A Top 40 distributor is adding expertise to its sales team.

Stran & Company (asi/337725), a publicly traded firm, has appointed Nick Kiefer as executive vice president of sales and Michele Pytlinski as senior vice president of client strategy.

Nick Kiefer and Michele Pytlinski, Stran & Company

Kiefer has more than 15 years of industry experience, including stints as vice president of sales and chief sales officer at Top 40 distributor ePromos Promotional Products (asi/188515). Previously, he was the vice president of sales at Top 40 distributor Touchstone (asi/345631), where he built a multimillion-dollar book of business.

“I believe Stran is positioned incredibly well in the promotional products industry,” says Kiefer. “There’s a huge opportunity to gain industry market share, and one key to achieving this includes cultivating our existing talent and providing them with the resources and support to maximize their success. I’m incredibly confident in our abilities and look forward to working with the team to help unlock our full potential.”

Pytlinski has over 10 years of industry experience, most recently as vice president of enterprise sales at ePromos. Her expertise lies in managing relationships with major accounts and strategy development for business optimization.

“We’re excited to add these two promotional products industry veterans to the Stran leadership team, who collectively bring decades of industry sales experience to Stran,” says CEO Andy Shape, a member of Counselor’s Power 50 list of the industry’s most influential people. He added that recent growth and acquisitions put Stran at an “inflection point” on which to build.

“Nick and Michele have successful track records implementing strategic sales strategies to further customer penetration and growth,” says Shape, Counselor’s 2023 Person of the Year. “We’re proud to expand our sales team and look forward to their contributions to Stran.”

With 2022 North American promotional products revenue of $64.3 million, Stran & Company ranked 34^th on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest distributors in the industry. The company went public in late 2021, and has since finalized several acquisitions, including Premier Business Services, GAP Promotions (asi/199882), Trend Brand Solutions (asi/346428) and T.R. Miller Co. Inc. (asi/272250).