Gemline (PPAI 113948, S11) announced a new appointment and two promotions to its leadership team this week. As first reported Monday in a PPB Newslink Breaking News alert, the Lawrence, Massachusetts-based supplier has named Frank Carpenito, a veteran consumer products executive, to president of the company, and promoted Jonathan Isaacson to chairman and chief executive officer, and Saadia Bryant to vice president of marketing, product and design.
Carpenito has been a Gemline board member since 2014. In his new capacity as president, he will be responsible for running the supplier’s day-to-day business. He will also partner with Isaacson to steer the company’s growth strategy and priorities. Carpenito’s career in the consumer products industry spans three decades, including roles as CEO and president over the past 20 years. Most recently, he was CEO of BigMouth, Inc., a global consumer products company known for outdoor lifestyle products, and earlier Carpenito was CEO and president of Gordon Brothers B2B and United Natural Foods – East, and held leadership roles at Procter & Gamble, Pepsi-Cola and Newell-Rubbermaid/Berol.
“I am very pleased that Frank will be taking the role of president of Gemline and to announce the promotion of Saadia,” says Isaacson. “Frank’s work as a board member allows him to hit the ground running and his proven track record of leadership success will be invaluable to Gemline as we drive towards continued growth.”
Speaking to PPB Newslink, Carpenito laid out his initial priorities in his new role at the supplier. “My focus is on continuing to drive aggressive revenue growth, which is being fueled by our successful ‘price lock zone initiative’, mitigating the impact of tariffs for the benefit of our distributor partners and their customers; expanding our brand partnerships, both existing and new; and accelerating innovation, with an emphasis on new product lines and categories,” says Carpenito.
He says he also sees several opportunities ahead of Gemline, including “Expanding our direct import and global solutions business, leveraging our strong and abundant production capacity outside of China and expanding our exciting Gourmet Expressions food business.”
Bryant joined Gemline in 2018 as director of digital marketing. In her expanded role, she will continue to oversee marketing, but add product management and product design and innovation functions to her responsibilities. Bryant will be responsible for harmonizing all three functions under a go-to-market strategy and ensuring alignment with the promotional products marketplace and key customers. Prior to joining Gemline, she held marketing leadership roles with consumer brands, including Crabtree & Evelyn and Reebok International, Ltd.
Isaacson adds, “Saadia’s promotion recognizes her demonstrated ability to make an impact on the business and help us to continue to innovate aggressively. I am looking forward to having her drive the integration of product, design and marketing that will keep Gemline at the forefront of our industry.”
As chairman and CEO, Isaacson will focus on strategy, vision, culture and market/brand partnerships, as well as continuing to be a market, customer and political ambassador for the company. He has served as president of Gemline since 1994 and has successfully steered the company’s growth into one of the industry’s largest suppliers.