John Peter is Advisor to Applico Capital
B2B Distribution's New Job Role: Chief AI Officer
Hi everyone,
John Peter has spent over 3 decades building relationships with and helping the largest distributors improve their businesses. In his 35 years at the National Association of Wholesalers (NAW), he wore a number of hats. He led their membership recruitment efforts, started the highly successful Billion Dollar and Large Company roundtable series and has been a tireless advocate for distributors. He was NAW’s Chief Corporate Relations Officer – and now, we are excited to announce that John Peter has joined Applico Capital as an Advisor.
John Peter has joined Applico Capital as an Advisor
In this role, John will continue to do what John loves: meeting with B2B distributor executives, understanding their needs and helping to solve their problems. This passion is unique and aligns perfectly with Applico Capital’s venture thesis: invest in technology that helps distributors get better. As an advisor, John will work with Applico Capital’s portfolio companies to help them solve problems for distributors. His wealth of knowledge into specific distributors’ needs as well as vertical-specific needs is unmatched. And, his deep-rooted, trusted relationships cannot be replicated. John – welcome to the team!
Tariff Poll
Liberation Day Chart
William Blair has an interesting report on Liberation Day. The chart seems to show that Trump’s tariff levels bring us back to tariff levels not seen since the early 20th century. As a point of reference, the Federal Reserve and Income Tax were both introduced in 1913. As you can see in the chart, prior to 1913, we funded our federal government predominantly through tariffs. The creation of a central bank and a new source of revenue (our citizens’ income) certainly provided the federal government more optionality to fund itself.
You can download their full report here. (You have to verify your email first).
Beacon’s Chief AI Officer
Back in the fall, QXO hired Ashwin Rao as their Chief AI Officer. Prior to QXO, Ashwin was the head of AI for Target.
In a recent interview with Brad Jacobs, he highlights what areas QXO believes AI will be a differentiator for their upcoming Beacon acquisition.