Facilisgroup, a software-as-a-service business for the promotional products industry, said Tuesday that it has turned to a company veteran to lead the firm forward, appointing Ashley McCune president.

Ashley McCune, President, Facilisgroup

McCune is rising to the president’s chair as Facilisgroup Founder Dan Rochette and Chief Business Development Officer Martin Weber retire – and as Facilis CEO Chuck Fandos moves into the role of chief strategy officer with The Pebble Group. Headquartered in Manchester, U.K., the Pebble Group is the parent company of Facilisgroup and England-based global distributor Brand Addition (asi/202515), which also has offices in St. Louis, MO.

Fandos said McCune is the perfect leader to drive future success for Facilis.

“During her tenure with Facilisgroup, Ashley has helped to innovate our technology, enhance our partner development and engage our community. All three factors have been critical to our success,” Fandos said in a statement. “Ashley leads with a natural brilliance and passion for excellence, and has a laser-focused determination to exceed company goals.”

Chris Lee, CEO of The Pebble Group, also had high praise for McCune. “Ashley possesses a remarkable understanding of what is required to position Facilisgroup to hit its financial and growth goals for 2020 and beyond,” Lee said.

Most recently, McCune served as chief operations officer for Facilisgroup – a position she ascended to in 2019. During her tenure as COO, McCune oversaw the successful launch of one of the company’s largest IT integrations, while helping to spearhead unprecedented growth, fellow executives said. Prior to serving as COO, McCune was vice president of operations and marketing. In that role, she was vital to propelling profitable company growth, executives said. In all, she’s been with Facilisgroup for 13 years, having previously worked for the former GatewayCDI, a distributorship that evolved into Brand Addition USA following a 2016 acquisition by Brand Addition.

McCune, whose total promo industry experience stretches back to 2004, will be supported by Matthew Lamb, executive vice president of partner development; Wendy Wells, vice president of supplier relations; Liam Conlan, vice president of technology, and the entire Facilisgroup team.

McCune’s appointment comes a few weeks after Facilisgroup named Wells its vice president of supplier relations. In September, Facilisgroup appointed Whitney Meahl as director of stores. The three Facilis promotions represent a growing trend in promo – namely, women rising to positions of greater power in C-Suites across the industry. The trend was also recently evidenced by 4imprint’s (asi/197045) Suzanne Worwood, who earned co-top-spot on Counselor’s latest Power 50, a definitive ranking of the most influential people in the promotional products industry.

The executive moves at Facilisgroup occur as The Pebble Group prepares to push toward accelerated sales expansion. In December, the company successfully listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in an effort to raise capital to fuel growth plans and more. CEO Lee placed 34th on the Power 50. Facilisgroup is headquartered in St. Louis, MO, with additional offices in Ottawa, Canada.