Orbus Exhibit & Display Group, North America’s leading wholesale supplier and manufacturer of display, exhibit, graphic and event solutions, today announced the appointment of Gary Keefer as Chief Executive Officer. Giles Douglas, Orbus’ CEO of 20 years, retired in 2020 and continues to serve on the Board of Directors.
Gary has more than 25 years of executive level leadership experience, including years of strategic development and plan execution at B2B product and service businesses in the contract furniture and promotional products industries.
As a client-focused executive, Gary led and structured teams of more than 200 sales professionals in business development, account management and customer experience as both a dealer and a manufacturer. In addition to planning and executing innumerable exhibits and events as a sales and marketing leader, Gary gained an appreciation for and insight into design and visual presentation from Dayton-Hudson that remain core values to this day. Design and visual communication have been incorporated into every subsequent role, including his time as a key leader for the world’s largest furniture dealer, CEBI. Gary also combined CRM, digital and brand marketing strategies with technology and marketing automation to drive results.
Further, his background in operations, project management, rental services, and global supply chain at such firms as Staples B2B, Cort Furniture Rental, and Waterlogic round out an extensive skill set to propel Orbus into the future.
“Gary is the right leader for Orbus,” says Douglas. “His extensive leadership experience driving sales organizations, brands, operations, acquisitions, technology and effective supply chains will help Orbus strengthen partnerships, develop strategic alliances and expand its North American presence. His appreciation for strong design and project management is a perfect fit for us. We believe his extensive work as a dealer and as a manufacturer, in businesses both public and private, as well as those owned by private equity, will bolster Orbus’ position in the Sign, Print, Exhibit and Promotional Products industries, and springboard Orbus’ strategic growth in new verticals.”
Orbus Exhibit & Display Group is a market-leading group of brands in the United States and Canada that specialize in the manufacture and trade-only supply of portable, modular, sign and fabric structure displays used in events, exhibits and interiors. Brands within the group include The Exhibitors’ Handbook®, Ultima® Displays Canada, The Promo Handbook™, Nimlok®, Nimlok Canada, SignPro Systems®, and Fabric Images®. Orbus is a proud member of ISA, SGIA, ASI, PPAI, UPIC, and SAGE; the company boasts G7 Master IDEAlliance certification and is registered to ISO 9001:2015 for the highest manufacturing quality standards and ISO 14001:2015 for its environmental management system and “green” efforts. Orbus Group’s supply and manufacturing operations reside in the Greater Chicago area, Las Vegas, NV and Greater Toronto, Ontario. For more info, visit www.orbus.com.
