The North American Leadership Conference is coming to the nation’s capital this June.

NALC is promo’s premier gathering of leaders from distributors, suppliers and service providers. It can serve as something of a temperature check for the most prevalent issues facing promo in any given year. With top-notch education pertaining to the industry and high-profile speakers, NALC is also a networking opportunity in a more intimate environment than The PPAI Expo.

“No other industry event comes close to the executive level education that NALC provides,” says Dale Denham, PPAI’s president and CEO. “Everyone leaves with new insights and new connections in addition to catching up with and strengthening existing connections.”

NALC will be held June 4-6 in Washington. Registration is now open to the industry. It will be followed immediately by PPAI Legislative Education and Action Day (L.E.A.D.) on June 7.

A Premier Event For Industry Leaders

NALC will be held at Hotel Washington, across the street from the White House. Fittingly, PPAI has booked former Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward, depicted by Robert Redford in the film All The President’s Men, and who has written about every president from Nixon to Biden, as a speaker the first morning of the event.

  • From that point forward, the sessions will be industry-specific with high-level insights concerning trends in promo.

Despite an eventful schedule, PPAI designates lunch, dinner and happy hour networking opportunities for company leaders in a casual setting.

“So many of us in leadership are tied up in the day-to-day for our companies,” says Kate Nash, director of promotional sales and marketing at Raining Rose. “NALC brings us together to hear perspectives on the forces shaping our industry and workforce in the future. What’s more, we have the opportunity to gather with other leaders and tap into each other’s expertise over networking opportunities. As a newer leader in the promo industry, I consider myself fortunate to take part.”

PPAI aims to provide ample reason to attend the event for its presentations that are both entertaining and valuable. Beyond that aim, the Association is happy to be the conduit to get so many important industry figures under one roof.

“Last year was my first-time attending NALC, and I’ll be returning for 2023,” says Denis Taschereau, CEO and co-founder of Fairware Promotional Products. “The combination of networking with industry leaders in a small setting and the quality of the content was unique and has put NALC on my must attend list moving forward.”

Much like there is no other trade show like The PPAI Expo, the Association takes seriously the goal of providing a leadership event that evolves over the years similar to the way promo’s leadership evolves in personnel and practices.

“I love that NALC blends valuable networking with unique education from industry leaders as well as external perspectives forcing us to think outside what we know,” Denham says.

Make Your Voice Heard At L.E.A.D.

This year, PPAI decided to co-locate NALC and the Legislative Education and Action Day (L.E.A.D.) to give industry leaders more of a chance to connect with lawmakers and their staff members on Capitol Hill.

  • L.E.A.D. will entail a full day of industry volunteers granted face-to-face meetings with legislators in order to advocate on behalf of the entire industry.

“Attending L.E.A.D. for the first time years ago changed my perspective on the importance and value of industry advocacy,” Denham says. “It’s a critical function of PPAI and having more industry leaders will further our ability to impact future legislation that will affect our industry.”

Register Now

NALC will be held June 4-7 at Hotel Washington in Washington, D.C.

L.E.A.D. will be held on June 7 in Washington.

  • If you plan to attend NALC and are also interested in participating in L.E.A.D, please email Maurice Norris at MauriceN@ppai.org.