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By the time you’re reading this, I’ll be on my way to ASA’s headquarters to hit the ground running on this new journey. I could not be more excited for the opportunity to work for the association I have been fortunate to partner with and admire throughout my time at BNP Media. I truly believe that ASA helps distributors do their jobs better, and I am thrilled to be joining that mission.

The February 2026 ASA Master of Distribution Management cohort is officially underway, with a class of 13 students kicking off, ready to embark on their leadership growth pathway.

Robotics has moved from trade show demonstration to boardroom discussion. For many larger distributors, the question is no longer whether automation exists; it is whether it belongs in the next phase of operational strategy.

Last month, St. Petersburg again was the site for what is now called ASA’s annual LEAD Strategic Leadership Summit. This year’s LEAD event brought together 85 volunteers to take a look at issues that will affect ASA member companies and their employees now and in the future.

What makes this resource especially effective is that each attack scenario is explicitly tied back to related controls in the Cybersecurity Checklist. The attacks describe what can happen. The checklist outlines the practices organizations use to reduce exposure across increasing maturity levels.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division recently issued an opinion letter explaining an employee’s available leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) may be applied toward time spent traveling to and from a medical appointment.

Analysis of 5,063 customer responses from 10 MEP distributors confirms what many suspected but few have quantified — customer experience has become the primary differentiator in wholesale distribution. Companies prioritizing experience demonstrate higher retention rates, greater wallet share, and reduced cost-to-serve.

Customer Relationship Management systems are often sold as a technology decision. In reality, CRM success or failure has far more to do with people, processes, and organizational readiness than with software features.

ASA members stayed busy in 2025, taking full advantage of ASA University’s tools and training to boost employee performance and drive profitability across their businesses. This year also marked a return to some familiar training trends, with members gravitating back toward foundational product knowledge.

ASA members have consistently identified attracting talent as one of their most pressing concerns. National labor studies conducted by ASA confirm what members experience, including retirements outpacing new hires, and traditional recruiting methods alone are no longer enough. These concerns were reinforced during ASA’s 2025 LEAD Strategic Leadership Summit in early 2025, where volunteers emphasized the need for stronger outward-facing efforts to elevate the industry’s profile and attract new talent.