Sterling, Illinois-headquartered distributor HALO (PPAI 106462, D15) has announced executive management alignment changes and additions to focus on key areas for the company.

The Moves: Paul Bellantone has been named senior vice president of customer experience; Dawn Olds, MAS, was named senior vice president of industry relations and DEI; and Cathie Hernandez has come onboard as senior vice president of drop ship operations.

What They’re Saying: “Paul and Dawn are excellent examples of how industry veterans help HALO continue to be a destination of choice for account executives and customers,” says Marc Simon, HALO CEO. “Cathie is the latest executive we have attracted from outside the industry to provide depth and experience to support future growth—enhancing the selling experience for our valued sales team and providing innovative solutions for HALO clients.”

Full Disclosure: Bellantone joined HALO in 2021 after two decades with PPAI, including serving for 10 years as the Association’s president and CEO. Olds is currently the chair of the PPAI Board of Directors.

Background:

  • Bellantone joined HALO one year ago as senior vice president of sales for the Western U.S., a newly created role at the company. In his new position as senior vice president of customer experience, he will report directly to Simon and be responsible for developing strategies to address the growing needs of HALO’s global client base. Bellantone says the new role will focus on driving end-to-end customer experience. “My passion will be to see that buyers and account executives continue to benefit from unparalleled HALO opportunities and experiences,” he says.
  • Olds, a 33-year HALO veteran, previously served as the distributor’s senior vice president of operations. In her new role at HALO, Olds will be accountable for translating her knowledge and relationships into strategies to improve its prominence externally and deliver value for its account executives, and lead the business initiatives to advance HALO’s diversity, equity and inclusion strategy. She will report to Jim Stutz, HALO executive vice president of sales and business development. Olds says, “I’m thrilled to strike out on a new trail with this newly-created position at HALO. After several years of leading our operations team, my focus is going to be on strengthening our industry relationships, fostering HALO’s DEI strategy, coordinating our corporate sponsorships and working with our team to assure HALO events continue to be a stellar experience for our sales associates.”  
  • Hernandez will report to HALO Chief Operating Officer Kevin Pollack. She comes to the company from Equifax, a multi-billion-dollar leader in the workforce solution, data, and technology market. Hernandez will be responsible for continuing the HALO’s forward focus on all aspects of order management, including order processing, customer service and billing.