Industry veteran Nick Lateur has joined business service provider Merch.ai (PPAI 881176) as the company’s vice president of revenue. Lateur most recently served as brand director for HPG, which currently ranks No. 6 on PPAI 100’s list of suppliers.
- Merch.ai is a relatively new venture that helps promo businesses leverage AI in order to save time and resources.
- A soon-to-be-published report by PPAI Research determined that 87% of distributors and 92% of suppliers among PPAI 100 companies are on board with AI.
“We’re excited to welcome Nick to the team,” says Raul Rodriguez, CEO of Merch.ai. “His extensive experience and industry insight will be instrumental in accelerating our growth and bringing Merch.ai to the forefront of the promotional products industry.”
A New Opportunity For A Familiar Face
Lateur brings another layer of name recognition to Merch.ai, having held prominent roles for well-known promo companies on both the supplier and the distributor side.
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- Before his nearly four-year stint at HPG – in which he held titles of brand director and director of sales – Lateur served as national sales manager at IMAGEN – PPAI 100’s No. 84 distributor.
Lateur will also be familiar to many promo professionals for his consistent presence on social media, which includes regular content on Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok. His persistent belief that social media marketing is part of the promo industry, as well as his more than 4,200 followers on LinkedIn, led to him being named the No. 1 promo pro on social media according to PPAI’s #Online18.
In March, Lateur was part of a social media “takeover” of PPAI, which he seemed to confuse for an actual takeover of the company itself.
On a more serious note, Lateur also serves on the board of trustees for the Promotional Products Education Foundation, a philanthropic branch of PPAI, which provides scholarships for promotional products industry employees and their children to support education goals.
Written by: Jonny Auping
Published with Permission from PPAI
