Erin Reilly, CEO and founder of supplier Pop! Promos, and Zack Ottenstein, president of The Image Group – ranked the No. 41 distributor in this year’s PPAI 100 – are set to become the newest members of the PPAI Board of Directors after being elected in a week-long voting process. Additionally, Lori Bauer, senior vice president of affiliate sales and support at Wayland, Massachusetts-based iPROMOTEu – promo’s 13th leading distributor in the PPAI 100 – has been appointed for a two-year, at-large director position.
Each PPAI member’s company voting contact was eligible to cast a vote on the decision to elect Reilly and Ottenstein after their nomination to this year’s slate. Said nomination was decided by the Leadership Advisory Committee, vetting by the Elected Directors Nominating Committee and final approval by the sitting PPAI Board of Directors.
- Both candidates received over 90% of the vote to approve them as members of the board.
- Voting officially ended midnight Monday, September 4.
The three industry professionals will begin their tenure at the close of The PPAI Expo 2024 in January.
- Reilly and Ottenstein’s terms will continue until 2028 and will replace the expiring terms of Dawn Olds, MAS, senior vice president of industry relations and DEI at HALO and Tom Goos, MAS, president of Image Source.
- Bauer’s two-year term continues until 2026. She replaces the expiring term of Melissa Ralston of supplier Koozie Group.
Meet Erin Reilly
As a senior at John Hopkins University, Reilly and her best friend Sterling Wilson started making Pantone-matched sunglasses and accidentally fell head over heels into the promotional products industry. Launching College Glasses in 2012 and rebranding to Pop! Promos a year later, Reilly has worn just about every hat at the Philadelphia-based supplier, scaling the firm from a small startup to an award-winning organization with more than 125 employees in offices across the globe. Reilly also serves on the PPAI Women’s Leadership Committee.
“Everyone throughout the interview process was so welcoming and encouraging,” Reilly says. “I’m looking forward to learning a lot and getting to know new facets of the industry.”
In an interview with PPAI Media, Reilly went further in depth about what she’s hoping to bring to the board.
Ottenstein joined The Image Group in 2016 and became president of the Holland, Ohio-based firm in 2020. During his tenure, Ottenstein has led the company’s transformation into a vertical-focused marketing solutions business. Prior to promo, he served as an investment analyst and director of marketing communications for Welltower, a $40 billion-plus enterprise value company. A 2018 PPB Rising Star, he is currently a board member for several local nonprofits and is also a highly involved member of the Young Presidents’ Organization.
“The nominating process led me to reflect on our industry: $25 billion with thousands of companies employing tens of thousands of people,” Ottenstein says. “It’s easy to forget in the haste of day-to-day work that you’re part of something so vast. Once I was added to the slate, I was flattered by all the people who reached out and shared their support. Our industry’s commitment to relationships is special.”
“Both the industry and PPAI are grappling with digital transformation and consolidation,” he says. “The CSR movement represents a great opportunity for us to think about impact. I’m expecting to discuss how members can remain relevant and valuable to clients. There are extraordinary opportunities for PPAI to advance its mission.”
In an interview with PPAI Media, Ottenstein went further in depth about what he’s hoping to bring to the board.
Meet Lori Bauer
Prior to joining iPROMOTEu, Bauer spent 23 years at Koozie Group, where she was an integral part of the supplier’s success with responsibilities spanning across sales and marketing. Named a PPB Rising Star in 2010 and honored with the PPAI RAC Volunteer of the Year Award in 2015, Bauer has long been a supporter of PPAI’s Women’s Leadership Conference, serving on the WLC Advisory Group for multiple years.
Bauer has also served as president of the Promotional Products Association of Florida (PPAF) and as board chair of the Promotional Products Education Foundation (PPEF).
“I’m honored to be joining the PPAI Board and look forward to working hand-in-hand to execute the PPAI Strategic Plan, helping to shape the many new and meaningful initiatives that are underway to benefit our industry,” Bauer says. “I hope to bring a unique and balanced perspective from both the supplier and distributor point of view, given my previous and current work experience and relationships.”
2024 PPAI Board Members
The three new PPAI Board members will join Dan Pantano of supplier alphabroder|Prime Line, Joshua White of distributor BAMKO, Chris Anderson of supplier HPG, Karie Cowden of distributor Connect the Dots Promotions, Denise Taschereau of distributor Fairware, Kara Keister of distributor Social Good Promotions, Andrew Spellman of supplier Therabody, and current board chair Kevin Walsh, CAS, of supplier Showdown Displays.
In January, Walsh will move to the position of immediate past chair, with Spellman assuming the role of board chair and Taschereau becoming the incoming chair. Anderson will take the role of vice chair, finance services.
