Top 40 distributor HALO Branded Solutions (asi/356000) has added a new important member to its management team.

The Sterling, Il-based company announced Friday that it has appointed Kerri May to the position of supplier relations manager. May said she is excited to be joining the fast-growing distributorship, which increased year-over-year revenue 47% in 2017.

Kerri May, Supplier Relations Manager, HALO Branded Solutions.

“HALO’s approach to supplier relationships is refreshing,” May said in a statement. “The spirit of partnership and focus on supporting the sales effort through the strongest possible supplier relationships was a perfect fit with my industry experience. I look forward to contributing to the HALO growth effort.”

HALO executives said that May’s extensive promo industry experience made her an attractive candidate for the supplier relations manager role. From August 2004 through earlier this year, May was supply chain operations manager at Top 40 distributor Staples Promotional Products (asi/120601). In that role, May managed domestic supply chain, negotiated contracts, handled vendor relations, engaged in strategic planning and project management, and more.

“She has established an excellent reputation in the supplier community,” said Terry McGuire, HALO’s senior vice president of marketing. “We’re thrilled to have her experience and leadership in this key role.”

Terry McGuire, Senior Vice President of Marketing, HALO Branded Solutions.

May will report to McGuire. Her hiring is the second major new leadership announcement HALO has made in less than a month. In mid October, the firm hired Nicholas P. Jakubowski as senior vice president and general counsel. At the time, HALO CEO Marc Simon said that the complexity of HALO’s business has increased and that Jakubowski will prove pivotal in helping the distributorship navigate the statutory and regulatory landscape.

Indeed, it has been a busy year for HALO. In less than 12 months, Simon and co. have acquired two Top 40 distributors, Sunrise Identity and CSE, while also buying another large distributorship, Chamberlain Marketing Group, about a month ago. In April this year, HALO completed its new headquarters.

McGuire has said that HALO’s 2018 revenue is on track to far exceed 2017’s tally. “We’re having one of our strongest years in memory, and while the acquisitions we have made have contributed to our year-over-year growth, the key driver appears to be the strongest organic growth we have seen in more than a decade,” he recently told Counselor.

HALO is backed by TPG Growth, a private equity firm with more than $13 billion in assets under management. Learn more about private equity’s growing role in the promo industry here.

With reported 2017 North American promotional product revenue of $416.4 million, HALO ranked third on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest distributors in the industry.