Top 40 distributor Geiger (asi/202900) announced last week that it has appointed John Satagaj to its board of directors for a three-year term. Satagaj has been a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer and lobbyist. Before his retirement in 2014, he served as general counsel and/or Washington counsel to a number of business trade associations for more than 30 years, including two decades as the Promotional Products Association International's (PPAI) general counsel and Washington lobbyist.

“While John is a lawyer by training, his orientation and his contributions to our company will be as a strategic business thinker,” said Gene Geiger, CEO of Geiger. “He’s had a ringside seat observing the industry for more than a couple decades. Given how quickly the structure and players are evolving, we will greatly benefit from his unique perspective and constructively contrarian thinking. John has been clear to us that he is moving on in retirement and not looking back, but we sure are excited at the thought of capturing even a small part of his savvy for our gain every so often.”

Geiger ranked as the eight-largest distributor in last year’s Counselor Top 40. The company has reported to Counselor that its 2014 North American ad specialty sales totaled $161.8 million, a 6.7% increase over 2013.