Justin Zavadil loves a good play. He even majored in theater and worked in the field.

Still, to date, the greatest professional performance of his life hasn’t been on the stage.

Rather, it lies in the deft work he’s done leading and evolving American Solutions for Business (ASB, asi/120075), the Counselor Top 40 distributorship that his father Larry founded 45 years ago.

Name any number of next-generation developments shaping the future of the industry – international business, technology, e-commerce, people-centric culture, print and promo – and you can find ASB at the forefront of it. Zavadil, a member of Counselor’s Power 50 list of promo’s most influential people, has managed the feat while spearheading the Glenwood, MN-based company to nearly 61% North American promo sales growth between 2019 and 2024, with revenue reaching $325.1 million last year. (Total company sales – which include other revenue sources like print – were $473.6 million.)

The ASB president has executed it all while earning a reputation among partners, colleagues and competitors alike as one of the most sincere, humble, good-hearted and calmly capable leaders in the merch space.

For all that and more, Zavadil is Counselor’s 2025 Person of the Year. It’s an honor leading industry executives say is more than deserved. “We’ve all heard standard clichés like ‘people are our most important resource’ or ‘this is a relationships business,’” says John Bruellman, CEO at Counselor Top 40 supplier Showdown Displays (asi/87188) and a Counselor Power 50 member. “With Justin, these are more than just words. They’re a way of living and doing business. And, they’ve directly led to success for him and ASB.”

Befitting of his gracious personality, Zavadil says the Person of the Year honor is, in his view, a team award. “We have the most amazing and welcoming culture that my dad created for all our stakeholders – employees, vendors and customers,” he shares. “I’m just lucky to continue to embrace and build upon it. Getting to know these people and share our successes together is the best part about being a leader and easily the best part of my job.” 

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Caption: Justin Zavadil, Counselor’s 2025 Person of the Year and the president of Counselor Top 40 distributor American Solutions for Business (asi/120075), reflects on his company’s success and the power it derives from its people.

‘As Classy As They Come’

Zavadil (pronounced Zuh-va-jill) rose to the president’s role at ASB in 2017. In recent years, he’s led a variety of initiatives that have fueled growth while positioning the company for long-term prosperity.

For example: Last year, ASB launched Canadian Solutions for Business, an entity focused particularly on the Canadian market that’s run by Canadian employees, including leader Maxx Rochette. Currently, ASB is working on expanding operations in Europe and the distributor has become a fixture at the industry’s international trade shows.

The moves come at a time when distributors are increasingly experiencing demand from end-clients who want consistent merch solutions and service across national borders. ASB is helping sales professionals in its network provide just that with its international emphasis – and aiming to attract new distributors from within those geographies to partner with the firm.

“We’re excited to capitalize on the opportunity,” says Zavadil.

“If I’ve done anything well, it’s build a fantastic team. We have great people who work together toward the same goals. That shows up in the results.”Justin Zavadil, American Solutions for Business (asi/120075)

Meanwhile, ASB has been making a concerted push into the sports niche. In 2024, the company debuted ASB Athletics, a division that aims to help reps generate more branded merchandise business with end-buyers in the team sports and golf markets.

Perhaps less splashy but of deep fundamental value: Under Zavadil’s leadership, ASB recently overhauled its enterprise resource planning system. The firm based the enhancements, in significant part, on requests from sales pros and internal teams. The improvements, which were well received and many, included the ability to process multiple currencies.

Zavadil has also been instrumental in supporting new ways to build ASB’s reach. He was key, the company says, to the launch of Branded by American, a subscription box program to customers. Now in its seventh year, more than 900 recipients participate. Also, the caliber of ASB’s events has improved under his watch. The proof is in the results: Since returning to in-person happenings post-pandemic, ASB has experienced record attendance at its three largest annual events.

Furthermore, the distributorship has made headline-grabbing acquisitions. In 2024, the firm acquired Spartan Promotional Group (asi/331150), a distributorship with a near 60-year history. Earlier this year, ASB purchased Dubow (asi/700107), the preferred name in recent years of the large contract apparel decorating business the late Rob Dubow founded in 1991 as Dubow Textile. Dubow continues to serve both the ASB network and the industry more broadly.

Notably, Zavadil has seen to it that ASB has continued the multi-pronged solution model that began under his father by offering both print and promo solutions. ASB started as a printing industry firm and branched into promo in the 1990s, pre-dating by decades the current industry convergence movement that’s seeing more promo distributors offer print, and vice versa. While promo is the bigger part of the business these days, the vast majority of ASB’s sales pros sell both print and promo – upping their value to end-clients. With print, ASB offers signage, packaging, forms and checks. “Our largest categories are commercial print – marketing collateral, catalogs and books – and direct mail, statement processing and labels,” Zavadil says. “Print has evolved though. Forms are going away quickly with all the digital options, so now we focus on more specialized print opportunities.”

One of Zavadil’s proudest achievements of recent years was ASB’s swift and successful shift to selling personal protective equipment (PPE) early in the COVID-19 era. The pivot proved so superbly executed that ASB didn’t have to lay off anyone. Consider: In 2020, when industry sales plummeted, the employee-owned company actually increased its revenue 18% year over year, with about 40% of sales coming from blank and decorated PPE and hand sanitizer. “Justin really went the extra mile during COVID,” says Counselor Power 50 member CJ Schmidt, CEO of Counselor Top 40 supplier Hit Promotional Products (asi/61125) and Counselor’s 2024 Person of the Year. “When situations became challenging, he was always clearheaded and fantastic to work with. Justin is as classy as they come.”

