Geiger (PPAI 105182) has named Jo-an Lantz, MAS, company president, effective January 2, 2019. Lantz will be the first non-family president of the Lewiston, Maine-headquartered distributor. The news was first announced on Monday in a PPB Newslink Breaking News alert. As president, Lantz will oversee Geiger and all of its companies, and will report to Gene Geiger, MAS+, who will remain CEO.
“Jo-an has met every challenge we have given her over the years and has the Geiger culture in her veins,” says Geiger. “She has earned her new role, and I am confident that she and her team will lead our firm in new directions and to new heights.”
Lantz has been with Geiger since graduating from Purdue University, and she has held a variety of sales operations roles as she has risen through the company’s ranks. She is currently the company’s COO.
Lantz says, “Gene and Peter Geiger have built a fantastic company with a strong culture. It is an honor to be Geiger’s first non-family president. We have so many opportunities and great talent. I look forward to working with the management team, employee associates and sales partners to continue to grow the business.”
During her distinguished career in the promotional products industry, Lantz has served on the PPAI Board of Directors, including a term as board president; helped found the PPAI Women’s Leadership Conference; been a member of the ASI Power 50 since its inception; and has won almost all of the industry’s most significant awards. She was inducted into the PPAI Hall Of Fame in 2009.
This change at the top of Geiger is a step toward moving the 140-year-old family business from the family’s fourth generation to its fifth. Geiger’s sons Jeff and David are both active in the firm.
