Inside PPAI | Community The 2024 PPAI Women’s Leadership Conference in Nashville broke its own record with 221 registered attendees. Dawn Olds Reveals Plan For Top Role At PPAI IN JULY, BOARD CHAIR Andrew Spellman, CAS, announced on behalf of the PPAI Board of Directors that Dawn Olds, MAS, has been appointed interim president and CEO of PPAI. Olds is guiding the Association during a leadership transition and succession plan-in-progress for the top executive office that had been held by Dale Denham, MAS+, since August 2021. Olds becomes the first woman to lead PPAI in the organization’s 121-year history. She spent her entire 35-year career at HALO, the No. 2 leading distributor in the 2024 PPAI 100, and recently retired as its senior vice president of industry relations and DEI. A longtime volunteer, Olds served on the PPAI Board from January 2020 to January 2024, and was board chair from January 2022 through The PPAI Expo 2023. Shortly after PPAI staff was briefed on the announcement, PPAI Media sat down with Olds to discuss her new role. Here are excerpts from the interview: PPAI Media: After recently retiring, did you have any hesitation when the opportunity came up to be PPAI’s interim CEO and president? Olds: I had about one second of hesitation. I have a new puppy. Who’s going to give her the love and attention she needs? In all seriousness, I’ve been retired for five months. I was just at the point where I was starting to feel a lot more relaxed than I normally like to be. Having a creative outlet or an outlet to share what I’ve learned over the years was a welcome opportunity. PPAI Media: What are your immediate goals or plans for PPAI as you take on this role? Olds: Our No. 1 thing is really making sure the staff knows how valued they are and how important they are to the Association – down to every single person. Making everyone feel comfortable is the most important thing. Then making sure that we’re on track with all the things that everyone has been working on and finding out what resources or tools or what I can do to help everyone with what they’ve been working on. PPAI Media: At the moment, what is the timeline to hire a permanent president and CEO? Olds: The timeline will take however long it takes. I’m committed to being here for however long that requires. When we ran the last process of searching for this role, I was the incoming chair of the board. I think from end-to-end that process was targeted at 3-6 months. I assume it’s going to be a similar timeline. I’m committed to doing whatever we have to do to make sure the Association doesn’t skip a beat. Record-Breaking WLC Is A Look At The ‘Future Of Promo’ The 2024 PPAI Women’s Leadership Conference in Nashville broke its own record with 221 registered attendees. A fitting benchmark for the 20th event of its kind, WLC’s high attendance numbers reflect the community built through the efforts of PPAI and the women who have continued to foster growth in the industry. While community among women is a foundation upon which WLC thrives, this year’s sold-out event – held June 23-25 – was peppered with panels and sessions sharing the industry knowledge of the women leaders present. Also, as is tradition at WLC, PPAI awarded and honored the 2024 recipients of the Woman of Achievement award – Joy Smith, MAS, and Janet McMaster, MAS. “This is my first time [at WLC], and I’m here with 12 of us from PCNA,” said Liz Haesler, global chief merchandising officer at PCNA and a presenter on the “Future of Promo” panel. “I’m just blown away. This whole group and the PPAI • SEPTEMBER 2024 • 99
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