中文SanMar President and CEO Jeremy Lott has been named the most influential executive in the promotional products industry, taking the number-one position on the Advertising Specialty Institute’s (ASI) 2026 Counselor Power 50. Announced during the ASI Power Summit in San Diego, the ranking recognizes executives whose leadership, business performance and industry contributions are shaping the $27.7 billion promotional products market — a sector that quietly underpins much of the branded merchandise seen at conferences, offices and events worldwide.
Under Lott’s leadership, SanMar increased estimated 2025 sales by 8% to $4.1 billion and reported double-digit growth in 2026 despite tariffs and global supply chain challenges. Those numbers matter because they were achieved against headwinds that have rattled distributors and suppliers alike. Tariffs on imported goods, freight uncertainty and shifting sourcing patterns have squeezed margins across the industry; that a distributor of SanMar’s scale posted double-digit growth through that environment is a signal of both operational discipline and demand resilience in branded merchandise.
The 2026 Power 50 placed other prominent leaders nearby. CJ Schmidt of Hit Promotional Products, Jo-an Lantz and David Geiger of Geiger, and Frank Myers of S&S all ranked among the top executives. Now in its 21st year, the Counselor Power 50 recognizes 68 executives from supplier and distributor organizations, including seven newcomers and leaders from 15 family-owned businesses. Rankings combine industry peer voting with editorial evaluations of business performance, leadership and influence — a blend intended to capture both measurable results and softer reputational capital.
Ashish Mittal, CEO of ASI, emphasized the importance of leadership amid technological change, stating, “Technology will change how this industry operates, but people will decide what it becomes.” The line neatly captures the tension running through the 2026 summit and the industry at large. Artificial intelligence, e-commerce platforms and automated decoration are reshaping how promotional products are designed, ordered and fulfilled — yet the relationships, judgment and trust that distributors like SanMar provide remain central to how the market actually functions.
The promotional products industry occupies an interesting strategic position. It is large, fragmented and surprisingly resilient: even as digital marketing absorbs budgets, physical branded merchandise persists because it delivers tangible, lasting impressions that screens cannot replicate. Distributors that can navigate sourcing complexity, manage inventory and deliver reliable service — as SanMar’s growth suggests it has — continue to thrive regardless of macro noise.
Lott’s ascent to the top of the Power 50 also reflects the enduring importance of distribution scale in a fragmented supplier landscape. With thousands of product categories and a global supply base, the distributors that win are those that aggregate selection, enforce quality and shorten delivery. SanMar’s reported $4.1 billion in sales places it at the apex of that aggregation role, and Lott’s recognition is as much a reflection of that structural position as of personal leadership.
The 2026 summit’s themes — AI, economic conditions and evolving business models — hint at the challenges the industry’s leaders must now navigate. AI promises to streamline design, quoting and customer service, but it also threatens to commoditize parts of the value chain that distributors have traditionally owned. How executives like Lott respond will shape whether distributors become indispensable orchestrators or merely order-takers in an automated funnel.
For the promotional products sector, a strong year from its largest distributor is reassuring. It suggests that, tariffs and technology notwithstanding, the fundamental demand for branded merchandise remains robust and that capable operators can grow even in adverse conditions. Lott’s number-one ranking is a recognition of past performance, but it also raises the bar: the industry will be watching how SanMar and its peers convert scale and leadership into advantage as the next wave of disruption arrives.
Source: ASI / SanMar via INKISH.
The resilience SanMar demonstrated also speaks to the structural durability of promotional products as a marketing channel. Even as digital advertising dominates budgets and attribution, physical branded merchandise retains a role because it embeds a brand into daily life in a way a feed scroll cannot. Distributors that can reliably source, decorate and deliver at scale capture steady demand that is less cyclical than many assume. Lott’s recognition is thus less about one executive and more about the quiet strength of an industry that keeps finding new reasons to exist.
Looking forward, the pressures Lott and his peers navigate will only intensify. Artificial intelligence is beginning to automate design, quoting and customer interaction, threatening to compress margins for intermediaries who add little beyond aggregation. The differentiator for leaders will be whether they use technology to deepen service — faster sampling, better compliance, smarter inventory — or merely to cut cost. SanMar’s growth through adversity suggests a management team inclined toward the former, which is why the industry’s top ranking landed where it did.
In the end, Lott’s recognition captures a simple truth about the promotional products business: scale, service and steadiness beat spectacle. The industry rewards distributors who reliably deliver through turbulence, and the Power 50’s top ranking affirms that quiet operational excellence still commands the highest regard among peers and customers alike.
