#43 Daron Hines

Staples Promotional Products (asi/120601) – President

2021 Rank: N/A

Industry Experience: 1 year

Previous Appearances on Power 50: 0 

“I’m a brand guy,” Daron Hines declares. The president of Staples Promotional Products (SPP, asi/120601) has proven that over a two-decade career that includes stops at name-brand food companies General Mills, Smucker’s and Morton Salt. The strength of brands, Hines adds, is that they elicit joy and/or solve problems – and those superpowers always shine through, even with something as ubiquitous and overlooked as salt. “For those of us who didn’t grow up in the salt industry, it likely isn’t one you’d know much about, especially as a commercial leader. But there is brand enthusiasm and incredible purpose in that industry as well,” remarks Hines of his three-year stint with the salt giant.

The same could be said of promotional products, and Hines admits he only thought about them tangentially in the sales and marketing efforts in his previous roles. But as he learned more about the promo industry and the role at SPP before he joined the company last December, he got increasingly excited about the opportunity to add value and help brands in a whole new way. Having worked on the other side, “I know what brand teams look for,” says Hines. “I know what the drivers are for organizations – what they look to and aspire to do with brands.”

As Hines learned about the industry, he quickly came to appreciate the omnipresence of promo items and the imprint they make on the world around us. Plus, “the people in this business are passionate about what they do,” he says. “I’m a passionate person by nature, and that just drums up a greater appreciation for the work that we do.”

“The people in this business are passionate about what they do. I’m a passionate person by nature, and that just drums up a greater appreciation for the work that we do.”

Hines took the first three months to learn the innerworkings of SPP and meet clients and suppliers before pursuing a lengthy list of initiatives: driving awareness in the marketplace, improving processes, deepening supply chain relationships and enhancing the distributor’s website, just to name a few. Citing the Staples name as a definite benefit, he sees an opportunity for SPP – the third largest distributor on Counselor’s Top 40 list – to thrive in a “fragmented industry,” noting that an industry where the Top 10 companies make up less than a quarter of the sales is atypical.

And while all those initiatives are important, Hines says it’s really about the people. Describing himself as a “culture warrior,” he wants SPP to be a place that prizes accountability, appreciation, open communication and development. The company is eager to invest in and develop its talent. “It’s hard to be a well-run organization and a company where people love to come to work,” he says, “if you don’t focus on culture.”

On the personal side, the Chicago-area resident has transitioned from avid basketball player to “avid basketball watcher,” and stays busy with his 8-year-old daughter’s various activities (swim, dance and singing). Hines and his wife Micah traveled often pre-pandemic and are eager to resume seeing the world, eyeing up far-flung destinations like Dubai and (one day, perhaps) Egypt. And as he awaits his next overseas trip, Hines is plenty busy determining just how far SPP can go.