Tom Bene, former Sysco chairman, president and CEO, has been named president and CEO of Breakthru Beverage Group, starting Oct. 4. "Tom brings invaluable expertise in distribution strategy and supplier and customer partnerships," Breakthru Co-Chairman W. Rockwell "Rocky" Wirtz said.

The merger of Synnex and Tech Data was completed Wednesday, creating a company called TD Synnex that is led by Tech Data CEO Rich Hume. The company has 22,000 employees and $59.8 billion in revenue.

Hurricanes and wildfires will likely worsen existing supply chain delays, so companies should be diversifying carriers, preparing alternatives and using real-time visibility technology, writes Jason Traff, president and co-founder of Shipwell.

Salespeople often drive buyers away by asking leading, lazy, or blatantly self-serving questions, writes Paul Cherry. Good sales questions are aimed at educating customers or helping them explore the challenges they're up against, Cherry writes.

Investing in business-to-business branding is crucial to not only build emotional connections with prospects but to compete in a digitally transformed world by providing seamless experiences and demonstrating purpose and values, writes Siegel+Gale's Margaret Molloy. Molloy explains how B2B marketers can maximize the power of their branding, using HubSpot, Salesforce, American Express and Maersk as examples of best practices.

Resist the temptation to automatically use leverage, as there may come a time where you need the other party's help or accommodation, writes Ken Goldstein. "Be the kind of person in business people want to call all the time, not just when either one of you has a temporary advantage," he writes.

One way to curb leaders' abuse of power is to deliberately measure for humility and empathy within the organization, says Rotman School of Management professor Tiziana Casciaro. "Instead of having the usual performance ratings, for example, add a couple of critical questions: 'How have you benefited from the effort and contributions of others?' 'How have you helped others succeed?' "

Are you looking for professional development programs to help you retain and develop your key personnel? If yes, then the NAW Certificate in Distribution Professional Management program will help your leaders reach their highest performance levels. Learn more.

It has been a long time but, finally, we will be together again! Designed for C-suite executives, these roundtables provide actionable strategies that will increase your company's competitive advantage. Companies belonging to this community are from distribution firms that exceed $1 billion in annual sales. You'll engage in thought-provoking conversations with your peers and hear from industry experts on topics that will ultimately increase your profits! Register today.

Interchange rate increases and changes to rate tiers implemented in April are the largest in a decade, according to Bloomberg News. The fees target payment types common in the wholesale distribution industry. Stream the "Restructured Rate Tiers and Increased B2B Card-Not-Present Transaction Costs" podcast from Unified Payments Group to learn more.