PPAI Technology Committee Chairman Jon Norris and the committee's newest member, Essent President & CEO Eric Alessi, recently provided their 2015 outlook for the committee and more.

They discussed 2015 goals and initiatives, the growth of the 2015 PPAI Technology Summit sponsored by Essent, and their roles on the committee.

Mr. Norris

Mr. Norris, right, the Vice President of Operations for promotional products supplier Starline, is serving his fifth year on the PPAI Technology Committee and his first as chairman.

What is the committee’s overall mission?

The Technology Committee is responsible for providing technology-related education and guidance to PPAI staff and members to enable a more efficient industry.

What are the committee’s goals and initiatives for 2015?

The technology committee is currently working on setting the agenda for the Technology Summit in August, creating a PPAI Technology Survey, creating a maintaining an industry Wiki of resources and creating a set of new "Techie Awards” for the Summit

What goal or initiative do you think will create the most buzz, or which one are you most excited about?

"Eric provides both a highly technical as well as a strong business presence to the committee. His industry experience and involvement is definitely an asset that we welcome on the committee!"

The Technology Summit is gaining real steam in the industry.  We already have 45 people registered, which is nearly the number that attended in 2014.

(UPDATE: Registrations Surge for 2015 PPAI Technology Summit.)

What do you see in store for the PPAI Technology Summit in August?

The agenda is going to be excellent.  The summit will showcase technology initiatives that are currently happening in the industry amongst suppliers, distributors and service providers.

What do you feel Eric specifically and the Essent perspective in general will add for the committee?

Eric provides both a highly technical as well as a strong business presence to the committee.  His industry experience and involvement is definitely an asset that we welcome on the committee!  I look forward to his help and input for years to come.

Mr. Alessi

Mr. Alessi, right, the President & CEO of promotional products technology solutions provider Essent, is serving the first year in at least a three-year term on the PPAI Technology Committee.

What are your 2015 goals for the technology committee and how do you plan to contribute to the board?

The Technology Committee is responsible for providing technology-related education and guidance to PPAI staff and members to enable a more efficient industry. To that end my goals for 2015 are to raise promotional products business management issue awareness and assist the committee under the guidance of Chairman Jon Norris.

What are your goals for your three-year term and how do you plan to contribute to the board?

"I love technology and I love this industry. This is my way to contribute and give back."

Essent is the leading provider of business management and commerce solutions for the promotional products industry. We work with all size organizations from small, progressive, boutique companies all the way up to the largest and most influential distributors and suppliers in the industry.

As a result, we are in a unique position to understand the needs of the industry and how distributors, decorators, and suppliers work together. My three-year goal is to bring awareness of 21st Century industry information technology issues to the forefront, educating the industry and increasing the desire to build a tightly integrated industry.

What made a seat on the technology committee an interesting position for you?

I love technology and I love this industry. I’ve made an incredible number of friends throughout the world through PPAI and, like them, I genuinely care about their success and the success of the industry.

"We live in an age of technology that I could only dream of as a boy. We live with supercomputers in our pockets."

At the North American Leadership Conference in 2014 I spoke to the attendees and I went on the record about my passion for this industry and my desire to help make it as efficient as possible through standards and technology.

The industry is huge, but close-knit, helpful, and friendly. It’s amazing how much love there is for the industry. This is my way to contribute and give back.

Why is this an exciting time to serve on the Technology Committee?

We live in an age of technology that I could only dream of as a boy. We live with supercomputers in our pockets with high-speed connections to an international network. Both at work and play I communicate with people throughout the world.

Yet, with all of these resources, our promotional products industry is behind the times in the widespread application of information technology. There is still an amazing amount of friction in the supply chain. Other industries have benefited tremendously from information technology and industry leadership.

"Our promotional products industry is behind the times in thewidespread application of information technology. There is still an amazing amount of friction in the supply chain."

There is all this technology and finally there is technology designed for the unique needs of the promotional products industry. So now more than ever it’s imperative that PPAI shows strong technology leadership. The Technology Committee is the technology leadership for the industry. It’s a hugely important role and an incredibly exciting time.

Chairman Jon Norris said the PPAI Technology Summit scheduled for August already has as many attendees as last year. How do you see this event growing and evolving in the coming years?

Technological issues, especially for this industry, are complex. My hope is the Technology Summit continues to grow because there is such a need for the technology leaders in the industry to have a forum to discuss industry technology issues.

It is for this reason Essent is the lead sponsor for the Summit. My expectation is that we will work to define strong agendas that solve substantive industry  problems, resulting in successful solutions. As a natural consequence I expect the event to grow and evolve in the coming years.