HERStory: Believe

Over 25 years ago, CEO Stephanie Leader founded Leaderpromos with a vision of helping brands define themselves and communicate their message in an impactful way. With thoughtful leadership, strategy and an emphasis on innovation, Stephanie has led the company to the top of the promotional product industry.

Stephanie’s foray into the branded merchandise business began when she was a student at The Ohio State University. An incoming freshman who needed to find a way to pay for her education, Stephanie quickly saw an opportunity to sell branded apparel and promotional merchandise to the largest Greek Community in the United States.

Stephanie’s business bloomed overnight, and she quickly discovered the power of branded merchandise. She thrived by helping companies and organizations find just the right branded products to best represent their initiatives and their causes. There was no stopping her now!

Stephanie’s passion for marketing became so strong that she completely changed her career course. Initially planning to attend law school after graduation, Stephanie decided instead to follow that passion and immersed herself in the merchandise-based branding industry. In 1995, she began focusing and selling to other corporations, building her client list with phone calls, referrals, and drop-ins.

In early 1998, Stephanie recognized that she was in a unique position to disrupt the traditional promotional products industry by capitalizing on the growing .com craze. And so, in 2000 Leaderpromos.com was born as one of the very first e-commerce based promotional branding companies.

In two and a half decades, Stephanie’s passion and vision for bringing clients’ branding and messaging to life has been the driving force behind the company’s success. Leaderpromos has grown into a full-service strategic branding agency that has earned a spot in the top 1% of all promotional product distributors nationwide. Leaderpromos is also the largest wholly woman owned WBENC certified company in the promotional industry.

While her business was growing and expanding, Stephanie raised two children with her husband, Brian. Often on school holidays, the kids would “work” at the office, and both still stop in when they are home from college. Thankful for her healthy family and thriving business, Stephanie committed her philanthropic efforts to organizations that help women and children. Along with financial support, Stephanie, her family, and employees regularly participate in fund-raising activities such as holiday gift drives, marathons, making meals for those less fortunate, and helping at-risk children.

Stephanie is a driven leader who is committed to her team and considers them family. And while she started the company as an individual, she knows the “we” is much stronger and valuable to their clients than the “me.” After 25 years of success, this entrepreneurial spirit and team mentality lives in the heart of every Leaderpromos Associate.

From her humble beginnings in Columbus, Ohio to being the go-to branded merchandise agency for the hottest brands, Leaderpromos thrives on customer-centric values. These values are laser focused on delivering more than expected to impact key customer initiatives in meaningful ways.