Geiger names his successor as CEO of Lewiston promotional products firm
Courtesy / Geiger
Gene Geiger, who has served as CEO of Lewiston-based global promotional products firm Geiger since 1994, announced that Jo-an Lantz has been promoted to succeed him. Lantz steps up from being the first non-family president of the firm, a position she assumed in January after serving as the company's COO.
Gene Geiger, who has served as CEO of Lewiston-based global promotional products firm Geiger since 1994, announced Wednesday that Jo-an Lantz has been promoted to succeed him.
Lantz’s promotion to CEO took effect on April 1. She steps up from being the first non-family president of Geiger, a position she assumed in January after serving as the company’s COO.
“Jo-an is a rare talent, someone with a relentless focus on personal growth and accomplishing company goals,” said Geiger, who serves as chairman of the company’s board. “She understands and embraces a culture that is unique in our industry, and I know that she will lead ‘Geiger Nation’ to unprecedented success in the years ahead. I'll still have a ringside seat, and I can't wait to see what she and her superb team will achieve.”
Headquartered in Lewiston, Geiger is the largest privately owned and managed promotional products distributor in the world. Geiger operates from offices across the U.S. and London, is affiliated with over 450 independent sales representatives and is the sole publisher of the Farmers’ Almanac.
With reported 2017 North American promotional products revenue of $185.5 million, Geiger ranked 10th on Counselor magazine’s 2018 list of the largest distributors in the industry. The magazine reported that the privately owned Geiger, founded in 1878, had more than 400 employees.
About the new CEO
A graduate of Purdue University, Lantz has served in several sales and operations positions at Geiger during her career. She’s been a perennial member of the Counselor Power 50 and Advertising Specialty Institute honored her as the International Person of the Year in 2004 and a Distributor Woman of Distinction in 1998. She was inducted into the Promotional Products Association International Hall of Fame in 2009.
“I am incredibly honored and grateful for the opportunity to serve this exceptional company as President and CEO,” Lantz said in a news release. "The strong culture of family, growth, and investment for the long term is unique to Geiger and I'm looking forward to working with the people here and our industry in my new capacity.”
Her appointment comes during a time of expansion for Geiger. In January, the company announced its United Kingdom-based distributorship, GeigerBTC, had acquired London-based firm EMC Advertising Gifts. Financial terms of the deal were not released but Geiger reported that it was part of its strategy to expand in the United Kingdom and Europe.
It also announced in January its acquisition of Bloomington, Ill.-based distributor CM Promotions as part of an expansion strategy aimed at broadening its client base in the Midwest.
In November, the company acquired Bank Express/Promo Warehouse, a web-based distributor with a national reach that is now operating as a division of Geiger. And in March 2018, Geiger bought BTC Group, a U.K.-based promotional products distributorship that was rebranded as “Geiger BTC Group.”
Last July, Counselor magazine profiled Gene Geiger on the occasion of him being awarded the Marvin Spike Lifetime Achievement Award 2018 as the fourth-generation leader of the family’s business.
The article noted that as a teenager, he worked in the firm’s now-shuttered printing factory, packing sample boxes and running the “mimeograph” machine. From there, he graduated to drilling holes in calendar pads and round-cornering diary fillers.
He became president in 1978 and CEO in 1994, the magazine reported.
“Always thinking ahead, Geiger and his team are strategizing for the future,” the magazine reported, citing the March 2018 acquisition of U.K.-based BTC Group to better serve large enterprise clients’ global needs. “We’re invested in the three major industry sales channels — drop-ship orders sold by a traditional sales force, sophisticated corporate programs and e-commerce. We intend to be a significant player in each.”
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