ABOUT

Lori is the President of Access Direct Systems, a company to which she has dedicated more than three decades of ingenuity, innovation and hard work. Having worked her way up from an entry-level position to President and owner, Lori truly knows all elements of the direct mail industry. Lori continually strives for excellence with a keen focus on exceptional client management that has made her instrumental to the sustainable growth and development of the business. Her understanding of internal project management, technological applications and client communications has facilitated the successful completion and growth of client programs. Lori now focuses her efforts on strategic planning, effective policies and fine-tuned management to maintain and continue to put Access Direct Systems in the forefront of the direct mail marketing industry.

Pete Studer is the CEO and also a partner at Impact, a Minneapolis based company helping clients achieve their business objectives by serving as an extension of their marketing teams. Pete helps the employees at Impact remain focused on direct response marketing execution, complex segmentation/personalization, variable high-speed color printing, lettershop and total package management. He also helps manage key customer relationships and over his 20 years has helped move Impact into multiple locations. He has been involved in several acquisitions over the last 15 years and was responsible for combining each set of new offerings into the Impact operation. He was heavily involved in the selection and transition of Impact from digital toner to inkjet in 2015. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Finance and Marketing. Outside of Impact, Pete serves on multiple Minnesota non-profit boards. He resides in Minnesota with his wife and three daughters.

Eric Hawkinson is the Executive Director for the thINK user community, serving an organization he helped found in 2015. Prior to joining thINK, Hawkinson served as the Vice President of Marketing for Canon. In his role at Canon, a solely owned subsidiary of Canon USA, he collectively drove the strategy for the go-to-market and product marketing initiatives for the growing production inkjet market in North America. Prior to Canon, Hawkinson worked for SmithBucklin, a Chicago-based association management company, where he led the creation of Dscoop (Digital Solutions Cooperative), an HP User Community. In addition to his role at thINK, Hawkinson is the Executive Vice President at the Innovatis Group, a fast-growing engagement company that focuses on technology-based user communities. Innovatis Group serves as a full-service management company for non-profit organizations that are looking to grow and expand their reach. 

Tom Ling is a visionary entrepreneur and the founding President and CEO of Advantage LLC, one of the largest private commercial printing, mailing, and multi-channel marketing organizations in the country. Guided by his cultural heritage and core values of hard work, humility, and perseverance, Tom has built a business empire that thrives on innovation and a people-first approach. 

Over 30 years ago, Tom took a leap of faith, leaving behind a career in the aerospace industry after graduating from Long Beach State University. Starting with a small storefront mailbox operation, he transformed Advantage Mailing LLC into Advantage ColorGraphics—a marketing powerhouse employing over 800 people across state-of-the-art facilities in California, Las Vegas, and Utah. 

Tom's success stems from his unique ability to see opportunities where others see obstacles. A true innovator at heart, he thrives on solving challenges, believing that moments of adversity often lead to the greatest breakthroughs. His passion for creativity and technology has driven groundbreaking approaches to marketing communications and leadership. 

Beyond his professional accomplishments, Tom is deeply committed to giving back. He actively supports numerous charities, including the Boy Scouts of America and the American Cancer Society. When he’s not reshaping the landscape of modern advertising, you might find him running marathons, exploring new ideas, or spending quality time with his family. 

Tom Ling’s journey is a testament to the power of vision, resilience, and the belief that success is best shared with those around you. 

Eric is the Vice President of Operations for RevSpring, Inc. Focused in Healthcare and Financial services, RevSpring transforms complex financial journeys into intuitive financial pathways by understanding human, historical, and fiscal context. Through data-driven insight, RevSpring designs, analyzes, and improves communications and billing solutions that increase consumer engagement and payment rates and prints over 850 million customized documents per year. Eric graduated from Western Kentucky University with a BA in Economics and holds a certificate in Strategic Innovation from Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management.  He is the current President of the Imaging Network Group (INg) and sits on their Board of Trustees. Additionally, Eric serves on the Canon Digital Print Advisory Council (DPAC) and Solimar Systems Customer Advisory Council (CAC).

Fred has more than 30 years of experience in managing businesses and providing strategic direction. He currently serves as chief operating officer of Cathedral Corporation.  Before that he served in various roles leading Content Critical Solutions, for which he was the founder and key architect at its inception. A certified public accountant, he previously served as a turnaround consultant before forming CCS, and has worked in mergers and acquisitions consulting, turnaround consulting and auditing for leading national firms. He continues to be very active in the print industry, holding key roles in the Imaging Network Group (Past President and Board Member) as well as a former member of Canon’s Digital Print Advisory Council. He regularly attends key industry events such as thINK, IBTTA, Drupa and Hunkler Innovation Days, and believes that this involvement is key to Cathedral providing best-in-class service offerings. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Shelley Hyde is Co-Owner and Partner at PrintMailPro, a full-service commercial printer specializing in direct marketing and transactional mail with facilities in Dallas and Austin, Texas. As managing Partner over the Dallas facility, she has been actively involved in navigating the challenges of the printing and mailing industry, exploring new technology, and staying on top of constantly changing postal regulations. PrintMailPro's diverse client base includes law firms, nonprofit organizations, marketing firms, and local and state government agencies. Shelley's background includes client relations, new business development, operations, and project management. Shelley holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Trinity University and achieved the title of Certified Mail and Distribution Systems Manager in 1995. In her free time, she likes to read, travel, and spend time with her husband, three daughters, and two dogs.

Francis A. McMahon is responsible for leading the Production Print business for Canon U.S.A. Inc. and Canon, leveraging 30 years of experience in the printing industry in the areas of operations, strategy, sales, and marketing. Before joining Canon, Francis was already an advocate for technology and community initiatives as Director of Marketing, GSB, at Hewlett-Packard. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from San Francisco State University and a Master of Business Administration from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Tonya Powers is the Director, Customer Marketing - Production at Canon U.S.A. with a focus on all outbound marketing initiatives and the customer experience for the Production Print Solutions business. Tonya brings a wealth of knowledge on building strategies for B2B marketing, with a keen focus on the graphic arts industry. She has been in the industry since 2005, starting at Hewlett-Packard. Tonya has been with Canon since 2009, initially focused on the graphic arts customer segments. Tonya currently serves on the thINK Board, BMI’s Marketing & Membership Committee, and the Printing Industries Alliance Franklin Event Committee.

Chris joined Massachusetts-based DS Graphics | Universal Wilde as Executive Vice President in August 2009 after DSG’s acquisition of LVI Print Optimization where he was CEO. He was also a co-founder of HubCast, Inc. He is the subject matter expert in mapping existing marketing and print procurement processes, analyzing operational and competitive benefits and cost savings, and recommending solutions. Chris is a past member of the Board of Directors for the Printing Industries of New England, The National Association of Printing Leadership’s Industry Trends Analysis Group, and the Young Presidents’ Organization. He was a founding member of the Hewlett-Packard Digital Printing Advisory Council and The Digital Solutions Cooperative (Dscoop). Chris is a graduate of Tufts University (1992). He serves as the President of the Ashburnham/Westminster Foundation for Academic Excellence and is very active in community service. In addition to spending time with his three grown children, Chris enjoys boating on Lake Winnipesaukee, skiing, and making music with his bandmates.