PPAI has added a new member to its staff and the PPAI Media team – Robert Fitzpatrick has joined the Association as research manager. In the role, Fitzpatrick will oversee research on and for the industry to help suppliers and distributors make business decisions.

With a focus on building PPAI’s research on the promotional products industry, Fitzpatrick will conduct regular consumer studies and membership benchmarking, and oversee Association surveys, like the Distributor Sales Volume study, among other projects.

Fitzpatrick is a graduate of Colorado State University, Pueblo, and the graduate program at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, where he earned a Masters in sociology.

His background also includes time in insurance and real estate. While engaged in the insurance industry, Fitzpatrick worked to meet the needs of small businesses and individuals and developed lead generation systems and marketing campaigns. In real estate, he worked with buyers and sellers in Colorado and Texas.



His role at PPAI suits his entrepreneurial mindset. Fitzpatrick says, “The top factor that attracted me to my new position was that I would be able to have a great degree of control over what I want to research and the ability to take risks.”

New to the promotional products industry, Fitzpatrick is working to grow his understanding of it and its members’ needs. He says, “My initial objectives are to understand what our members need from a research perspective. I want to produce research that helps our members make key decisions within their businesses.”

Members interested in suggesting new research or benchmarking topics are encouraged to reach out to Fitzpatrick at RobertF@PPAI.org.

Fitzpatrick lives in Grand Prairie, Texas, a Dallas-area suburb, with his wife and daughter. When he has the time available, his interests include content creation, fishing, video games and cooking. He’s also an avid reader and enjoys signing up for random courses to expand his mind.