Tim Simmons, former vice president of communications, PLMA and former editor-in-chief, Supermarket News
It’s obvious that Brian Sharoff had an enormous impact on private label, retailing, trade associations, and the hundreds of people he knew and worked with. The big question is: what made him so special?
One answer is that Brian was a visionary. He was always looking five, 10, sometimes 20 years ahead for new opportunities. In the 1980s, he was way ahead of his time in recognizing the importance of constantly communicating the message to the media and retailers that quality products, packaging and innovation were crucial to the success of private label. Brian was perhaps the only person who saw the potential for a European trade show for private label. The result: PLMA’s World of Private Label is now the world’s largest private label show. Nearly two decades ago, Brian foresaw the potential of video streaming and built the in-depth PLMA Live! programming that today is the envy of other trade associations.
Another key to Brian’s success was that he had the personality of an entrepreneur. He had little interest in organizational flowcharts, but was intensely interested in people. He was very loyal to the people who worked with him and that loyalty was happily reciprocated. Brian’s entrepreneurial personality was a perfect match for the scrappy small businesses that play such a large role in supplying private label products.
And, lastly, Brian had a real appreciation for the various constituencies within the PLMA membership; whether they were big or small, food or nonfood, or located in different regions. Brian started out his career as legislator representing a polyglot Brooklyn neighborhood full of people from around the world. He understood how important it was to listen to each group and try to meet their diverse needs. This communication skill proved invaluable in building a cohesive trade association.
It’s not often that someone comes along who is a visionary, an entrepreneur and a great communicator. That’s what made Brian so special.
March 18, 2021 at 12:36PM
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