sinha, head of India operations, BAMKO (asi/131431)
• Millie Tadewaldt, founder, Brilliant Gifts (asi/146116)
• Chelsea van der Meer, creative director, Batch (asi/38781)
• Nicole Verspyck, VP of sales, Gemline (asi/56070)

Click here for an online listing, with individual profiles and photos. The winners are also featured in Counselor’s June issue, available in print and online.

To learn more about the Hot List, contact Dave Vagnoni at [email protected]. For info on advertising in any of ASI’s magazines, contact Matt Barnes, ASI’s vice president of publishing and media services, at [email protected].

About ASI
The Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI^®) serves a network of 23,500 suppliers, distributors and decorators in the $24.7 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 55 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.uat-asicentral.com.