ACS Affiliate Services, a division of Altitude Group and subsidiary of AIM Smarter, has promoted Melinda Marr to director of marketing and strategy. Marr has more than 30 years of experience, holding a variety of leadership positions with several suppliers.

“Melinda has been an asset for the ACS team and its affiliates in the past 15 months since being added to the ACS team in January of 2021,” said Kirk Ross, executive vice president of ACS. “Her role has developed, grown and supported the scaling and building of ACS.”

Melinda Marr, ACS Affiliate Services

In her new role, Marr will focus on growing the businesses of ACS Affiliate Services through a combination of marketing expertise and strategy, including the planning and development of ready-to-go marketing tools, internal website tool enhancements and other tasks. She will also be involved in demonstrating the many tools, features and benefits of ACS’s program to new and potential affiliates.

Marr’s previous role at ACS was strategic growth partner. Marr is a promo industry veteran, with a well-rounded background on both the distributor and supplier sides of the business. She’s worked as a distributor in the U.S. and Canada and held sales and leadership positions with suppliers including Sanford B2B, HotLine Products and iClick (asi/62124). She has also been an active volunteer with the Upper Midwest Association of Promotional Professionals (UMAPP), serving on many committees over the years and as president in 2012.

“Melinda has been invaluable to the ACS team from day one. She is passionate about delivering top-notch services to our affiliates and is a collaborative leader who embodies the spirit of culture and capability,” said Nichole Stella, CEO of ACS.

Ross added that Marr’s “positive attitude, strong work ethic, years of experience and big heart for ACS and its affiliates makes this promotion well-deserved.”

ACS Affiliate Services also announced that Ross received a lifetime achievement award from UMAPP, recognizing his long-time, successful commitment to his career and community. “Kirk Ross has made a measurable impact over the past 30 years as a passionate advocate for finding solutions for all those that he affiliated with in the promotional products industry,” said Shawn Kanak, president of Towel Specialties (asi/91605).

In accepting the award, Ross said: “I have been able to see and work the distributor, supplier and multi-line side of our business for 34 years. … No matter what side of the business I was on, it was always about the people. The many teams I have served with have made all the difference for me.”

ACS Affiliate Services provides a number of benefits to promotional products distributor affiliates, including industry-focused technology tools, back-office support services, order funding, supplier advantages, strategic marketing, sales tools and more. It’s a subsidiary of AIM Smarter, a promo industry solution provider that offers industry-focused tools, business services and benefits to a network of more than 2,200 distributor members.