James F Howe

President Motion Industries

James Howe was promoted to President of Motion, effective April 2024, after serving the company as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial and Technology Officer – eCommerce, IT, Sales Excellence, Corporate Accounts, Strategic Pricing and Human Resources. He has more than 30 years of experience in the industrial distribution market. Through Mr. Howe's leadership, Motion sales processes and digital experience achieved excellence and continue to do so. As President, he is leading the company's drive to success, including spearheading a strategic executive and field realignment to support ambitious growth plans for the company. In his recent roles, Mr. Howe led the strategy and development of all aspects of Motion digital strategy: The new Motion.com website released in Q3 2020, a new MiPro Sales app, and CRM technology for 2021. He has also transformed Motion's pricing strategy using data science and internally developed pricing algorithms, which have delivered consistent multi-year margin expansion. Mr. Howe has a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics & Decision Sciences from the University of California in San Diego and an MBA from Columbia University in New York. He has been married to his wife, Dawn, for 21 years, and they have three children. Mr. Howe and his family moved to Birmingham, Alabama, in 2024.

Day 2

9:20 AM Keynote Panel: State of Wholesale Distribution: 2026 Review and 2027 Outlook

Join the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) for a state-of-the-industry panel discussion on the $8.7 trillion wholesale distribution industry. The panel, moderated by NAW President and CEO Eric Hoplin, will feature executives from top distributors supplying the specialty building products, facility care and foodservice packaging, and industrial automation and MRO industries. Each panelist brings deep sub-sector expertise, setting up a compare-and-contrast conversation that surfaces both shared trends and the unique factors shaping each corner of the industry.

Panelists will review the economic, technological, policy, and workforce developments that shaped distribution in 2026 and offer predictions for 2027. The conversation will combine panelists' direct, large-scale operating experience with NAW's view across its full membership, giving B2B Online attendees a detailed, cross-sector read on the forces shaping the future of distribution.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the economic, regulatory, and policy trends shaping wholesale distribution heading into 2027

• Compare digital transformation and AI adoption across distinct distribution sub-sectors

• Assess how industry consolidation is reshaping competitive dynamics within distribution

• Apply a framework for evaluating workforce and talent trends specific to distribution operations

Check out the incredible speaker line-up to see who will be joining James F.

Download The Latest Agenda