PPAI has announced the slate of candidates for its incoming board of directors class, due to serve the promotional products industry’s leading nonprofit trade association from January of 2024 until 2028.

The two-person slate includes Erin Reilly, CEO and founder of supplier Pop! Promos, and Zack Ottenstein, president of The Image Groupranked the No. 41 distributor in this year’s PPAI 100.

The election to approve the slate begins August 28 and closes September 4. Each PPAI member company’s voting contact is eligible to cast a vote for the slate. Voting will be done electronically, and a new 2023 username and password will be emailed to the voting contacts when voting opens.

A candidate must receive majority approval among votes cast to be named to the board of directors following The PPAI Expo 2024.

The two board seats represent replacements for 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.

Reilly and Ottenstein were nominated to the slate following evaluation by the Leadership Advisory Committee, vetting by the Elected Directors Nominating Committee and ultimately, approval by the sitting PPAI Board of Directors.
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.

Reilly spoke with PPAI Media 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.

Ottenstein spoke with PPAI Media about what he’s hoping to bring to the board.

Along with those terms set to expire in January, the PPAI Board of Directors currently includes 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, Melissa Ralston of supplier Koozie Group, 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.