Positioning himself as an “arms dealer for the creative revolution”, Todd Henry teaches leaders and organizations how to establish practices that lead to everyday brilliance. He is the author of seven books (The Accidental Creative, Die Empty, Louder Than Words, Herding Tigers, The Motivation Code, Daily Creative) which have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and he speaks and consults across dozens of industries on creativity, leadership, and passion for work. With more than eighteen million downloads, his podcast “Daily Creative” offers weekly tips for how to stay brave, focused, and brilliant. His latest book, The Brave Habit, offers strategies for rising to important moments in life and work.

Link to Todd's site

Kyla Scanlon is the founder of a financial education company, Bread, and a creator. She writes a weekly newsletter, makes YouTube videos, hosts the “Let’s Appreciate” podcast, and posts almost daily short form videos about the economy and markets. Her first book, In This Economy: How Money and Markets Really Work was published in May 2024. She has written for Bloomberg Opinion, New York Magazine, the Financial Times, New York Magazine, and the New York Times, as well as many other major publications. Her main goal is to conduct human-centric economic analysis to help connect the dots between what is happening and why it is happening.

Link to Kyla's YouTube channel

Ben Higgins is best known from season 20 of ABC’s hit series, “The Bachelor,” where he opened himself up to millions of viewers, giving them the chance to truly get to know him. In 2017 Ben co-founded Generous International, a for purpose company dedicated to contributing profits to social issues around the world, starting with a cup of coffee. With a vision to change the way society thinks of consumer products, all Generous merchandise is designed specifically to create and multiply good in the world. Whether creating jobs, feeding children or improving education, it begins with giving back in order to build a world that we all want to live in.

Ben stays connected with his loyal Bachelor following with his iHeartMedia podcast, “Almost Famous,” which he co-hosts with his friend and former Bachelor contestant, Ashley Iaconetti. In 2018 Ben partnered with Culinary Creative Group to start over 20 restaurants around the world. Culinary Creative has developed several critically acclaimed restaurants in Denver, CO, Aspen, CO, and New Orleans, LA under their own umbrella or through strategic partnerships. In February of 2021 Ben released his first book called Alone In Plain Sight. Of all Ben’s ventures, his longest-running connection has been with Humanity and Hope United and Project Hope where he volunteers his time for their board of directors.

Link to Ben's site

Sandy Gonzalez is the CEO of California-based MadeToOrder. An industry veteran with nearly 40 years of experience, Sandy is passionately dedicated to mentoring tomorrow's elite sales professionals. Words like unstoppable, confident, heart, hustle, fearless, and respect have each been applied to Sandy and her attitude toward life and work. After taking the reins as CEO at $20+ million MadeToOrder, she helped to successfully navigate her team through the Covid crisis. In 2021 Sandy was recognized as Counselor’s 2021 Woman of Distinction, one of the industry’s highest honors. In 2024, MadeToOrder merged with Seattle-based RED Promotions.

Shelley began her career in the promotional products industry in 1996. In 2008, she felt compelled to launch a women-owned and operated businesses that helped both clients and team members “reach every dream (RED)” and create experiences through branded merchandise. In 2024, RED Promotions was recognized as one of Counselor Magazine’s Best Places To Work and in 2025, RED Promotions merged with MadeToOrder. When not conquering the world of promotional merchandise, Shelley can be found spending quality time with her family, trying new things to stay fit or enjoying sips and shopping with friends.

Tom Rector is revolutionizing the way people connect with branded merchandise. As the founder and CEO of ScreenBroidery, he transformed a small grad school side hustle into an award-winning creative merchandise agency that empowers brands to stand out and tell their stories. Known for his "in the details" leadership style, Tom approaches every challenge with a growth mindset, fostering innovation and continuous improvement at every level of the organization. His obsession with delivering exceptional service has not only earned ScreenBroidery industry accolades but has also built lasting relationships with Fortune 500 clients and growing businesses alike. Under his leadership, ScreenBroidery has redefined on-demand production and eCommerce fulfillment, setting a new standard for quality, creativity, and customer satisfaction in the promotional products industry.

Kate Nash’s background resembles others who found themselves jumping into (and loving!) the promo industry -- after starting her professional life in newspaper journalism and marketing roles in higher ed and tech, Kate Nash joined Raining Rose as top marketing leader in 2019. Kate leveraged her multi-industry background to partner with l eaders on a new Raining Rose Promos brand and has also worked to support sales growth at the company through marketing strategies and sales partnership.

