PPB October 2021

she shared numerous best practices regarding supply chainmapping. “Transparency is inevitable; it’s coming froma customer perspective,” Vestad said. “It is fair to say that mapping will be built into our businesses. Customers expect it. Transparency is the backbone of sustainability. You cannot achieve sustainability without transparency. No company in the world is going to get away from this. It is everywhere.” Robert Adler, acting chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), also joined the conference, speaking with Rick Brenner, MAS+, president/CEO of Product Safety Advisors, for a conversation on the current priorities of the federal agency. During their discussion, Adler shared an update on three commissioner nominees to CPSC put forth by the Biden Administration to fill pending vacancies, the CPSC’s work with the FDA to ensure there are no regulatory overlaps regarding PPE and other items falling under FDA jurisdiction as medical devices, and how the CPSC has faired under the COVID-19 pandemic, among other topics. “Summit is the best educational tool for anyone in compliance,” says KimBakalyar, CAS, chief compliance officer/director vendor relations at PromoShop and a Summit attendee. “The topics are relevant to what is happening in the world today and the speakers are experts in their field. I always come away fromSummit with at least two things I can put into practice right away. Having the opportunity to network with others in the same position and being able to call on this group when I have questions or am looking for info is invaluable. The wealth of information and best practices that PPAI has put together aremy daily go-tos for research, contacts and answers.” PPAI PromoTalks Connects With Industry Entrepreneurs And PPAI’s New CEO And President, And Examines Supply Chain Challenges Through its PromoTalks podcast, PPAI brings industry thought leaders, business executives and subject matter experts together for insightful, engaging conversations important to promotional products professionals and their businesses. In August, PPAI PromoTalks debuted a new Entrepreneur Series in which promotional products industry business owners share their individual stories, experience and advice to help listeners learnmore about the entrepreneurial side of business leadership. The series began with an interviewwith Scott Dunstan, president of Charlotte, North Carolina, distributor, The Dunstan Group. PromoTalks also spoke with Chuck Dahlgren, president and owner of Minneapolis, Minnesota-based supplier Crystal D, who gave listeners insights into why he started the company, what he wished he’d known then and candid advice for other entrepreneurs; and Chuck Hammond, CEO of supplier Raining Rose, Inc. in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who spoke about his original dream for the company and how it’s evolved, the obstacles he’s faced and what inspires him. More episodes in this series will be released continued on page 76 74 | OCTOBER 2021 | CONNECT