After nearly 40 years in the promotional products industry, leading turnarounds of struggling companies, providing mentorship to many of today’s leaders and building life-long relationships over card games, Paul Lage, MAS, has cashed his chips in.
The PPAI Hall of Famer has announced his retirement on LinkedIn, prompting an outpour of congratulations and well-wishes from his peers. Lage most recently served as a board member for Tattoo Manufacturing International (TMI), the parent company of Tucson, Arizona-based supplier California Tattoos & Promotional Products.
He had considered retiring a few years earlier, after Koozie Group – PPAI 100’s No. 9 supplier – acquired former supplier IMAGEN Brands, which he was president of. But after a friend asked him to take the dual role of interim president and board member at TMI, Lage felt like he had some more left in the tank to offer the industry.
“I’ve always treated running a business like building a family,” Lage says. “Instead of being top-down driven, people are empowered. It’s about giving people an opportunity. You try to pull all the talent and ideas out of the group and throughout the entire company. Smarts, creativity and hard work are inherent in a lot of people, and some of them just don’t get the chance.”
Paul Lage, MAS
PPAI Hall of Famer
As for why he’s decided now is the time to step away, Lage says TMI has developed a wonderful management team. “I got to the point where I’m not bringing that much incremental value to the situation,” he says.
“I’m not a believer in hanging on. You kind of know when it’s the right time to move on.”
Second-Generation Promo Pro
Lage grew up in the branded merchandise industry, working in sample rooms at defunct supplier Quick Point during his high school years.
His late father David Lage, who served on the PPAI Board of Directors from 1982-1986, spent more than 25 years at the helm of Quick Point.
- David was named an honorary life member by the PPAI Board in 2005, and in 2016, earned PPAI Fellow Recognition.
- His industry volunteerism included work on the Association’s Suppliers Advisory Council and Conventions Advisory Council, as well as its Strategic Planning Committee.
Paul didn’t plan on following in his dad’s footsteps, but “it’s a very incestuous industry.”
He earned a bachelor’s in marketing from Missouri State University and completed his MBA at Drury University in just a year and a half. While he was working for a corrugated box company, Gill Studios – PPAI 100’s No. 26 supplier – recruited Lage as an account executive and product manager based on his dad’s relationship with PPAI Hall of Famer Mark Gillman, CAS, chairman of Gill Studios and recipient of the 2016 PPAI H. Ted Olson Humanitarian Award.
Lage jumped at the opportunity as it allowed him to return to Kansas City, where his wife, Maggie, is from. “I’ve always been fortunate enough to have a great wife who has gone along with all of this,” he says. “When you’re not an owner, you have to ask yourself if you’re willing to take a risk. And I’ve always been somebody who’s willing to take a risk.”
The Gambler
After seven years at Gill Studios, Lage joined BIC Graphic USA (now known as Koozie Group) as a marketing manager in 1993. Over the next 13 years, he climbed the company ladder to global vice president of business development at BIC Graphic North America. Along the way, he implemented aggressive marketing strategies that focused on new product development, driving significant revenue and growing global operations.
- Lage also served as PPAI Board Chair in 2003.
And then in 2006, he took the biggest risk of his career.
He became president and CEO of former supplier Norwood, which was in financial distress with damaged client relationships and deteriorating profit margins. “It was a mess,” Lage says.
“But we took a negative situation and turned it around. It was hard, but our family approach worked. We had everybody pulling in the same direction, including a lot of distributors who could help us do better. It didn’t end the way we necessarily wanted, but we worked through the 2008 financial crisis and two facilities flooding.”
Under Lage’s leadership, Norwood dropped all lawsuits that had been initiated against customers, divested operations that were in direct competition with distributors and replaced consultants with a new internal leadership team. The firm increased sales by 5% and achieved profitability within his first year, followed by 12% growth the year after.
“It was probably the most stressful experience I’ve ever had,” Lage adds, “but it was also the most rewarding.”
- BIC acquired Norwood in 2009.
- Lage returned to Gill Studios as president and CEO from 2010 to 2018, when he then became president of IMAGEN.
- He was inducted into the PPAI Hall of Fame in 2012.
‘A True Mentor’
Christina Hoelzer, director of digital experience at Koozie Group, met Lage 25 years ago when she started as a sales rep for BIC. She says they instantly bonded in large part due to her holding her own against him in a card game (either poker or gin).
Hoelzer remembers calling him two days before a sales meeting when she found out she was expecting her first child. She wasn’t ready for everyone to know. As they gathered in the evenings, Lage made sure she had a “drink” in her hand to never raise suspicion.
“A mentor, a true mentor, helps you navigate a path of uncertainty,” Hoelzer says. “That’s Paul. He has always been a beacon in my life – a believer in the industry, in the company he works for, in the products and, most importantly, in the people that surround him. Paul’s wisdom, his energy and his devotion make you want to be a better you.”
Christina Hoelzer
Director of Digital Experience, Koozie Group
After decades of service to the industry and the Association, including being actively involved with the Promotional Products Education Foundation and serving on numerous committees, Lage is now looking forward to spending more time with his family, especially his grandchildren, and improving his golf game.
“Paul Lage is a great friend and mentor to so many in the promo world,” says industry veteran Chuck Fandos, business consultant and coach at Exec To Coach. “His service to the industry was inspirational to so many and brought people like me into the volunteer world of PPAI. I feel so lucky to have a friend like Paul.”
Despite all the disruption over the past few years, Lage maintains that the promotional products industry is still incredibly solid. And he doesn’t see that changing anytime soon.
“The key is to always stay relevant and focused,” Lage says. “Understand that what’s going on in the short term isn’t going to last forever. As the leader of a company, you’re the one person who is responsible for looking out farther down the road. You have to communicate and empower people because you can’t do it all on your own.
“It really does take a village to make it happen.”