In July 2022, Kate took over as Director of Promotional Sales in addition to her marketing leadership at Raining Rose. In her new role, she leads the promotional sales team, determines future investments, spearheads product development, and oversees daily operations, in addition to guiding marketing strategy across all divisions of Raining Rose. She also serves on a cross-functional company team forwarding corporate social responsibility and sustainability initiatives.

Kate received her bachelor’s degree in journalism and political science from Iowa State University and her MBA from the University of Iowa. She is a proud Midwesterner who loves being outside, quoting old episodes of Friends, patronizing local businesses, trying (and failing) to grow plants, cooking new recipes, and keeping a 100-year old house from caving in. In her free time, she loves spending quality time with her husband and two kids.

Nick Lateur is a passionate and dedicated professional who, quite simply, loves PEOPLE. This “people-first” attitude and keen understanding of the emotional power of good marketing have directly impacted the growth and success of his customers. Serving as a true Brand Evangelist, Nick has played a pivotal role in helping to shape the identity and market presence of the companies for which he has served. The relentless pursuit of creative excellence and an “I Love People” attitude continue to drive Nick to help others to find success.

Mikas Agarwal grew up in an entrepreneurial family, where he developed a keen understanding of the value of change and open-box thinking. Now, as Chief Digital Officer at Akran Marketing, a well-known, award-winning leader in Canada's branding industry, he’s transforming the ad specialty sector with AI-driven strategies and innovative marketing. Recognized by Forbes and industry giants like ASI, Mikas is a disruptor setting new standards. His philosophy, "your success is my success," reflects his commitment to trust-based relationships. Mikas' insights are reshaping the industry's future.

Catherine Graham is the Co-Founder and CEO of commonsku, a cloud-based CRM, order management and social collaboration platform that empowers entrepreneurial excellence. Designed for the promotional products industry by promotional products experts, commonsku makes it fun and easy to collaborate and connect with promotional products professionals. Distributors and suppliers use commonsku to share best practices, find great products, build closer relationships, and learn from industry experts and peers.

Catherine has over 15 years of experience in banking, management consulting, and growing businesses through her time at TD Bank, eBay, and A.T. Kearney. Catherine was also an owner and Managing Director at RIGHTSLEEVE, a leader in the online category of the promotional products industry, who sold to Genumark in 2019.

In her work with RIGHTSLEEVE, Catherine has been recognized as a PPB’s Best Boss and as an ASI Power 50 list honoree and she led RIGHTSLEEVE to multiple awards including ASI Distributor Entrepreneur of the Year, PPAI Web Award, and Counselor’s Best Places to Work. Under her leadership, commonsku has received two PPAI pyramid awards and twice been recognized as a PPB Best Places to Work.

Charlie Moscoe is the VP of Product management at commonsku, bringing over 10 years of business-to-business Product Management experience to the team. With a background in design and computer science, he has worked across a wide variety of industries, with a focus on marketplace applications. Charlie combines user-centric design processes with data-driven experimentation to help commonsku's customers grow and thrive. Outside of work, Charlie loves to get out in nature, hiking in the forest or out in the back country on his snowboard.

Bobby Lehew is the Chief Content Officer at commonsku, a cloud-based CRM, order management platform designed for the promotional products industry by promotional product experts. Bobby was the CEO for 15 years at Robyn, a branded products fulfillment company that specialized in private-label, e-commerce company stores. A multiple PPAI Gold Pyramid Award winner, a PPAI Silver Technology recipient, an Addy Award recipient, and recognized (in his work with Robyn) three years in a row by Inc. Magazine as one of the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., Bobby is co-host of the popular podcast, skucast, and a national speaker on topics related to B2B marketing, B2B selling, and storyselling. Bobby is an ardent bibliophile who loves to explore creative insights from entrepreneurs who bridge the world between art + commerce.

Mark is the co-founder of commonsku, a business software application designed specifically for the promotional products industry. Mark is one of the founding chefs of PromoKitchen and is the host of the popular PromoKitchen podcast where he interviews industry thought leaders as well as business luminaries such as Seth Godin and Dan Pink. Recognized with multiple honors in the industry, including ASI's Distributor Entrepreneur of the Year, ASI’s Hot List, and PPAI’s Rising Stars, Mark has been featured in several major media publications (PPB, Counselor Magazine, Stitches, and Advantages). An innovative leader, Mark frequently mentors promotional entrepreneurs through writing, speaking, and training, and shares his technology expertise with promotional professionals across North America (PPAI Expo, ASI Chicago, ASI San Diego, PPPC, MAPPA, SPPA, Promo East, Partnering Group, NALC, ASI Power Summit).