PPB September 2018

FEATURE | Rising Stars Best Advice Find a mentor in the industry. PromoKitchen.org is a good place to start. I am fortunate to have a group of friends who love to collaborate and are enthusiastic sharers of knowledge. His Inspiration The hustle. I am inspired by the businesses and entrepreneurs we get to serve. Each one is different and has a unique set of needs, but they all come to us because they need help. It feels good to help. This is going to sound like hyperbole, but becoming a part of their success is a high privilege that is sacred in a way. They’ve entrusted us with their brand. The stakes are high, but we have fun, too. HowHe Recharges I like to cook Tex-Mex. I follow the recipes in my cookbooks to the letter. No improvising or creativity, just following the plan and sharing in the reward. I also love the zoo. We’ve got one of the best here in Oklahoma City. Eric Granata, 37 Vice President of Business Development ROBYN “H e’s quickly becoming one of the most knowledgeable technology experts in the industry,” says nominator Bobby Lehew, chief content officer at commonsku, and former CEO at ROBYN, who hired Granata in 2012 as ecommerce director. He was working in print, web and video for an Oklahoma City church and was developing an app for audio books when he was introduced to Lehew. “Eric transformed our company stores and ecommerce solutions for clients, and he built some of the most significant tech solutions for large clients that I’ve ever seen, including tools for print and promotional products, digital and video,” Lehew says. Through Granata’s innovation, client store sales at ROBYN skyrocketed. He’s also quickly adapted to the promotional products industry in one of the most unappreciated but most important areas of any business—technology. Lehew calls him an entrepreneur at heart, a proficient business development person and a brilliant and compassionate leader. 34 | SEPTEMBER 2018 |