PPB June 2021

Returning to promo for the second time around, he’s now leading the sales department of family-owned supplier Charles River Apparel, based in Sharon, Massachusetts, which includes its direct sales representatives, multi-line representatives and inside sales team. “I specifically decided to join Charles River Apparel because of the incredible history, product quality and sales growth opportunity of this family-based company,” he says. “My goal at Charles River Apparel is to apply my sales leadership skills to enhance the company’s brand awareness and sales volume.” In his previous role as BIC’s VP of business development, which was a new position he was promoted to in 2019, Saracino leveraged the many relationships he forged over his career to help implement the supplier’s success strategy. Having begun his career at age 25, starting with BIC Canada on his birthday, Saracino’s connections not only consisted of business partnerships spanning years, but also close friends. “My love for this business goes way beyond promotional products,” Saracino said, when he announced his retirement last year. “This industry is unique because you don’t just maintain relationships with your colleagues, but you form real friendships with both clients and competitors. That’s what makes it truly special.” After graduating with his bachelor’s degree in business fromWestern University in London, Ontario, in 1982, Saracino, a Toronto native, worked briefly for Mr. Greenjeans, a landmark burger restaurant in Toronto, until finding BIC Canada. Ready for a new opportunity, he was skimming through the classified ads in the Toronto Sun one day when he came upon a junior retail sales representative position. He applied for the role, was accepted and started a new journey with BIC Graphic that, little did he know, would segue into him earning his American citizenship in the early 2000s, along with his wife and daughter, and relocating to Florida’s Greater Tampa Bay area—and one that ultimately became his lifelong career. Saracino worked his way up the corporate ladder and was soon transferred to Vancouver, Canada, where he spent two years as BIC Canada’s account manager, servicing the retail and promotional products industry in British Columbia—and also spending weekends hitting the beach or the ski slopes at Whistler Mountain, he says. In the late 1980s, he was promoted to BIC Canada’s sales and marketing manager and was transferred back to Toronto, where he worked alongside Ray Winter, former president and chief operating officer of BIC Corp., and Jack Teague, former general manager of BIC Graphic USA, who’d become his mentors. “Ray Winter’s management style is like no other, and especially his approach to building business relationships has been the basis for my success in business connections and forming lasting relationships in the promotional products industry,” Saracino says. “Jack Teague’s integrity and exceptional level of business policy and acumen has shaped strength and perception in sales throughout my career in this industry.” He adds, “Both Ray and Jack were amazing mentors and working for them was not just an enjoyable learning experience, but also an honor to garner such perspective from their expertise.” In 1990, Saracino was promoted to national sales manager for BIC Canada, and in 1994, Winter and Teague propositioned him to join BIC Graphic as its regional manager, to work out of its Largo, Florida, office. “My wife and daughter and I jumped at the opportunity to move to sunny Florida!” he says. In the early 2000s he was named vice president of sales, a position he retained until his 2019 promotion. An avid golfer, Saracino has spent many days on the putting green with fellow industry peers, before, after and during industry events, including having participated in the Glen Holt & Fran Ford Memorial Golf Tournament, held annually during The PPAI Expo, to benefit the Promotional Products Education Foundation “My love for this business goes way beyond promotional products. This industry is unique because youdon’t justmaintain relationshipswith your colleagues, but you form real friendships withboth clients and competitors. That’swhatmakes it truly special.” - Dave Saracino Dave Saracino and Lori Bauer, SVP of affiliate sales and support for iPROMOTEu, previously with Koozie Group, with Reginald Samples, head coach of Duncanville High School in Duncanville, Texas, and speaker at PPAI’s 2019 North American Leadership Conference (NALC). | JUNE 2021 | 65 THINK