At a black-tie ceremony in Chicago, Counselor magazine named Henrik Johansson, CEO of Top 40 distributor Boundless (asi/143717), as its 2017 Person of the Year. Johansson was honored as an industry innovator, who has elevated his firm’s brand with its forward-looking technology platform and merger with web-driven consumer products company Zazzle. Johansson has led Boundless to 12 consecutive years of growth, and in 2016 alone, the distributor generated North American promotional product sales of $82 million, an 18% year-over-year gain.

“Henrik has achieved success the old-fashioned way – through hard work,” said Tim Andrews, president and CEO of ASI, upon revealing the Person of the Year award at the ceremony. “He’s a winner because he has his eye firmly on the future. When he talks about the challenges this industry faces, he doesn’t dwell on the negative. Instead, Henrik embraces innovation as a solution. Although he is, by all accounts, often the smartest guy in the room, he’s also one of the nicest. He loves creating success for himself and others.”

Read a profile of Johansson from Counselor’s State of the Industry issue.

Watch the interview below: