Gregory Shlopak, co-founder of Cyrk Inc. – at one time the largest distributor in the promotional products industry – passed away on Feb. 24 after a battle with throat cancer. He was 74.

The Massachusetts native joined Paul Butman to launch the screen-printing company in the 1970s. Over the next 20 years, Cyrk grew into a global, publicly traded juggernaut. Shlopak left the company in 1999 to pursue other business ventures. In 2010, he became CEO of digital marketing company VE Interactive LLC, which then became CYBBA Inc.

“He taught me if you’re in, be all in, and that there can be great satisfaction in pursuing perfection,” Carol Harlow-Carlson, former vice president and director at Cyrk, wrote on Facebook. “He was a tough critic and a generous mentor. To see him light up a room bringing new concepts to life, watching him diffuse a potentially volatile situation, to bear witness to his charm and charisma and to be in his very presence was to feel true greatness.”

He is survived by his children Kyle, Samantha and Jackson (Jake); his sister Gina and her daughter Toni; his aunt Joyce; and his former wife Leslee. He looked forward to the arrival of his first grandchild in June 2021.

A celebration of life will be planned once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. Donations in memory of Shlopak may be sent to: Old Farm Rockport, c/o Supportive Living Inc., 400 West Cummings Park, Suite 6100, Woburn, MA 01801.

Online condolences may be given at www.greelyfuneralhome.com.