PPAI has announced the slate of candidates for its incoming board of directors class, due to serve the promotional products industry’s leading nonprofit trade association from January of 2023 until 2027.

The two-person slate includes Dan Pantano, the president and CEO of supplier alphabroder|Prime Line, and Joshua White, head of strategy for distributor BAMKO.

This year, the voting period has been cut down to only one week, allowing for more time to onboard the incoming board members. The election to approve the slate begins August 29 and closes September 6. Each PPAI member company’s voting contact is eligible to cast a vote for the slate. Voting will be done electronically, and a new 2022 username and password will be emailed to the voting contacts when voting opens.

A candidate must receive majority approval among votes cast to be named to the board of directors following The PPAI Expo 2023.

The two board seats represent replacements for the expiring terms of R. Renée Jones, founder and CEO of distributor A Creative Touch, and David Nicholson, vice chairman at PCNA. Also rolling off the board in January is immediate past chair Todd Pottebaum, MAS+, president of distributor Quality Resource Group.

Pantano and White became nominees to the slate following evaluation by the Leadership Advisory Committee, vetting by the Elected Directors Nominating Committee, and ultimately approval by the sitting PPAI Board of Directors.

Pantano joined alphabroder|Prime Line as its president in 2013. Prior to getting into the promo industry, he spent 20 years working for Baxter Healthcare, McKesson and Thermo Fisher Scientific, all Fortune 500 companies. Upon joining the company, he led the commercial side of the business and played an integral role in multiple corporate acquisitions. He added the CEO position to his title in the spring of 2021.

White has been with BAMKO since 2013, during which time the company has grown from around $20 million in annual sales to over $300 million. He is a former PPB Rising Star award winner. Prior to entering the promotional products industry, White was an attorney in private practice. As head of strategy at BAMKO, he focuses on the long-term initiatives that contribute to BAMKO’s top line revenue growth including key partnerships, sales and marketing strategy and execution, talent acquisitions and a number of other company focuses.

Along with those terms set to expire in January, the PPAI Board of Directors currently includes Chris Anderson of supplier HPG, Denise Taschereau of distributor Fairware, Melissa Ralston of supplier Koozie Group, Noah Lapine of distributor Lapine Associates, Andrew Spellman of supplier Therabody, Kevin Walsh, CAS, of supplier Showdown Displays and current board chair Dawn Olds, MAS, of distributor HALO.

In January, Olds will move to the position of immediate past chair, with Walsh assuming the role of board chair and Spellman becoming the incoming chair. Taschereau will take the role of vice chair, finance services.