Top 40 supplier Edwards Garment (asi/51752) has a new president.

Jose Gomez, who had been serving as the Kalamazoo, MI-based firm’s senior vice president of operations, is rising into the executive role as longtime President/CEO Gary Schultz begins to transition to retirement. Schultz, who has held those executive positions at Edwards since 2001, will retain the title of CEO and continue to be active in the business as he moves toward full retirement.

Jose Gomez and Gary Schultz of Edwards Garment.

“With Jose as president, I will be able to devote my time to key strategy initiatives to grow all aspects of the business, including our commitment to sustainable solutions,” said Schultz.

Gomez joined Edwards Garment in May 2011, serving as vice president of sourcing and operations and then senior VP of operations. Prior to joining the Michigan-based company, he was director of sourcing at fashion-forward clothing brand Alternative Apparel and also spent 12 years as a senior manager at Kurt Salmon, an Atlanta-based global management and strategy consulting firm.

As president of Edwards Garment, Gomez will be responsible for all aspects of the business, which includes retaining his leadership position on supply chain, operations and sourcing. Leaders at the supplier firm asserted that Gomez has been instrumental in “transforming our supply chain by expanding the global network and implementing world class software, while responding to changes in our industry.”

Said Schultz: “The Board selected Jose to lead the organization based on his vast knowledge of the apparel industry and their expressed belief in the value of insider knowledge and experience. Jose’s wide-ranging experiences in the apparel industry provides him with the expertise that will serve Edwards today and into the future, while his tenure assures the special culture the company has will continue.”

In a statement, Edwards Garment said that Schultz has been instrumental to powering the company’s growth within uniform apparel markets, a feat achieved in part through what was described as a continued expansion of innovative new product offerings.

“Throughout his career at Edwards, he has been instrumental in expanding product categories in culinary, suiting, hospitality and security,” Edwards Garment said of Schultz in the statement, adding that his leadership was essential in completing the successful acquisitions of Canada-based custom apparel maker Bishop Custom Apparel and sweater brand HMB Andrew Rohan.

Privately held and family-owned since 1867, Edwards Garment currently ranks 20^th on Counselor’s most recent list of the industry’s largest suppliers, a position determined by the firm’s 2019 North American promotional products revenue of $71.7 million. The new Top 40 rankings are due out in July 2021.