Team Builder

Despite having a background in theater, Zavadil eschews the spotlight when it comes to ASB. Down-to-earth, personable and wearing an everyman’s baseball cap and hoodie as he chats with Counselor, Zavadil says the credit for ASB’s success is a result of the company’s top-notch staff. “If I’ve done anything well, it’s build a fantastic team,” shares Zavadil. “We have great people who work together toward the same goals. That shows up in the results.”

Taylor Borst, ASB’s vice president of vendor relations, says it’s in character for Zavadil to deflect praise to others. He inspires the best by leading with compassion, kindness and resilience, she says. “Justin doesn’t just care about the bottom line; he cares about the people around him – and means it,” shares Borst. “He takes time to really listen and understand others’ perspectives, whether it’s our sales associates, vendor partners, employees or a community member on the street in our small town of Glenwood, MN. He gives recognition without hesitation.”

“We’ve all heard standard clichés like ‘people are our most important resource’ or ‘this is a relationships business. With Justin, these are more than just words.”John Bruellman, Showdown Displays (asi/87188)

Part of that powerful culture comes from the unique fact that ASB operates on an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), meaning employees are owners of the company. Larry Zavadil started the model roughly a quarter of a century ago, in part because he wanted to ensure the firm would live on in Glenwood after him. Justin Zavadil is deeply committed to ESOP, saying the vested interest of all employees helps make everyone highly committed to each other and the company’s success. “Every decision we make is for the benefit of everyone in the ESOP,” he says. “It sounds corny, but we always talk about that we have a family culture. And it really is.”

Zavadil’s approach has helped foster a culture that entices distributor sales pros to join the ASB network. BrandCo Marketing (asi/455385) became an ASB affiliate nearly four years ago. The firm has grown sales 35% since them – a stout performance that company President Brandon Kennedy maintains is directly related to the backing of Zavadil and ASB. Says Kennedy: “I can’t emphasize this point enough: The support, vision and culture Justin provides is unmatched. Aligning my team with Justin and ASB has been the best business decision I have ever made.”

Suppliers and competitors sing similar tunes of praise for Zavadil. “In an industry full of big personalities, Justin’s the rare one who leads with quiet confidence and lets his work, and wit, do the talking,” says Chris McKee, chief revenue officer at Counselor Top 40 distributor Geiger (asi/202900). “His engagement is effortless, his humor disarming, and his humility, well, almost suspicious. When I need a no-nonsense, level-headed opinion, Justin is my first call.”

Bruellman, of Showdown Displays, shares that Zavadil has sent handwritten notes to employees of the supplier, thanking them for their work. “Personally, I’ll never forget the thoughtful note I received from Justin when my father passed away several years ago,” Bruellman says, adding: “Justin approaches business in a calm, straightforward manner. He never takes it for granted when things are going well, and he’s a steadfast partner in times of challenge.”

Origins & Outlook

Zavadil isn’t the way he is by accident. His parents, Larry and Diane, are entrepreneurs who instilled strong values in their son. Larry, Counselor’s 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award winner, founded ASB in 1980 and remains a Counselor Power 50 member and ASB’s influential CEO.

“My parents were the biggest influences in my life and so much of that has involved the print and promo world,” says Zavadil. “My sister, brother and I worked at ASB and American Diversity – my mom’s company – all throughout our childhood. I can remember stuffing envelopes in our basement, and annoying the few employees ASB had back then all day.”

Larry couldn’t be prouder of his son. “I’m blessed in having Justin as our president,” he says. “Justin gets our industry and ASB’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan model and can expertly evolve it forward in our ever-changing market. The American Family is in good hands.”

Zavadil grew that expertise from the roots up. He worked in the mailroom, maintenance, warehousing, data entry and even in sales at ASB. Still, his path through promo wasn’t quite direct. He studied theater at the University of Minnesota and pursued a career in the field for a time. He was also in the commercial real estate business. But in 2008, he returned to ASB’s home office, taking the role of director of vendor relations. It was the seminal step to the rest of his life.

“When I need a no-nonsense, level-headed opinion, Justin is my first call.”Chris McKee, Geiger (asi/202900)

“I spent a year with ASB executive Wayne Martin traveling around the country visiting our top suppliers,” Zavadil recalls. “That year was an unbelievable learning experience. My dad has always preached that we need to foster a ‘win-win-win’ environment, and our suppliers need to win as much as we do. I can’t tell you how many times the relationships we’ve built with our suppliers have helped us in tough situations. Learning how they do business and truly caring about how we can help them is always on our mind.”

Zavadil continued to earn his stripes, rising to a vice president’s position, then executive vice president and now president. Along the way he gained experience, wisdom and greater responsibility. All that’s clearly benefited ASB – and Zavadil is excited to be carrying forward what his father began. “I’m just fortunate for the opportunity to continue with the amazing culture that he started,” Zavadil says. “Knowing the connection that he has with our sales associates and employees and their loyalty to him makes me work extra hard to not let them down.”

So what’s next? Zavadil says a primary focus will be technology upgrades that help sales associates win business. The firm’s international footprint will continue to grow. And, he says, ASB will create the kind of positive culture that aims to attract distributor sales pros – and which has made the company a mainstay on Counselor’s Best Places to Work list. “We want to be the most progressive partner we can be,” says Zavadil. “Our goal is to keep growing, and that’s rooted in helping our sales associates thrive. There’s no secret sauce. You have to treat your customers well and provide them with the tools they need. It’s about executing.”