Kimberly Fulford is the child of small business owners. As such, Fulford says she understands the hard work, passion and dedication that entrepreneurs pour into making their ventures successful. That personal firsthand knowledge drives a desire to help business owners prosper – and is a main reason Fulford is thrilled to be taking over as AIA Corporation’s (asi/109480) new senior vice president of owner success. The executive role centers on leading a department that’s dedicated to supporting the Top 40 distributor’s owners with sales coaching and business development resources.

Kimberly Fulford.

“Nothing excites me more than collaborating with AIA's entrepreneurs to achieve big things,” Fulford told Counselor. “I’m ready to hit the ground running – to really get out there to meet with our owners, fully understand the intricacies of their specific businesses, and provide the coaching and business development resources they need to compete in our dynamic industry.”

AIA CEO Matt Gresge said that Fulford’s experience in sales, marketing and merchandising made her an ideal candidate for the VP role. So did her strong operational background, which Gresge believes will prove beneficial as AIA upgrades its platforms and processes. “Kimberly’s passion lies with empowering entrepreneurs to succeed in the promotional products market,” Gresge said. “We know she’ll be an advocate and voice for our owners to help them succeed.”

From Dec. 2016 until this September, Fulford was president of Regency Franchise Group – a franchiser that was born out of distributor Regency Business Solutions (asi/306196). Prior to that, Fulford was VP of franchise development for Regency Franchise Group. Her other professional roles include serving as director of independent dealer sales and general manager for SP Richards Company, a division of Genuine Parts Company, which is in the automotive parts business.

According to Gresge, Fulford taking over as head of owner success comes from the distributorship’s strategic decision to split into two positions executive responsibilities that had previously been rolled into one – namely, owner success and recruiting new owners to AIA. AIA’s Susan Mintmire, who previously oversaw both responsibilities, will now focus on owner recruitment, “given her proven track record of building companies with successful recruitment strategies,” said Gresge.

With 2017 North American promotional product revenue of $175.4 million, AIA ranked 11th on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest distributors in the industry.