cyber-Wear, the German distributorship at the forefront of global company Cybergroup International, is renowned as Europe's most cutting-edge promotional products firm for efficiency and sustainability. Distributors | Must Read DISTRIBUTOR NO. 34 CYBERGROUP INTERNATIONAL Worlds Together Two European PPAI members – a solutions provider and a distributor – model the partnerships toward sustainability that will be needed to lead our industry through global challenges. By Josh Ellis They’ve sent me to France. The Salon CTCO trade show in Lyon is a chance to mix and discuss partnerships with industry association leaders from across Europe, create memories with the few Americans who made the trip and conduct the interview that would be the backbone for this story. My subject is Steven Baumgaertner. He is not a household name for many American promo pros but certainly has that status in his own country and further across the European merch industry. He’s the CEO of Cybergroup International (PPAI 607044, Gold), an umbrella organization of global distributor operations that is headlined by Heidelberg, Germany-based cyber-Wear, the country’s largest distributor. Baumgaertner may be the most influential figure in European promotional products, an entrepreneur who, alongside his co-founding partner Roman Weiss, started the business in a basement some 30 years ago. They’ve evolved, scaled and built a client roster of massive multinational corporations. In addition to Europe, Cybergroup does business in China, the Middle East and the U.S. Most interesting to me, and a key factor in earning it the No. 34 ranking in the 2024 PPAI 100, Cybergroup is on the forefront of sustainability among all distributors worldwide, an innovator partnering with suppliers to find creative ways to upcycle used materials and save resources during production. I’ve learned a lot about Baumgaertner and the company since PPAI made the decision to include non-North American members on this year’s list. Soon thereafter, we recognized PPAI • JUNE 2024 • 53
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