In her new role, Lugo will help build on the buying group's legacy of creating value for its members and suppliers.

The summit is one of two cross-divisional and functional summits held annually designed to extend the value of AD networking and best-practice sharing to additional disciplines within its member companies.

Associates in AD’s four U.S. offices assembled boxes filled with toys, coloring books, and other activities, along with inspirational messages, for The Jared Box Project.

The agenda was packed with AD leadership and program manager-led business meetings, panel discussions with member and supplier CEOs, and best-practice-sharing member networking meetings.

The campaign champions the noble calling of distribution.

The event, which took place from May 4-6, is the first non-virtual limited meeting held by the group in more than 16 months.

AD has reported that member sales in the first quarter of 2021 were $12.7 billion, an increase of 14 percent across its 13 divisions and three countries.

For a third straight year, the company has been recognized as a Top Workplace in the greater Philadelphia region based on feedback from its annual employee engagement survey.

Save the date for the 2022 Expo to be held Jan. 26-28 at the Omni LaCosta Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.

McLaughlin is charged with collaborating with AD’s members and boards to identify new areas of added value for its community, beyond the core functions of a buying and marketing group.