Leadership rarely allows time to slow down. But this week in San Diego, senior executives from across the branded merchandise industry are doing exactly that – stepping away from day‑to‑day execution to focus on long‑term direction, shared challenges and the future of the channel they collectively shape.
Those conversations are unfolding at the 2026 PPAI North American Leadership Conference, which opened Tuesday and concludes Thursday. The event is being held at one of the country’s most historic hotels, The US Grant, where roughly 180 distributor, supplier and services provider leaders are gathered for peer engagement and strategic content examining how the industry must evolve in a fast‑changing world.
“For me, NALC is really about connected communities, but focusing that time on strategic thought leadership,” says Kate Alavez, president of distributor PromoShop and a PPAI Board member. “Whatever we’re doing in this room is looking forward to elevation of the industry. Discussions are around where we want to be in one, three, five, and even 10 years, and how our organizations are doing that collaboratively to make sure that we’re mindful of our employee values, our organizational needs and the growth opportunities we have.”
Kate Alavez
President, PromoShop
That long‑range lens is shaping a program that acknowledges rapid technological change – particularly around artificial intelligence – while repeatedly returning to more enduring leadership questions around trust, governance and intentional growth.
Kicking Things Off
The event opened Tuesday evening with a reception and exclusive preview of the 2026 PPAI 100 at Snapdragon Stadium.
In a nod to the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, leaders from the 40 leading supplier and distributor firms each received a customized soccer ball displaying their ranking.
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The full 2026 PPAI 100 list will roll out publicly later this month, with suppliers announced Tuesday, May 19, and distributors unveiled Tuesday, May 26.
Trust, Ethics And Leadership Under Pressure
Conference sessions began Wednesday morning with an opening keynote from Tyler Shultz, an entrepreneur and whistleblower of would-be health innovator Theranos, which crumbled amid massive fraud. His presentation underscored the consequences of leadership failures and the enduring value of trust.
Drawing from his experience as a young employee at Theranos, Shultz walked attendees through the rise and unraveling of one of Silicon Valley’s most notorious corporate scandals, examining issues of corporate governance, business ethics and organizational culture tensions. His message resonated beyond the tech world, offering cautionary lessons for leaders navigating innovation, growth expectations and emerging technologies.
As enthusiasm around AI and automation continues to accelerate across industries, Shultz’s story served as a reminder that innovation absent accountability and ethical clarity can carry long‑term costs.
Repositioning Merch In The Marketing Mix
Later Wednesday, the conversation shifted from leadership caution to strategic opportunity during Making Merch Part Of The Marketing Mix, a fireside discussion moderated by PPAI Board Chair Danny Rosin and featuring Julie Schnidman, vice president of alliances at the American Marketing Association, and Cayce Myers, a public relations author, professor, thought leader and board member of the Public Relations Society of America.
The discussion explored how branded merchandise must evolve to earn a more intentional role within integrated marketing and PR strategies.
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“It’s a million‑dollar question,” Schnidman said, when asked how the industry can become more thoughtful and meaningful in marketing campaigns. “It really is about how you’re positioning merchandise to marketers. Are you just talking about your products and your solutions, or are you talking about the business impact and the values, and how it can function to extend and build your brand in a sticky way?”
Schnidman emphasized intentionality as both a theme of the conference and a differentiator for branded merchandise when positioned effectively.
“We live in this very fragmented social, online landscape,” Myers said. “There is, I think, a real desire for that interconnection and for that interpersonal connection…. There’s a lot of opportunities for things like AI in terms of research and audience segmentation and being able to understand what resonates with what group, and how do you reach these people and communicate?
“But there’s also, I think, a reverse side of that, where it is trying to return to some of these older practices that may be lost in the digital shuffle, where we want to come together, we want to have relationships, and we know that there’s value added in that.”
The session reinforced a recurring message throughout NALC: Moving merchandise from a tactical execution to a strategic asset requires clearer articulation of business impact, brand values and long‑term return.
From AI Theory To Real‑World Decisions
Across multiple sessions on Wednesday and into Thursday, speakers and panelists examined how innovation is reshaping workflows, organizational culture and leadership expectations throughout the industry.
Wednesday sessions pushed discussions beyond abstract AI theory toward practical decision‑making. The focus consistently returned to governance, clarity and alignment rather than adopting technology for its own sake.
Additional programming scheduled for Thursday addresses broader economic and operational pressures, including the state of the economy, PPAI’s forthcoming Global Economic Study conducted by Oxford Economics, and responsible supply chains. Executive‑level roundtable discussions and devoted networking time allow leaders to compare strategies.
While innovation featured prominently throughout the agenda, many conversations ultimately circled back to leadership itself, particularly how executives navigate uncertainty that increasingly feels structural rather than temporary.
“Global destabilization, I believe, is here to stay,” says Frank Carpenito, president and CEO of supplier Gemline, who is attending his first NALC. “I don’t think we’re suddenly going to have calmness around the world. I don’t think we’re going to have calmness in our supply chain. So, I think that’s a big task for everybody.”
Frank Carpenito
President & CEO, Gemline
Industry Support And Looking Ahead
Numerous industry companies contributed to the success of the 2026 North American Leadership Conference, supporting programming designed to challenge, connect and prepare leaders for the work ahead.
As sessions conclude Thursday, NALC once again reaffirmed its role as a space for industry leaders to engage honestly with complexity – not simply to react to change, but to shape the future of branded merchandise with trust, intention and shared responsibility.
Numerous industry companies contributed to the success of the week’s event. View the 2026 NALC sponsors.
