As seen in Counselor magazine, December 2006, reprinted with permission. To view the article in its entirety,
click here

GENE GEIGER, President
JO-AN LANTZ, Executive Vice President

Back Story: Gene Geiger joined his family's Lewiston, ME-based fourth generation distributorship in 1973 as vice president and general manager, becoming president in 1979. Jo-an Lantz started at the company 28 years ago at the age of 20 in the accounting department. He was Counselor's Person of the Year; she was its International Person of the Year. Under the guidance of Geiger and Lantz, the company ranked number eight on this year's Counselor Top 40 list by increasing its sales 10.6% - from $125 million in 2004 to $138.3 million in 2005. The company currently has 565 sales reps and 19 offices.

Why they've thrived: In a word, versatility. In addition to being one of the first to harness the power of technology, specifically e-commerce, Geiger and Lantz continue to make some of the smartest, savviest acquisitions, most recently Forrester-Smith.

The name that opens doors: "On an intellectual sense, I get the concept of recognizing powerful people; emotionally, it's awkward. I am presumed to have power because my family name is that of a significantly sized organization in the industry that's been successful," Geiger says. "The power is reflective of the people I work with. My power, to the extent that it exists, is the organization, not personal."

When Jo-an came into her own: Lantz remembers the exact moment when she began appearing on people's radar: "Mike Linderman, who was PPAI's chairman of the board at the time, asked me to speak at a PPCEF fundraiser for Lou Weisbach," Lantz says. "I spoke about how I was the first college graduate in my family, and for whatever reason, people connected with it. Before that speech in Dallas, people saw me as the woman who worked with Gene; after that, no one looked at me blankly when I introduced myself. It's actually one of my biggest pet peeves: Those who don't give others the time of day until they're in a perceived position of power and authority." - MB