21. Craig Nadel & Debbie Abergel

Jack Nadel International (asi/279600)

2019 Rank: 28

Craig

Title: President

Industry Experience: 37 years

Debbie

Title: Chief Strategy Officer

Industry Experience: 21 years

In the initial days of the pandemic, when fear, disbelief and confusion swept through the promo industry, one of the very first webinars – hosted by ASI’s CEO Tim Andrews – featured two Top 40 suppliers and two Top 40 distributors, one of whom was Craig Nadel. When Andrews asked, “What advice can you give to people listening who may be shellshocked?,” Nadel paused, cleared his throat, and with that endearingly awkward way of his spoke very deliberately: “You know how when you’re on an airplane and the attendant says that if something bad happens with the plane you should put your mask on first before anyone else? That… that’s what you should do. You have to save your business first. If you don’t have a business, you’re not going to be able to help anyone.” And with that, the hundreds of people who were listening quoted those words to their teams and began making tough decisions, because of Nadel’s unvarnished clarity. For her part, Abergel jumped into action and staged one of the industry’s first multi-day virtual education programs for JNI’s nearly 300 team members – not only to educate them, but as she presciently pointed out, to let them know that even though they were working from home, they’re all in this together.