Welcome Aboard

The United Group (TUG) announced the appointment of Kim Foster as vice president of Member & Supplier Relations and Mark Prosser as vice president of Sales — Strategic Accounts. Both Kim and Mark’s extensive experience will strengthen and propel TUG, further instilling the organization as a leader regarding member-owned sales and marketing for independent B2B distributors of Jan/San, Packaging, Food Service, and Safety products and equipment. 

Apart from planning the conference each year, Kim will be predominately responsible for keeping in touch with members on both the supplier and member stockholder sides, developing those relationships, and making them feel welcome. “The enthusiasm and team atmosphere that TUG promotes is what impresses me the most and makes me want to be a part of their team,” she says. “It’s been a lot of fun creating some synergy with the TUG staff and developing relationships with our members and suppliers.” 

Kim brings nearly 27 years of experience in the jan/san industry. She has worked with various organizations within the industry, giving her buying group expertise. “Because I’m already familiar with buying groups and what their functions and goals are, it’s now a matter of learning a new language and determining the best strategy to apply my experience to make all of those same things happen for TUG,” she said. “I look forward to expanding my knowledge in the Food Service and Packaging markets and finding ways to serve our members best.” 

As vice president of Sales — Strategic Accounts, Mark will be responsible for helping TUG drive national business and strategic accounts, including GPOs. Mark will also work with preferred suppliers to develop various initiatives, among other efforts. He is specifically focused on healthcare GPOs, as healthcare is a channel that TUG is looking to grow to help current members succeed. 

Before joining TUG, Mark worked for multiple organizations over his 35-year career in the Jan/San industry. As a result, he has experience in all industry angles, including the distribution, supplier, and buying group sides. “In the current climate of acquisitions and consolidations, TUG stands out as the best available buying/marketing group alternative to successfully navigate the next decade and beyond,” he says. “The strong Member and Supplier bases in Jan/San, Foodservice, Packaging, Safety and Office Products really set us apart as the ideal business partner for independent distributors.” 

With a rich history and a start-up mentality, TUG looks to hire people with a fresh perspective, a collaborative mindset, and a sense of relentless drive. According to Ty Huffer, President of The United Group, Kim and Mark are very well respected and bring tremendous industry knowledge. “Kim and Mark are very well respected. More importantly, though, they are both high character individuals, and I look forward to having them as a part of team TUG,” he says. 

“Our goal at TUG is to bring more value to our member stockholders and suppliers. I feel that the attributes they, including the knowledge they have accumulated and the relationships they have built over the years, are going to help us achieve those goals,” he says. “We have a lot of new programs and new opportunities that we are going to be presenting, and Kim and Mark will be driving forces behind getting us to where we need to be in 2022.”