PPB July 2018

E l i zabe t h Ta t e E lizabeth Tate entered the promotional products industry the way one might eat an elephant: one bite at a time. Or, in Tate’s case, one task at a time. After graduating from the University of Memphis with a degree in journalism/advertising and public relations, Tate took a job in television ad sales. At the same time, she began helping out at the distributor business she and her mother purchased from her mother’s late husband. “I used to go by the office on my lunch hour and after work, and file catalogs and do bank deposits,” says Tate. “After a while, I realized the potential and resigned frommy job to jump into this crazy, fun business. It was a very small company, but we have grown over the years.” Fast forward to today, and Signet, Inc., now handles programs for Fortune 500 companies from its base in Memphis, Tennessee. The distributor’s success has not gone unnoticed, and even its own team is acutely aware of Signet’s importance to the industry. Last month, Signet was named one of the PPB Top 60 Greatest Companies To Work For. Away fromwork, Tate and her husband, David—also her business partner—cook, collect wines and travel. Their two adult children are following their own dreams: daughter Holly is a photographer living in Colorado, and son Stephen is an International Master Brewer. “Our daughter-in-law, Leslie, just joined the business last fall as our client success coordinator,” Tate says. Read on to learn more about a day in the life for Tate and her team at Signet. Elizabeth Tate’s part-time encounter with promotional products has grown into full‑time success as CEO of Signet, Inc. by Jen Alexander Seal Of Approval 76 | JULY 2018 | CONNECT