Promo industry veteran Brian Porter has entered the C-suite at Top 40 supplier Starline (asi/89320).

The Grand Island, NY-based company just promoted Porter from senior vice president of sales and marketing to chief revenue officer.

Brian Porter, Starline

Executives said the move was well-earned: Porter’s leadership was integral to Starline increasing sales 62.7% in 2021 to $48 million – a performance that returned the company to Counselor’s Top 40 list of the industry’s largest suppliers.

“In his new position of CRO, Brian will take on a more strategic sales and marketing leadership role within the organization, while continuing his active engagement in the industry,” said CEO Mason Lapsker.

The intersection of technology and sales/marketing at Starline will be among Porter’s key focuses.

“Brian understands the important role that technology and operations play in the evolving sales and marketing industry landscape,” said Jon Norris, Starline chief operating officer and a member of Counselor’s Power 50 list of promo’s most influential people. “I look forward to working with him in this new role as we drive Starline forward as a continued industry innovator and leader.”

Porter joined Starline in 2018. He has almost 30 years of experience in promo, having started his career in the industry as a regional sales director at Norwood. Past positions include being national sales director of Canada-headquartered supplier Spector & Co.’s (asi/88660) U.S. Division. Porter was also previously vice president of North American sales at supplier Pro Towels (asi/79750) and a national sales director at Bebco (asi/39395).

A prominent figure in the promo products market, Porter has served in industry volunteer roles. Those include being chair of the Promotional Products Education Foundation (PPEF) and serving with the Promotional Products Association of the Midwest (PPAM) regional association, where he was president in 2016.

In addition to Grand Island, NY, Starline has a location in Vaughn, Ontario. The company offers a patented digital decoration technique, TruColor, and carries name brands that include uniball, Stanley, Pelican, JanSport, and Urban Peak.