As New Jersey’s Bon Jovi once sang, “Who says you can’t go home?”

Two accomplished executives who formerly worked at Garden State-based Vantage Apparel (asi/93390) have returned to the Top 40 supplier’s C-Suite in Avenel, NJ.

Christopher Alfano previously worked for Vantage for nine years through November 2020, holding roles that included chief technology officer and director of information technology. Now, he’s back as chief digital officer.

Christopher Alfano and Fred Durand, Vantage Apparel

Meanwhile, Fred Durand has returned to Vantage as chief operating officer. He was previously at Vantage from 1999 to 2008, serving as vice president of e-commerce and director of customer service.

“The recent hires are in line with Vantage's commitment to bolstering its digital capacities in response to the evolving needs of the industry,” said company President Ira Neaman, a member of Counselor’s Power 50 list of promo’s most influential people.

Alfano, who rejoined Vantage Apparel in June, was most recently senior vice president of business technology at Top 40 distributor AIA Corporation (asi/109480) for more than two years. He has also held IT leadership positions outside promo, including for companies in the chemicals industry.

Alfano has a career history of spearheading digital transformation and modernizing operating systems, executives said. When he was last at Vantage, for instance, he modernized the firm’s ERP system and lead the shift toward more efficient digital processes, the company said.

“Chris' experience and innovative leadership will now be channeled into enhancing Vantage's e-commerce platforms, streamlining distributor integrations and cultivating strategic partnerships through the newly established Digital Sales Operations team,” said Neaman.

Alfano said he is “incredibly excited to return to Vantage Apparel and contribute to the ongoing digital transformation. I aim to use my experience and expertise to enhance our e-commerce capabilities, deepen our partnerships and support our distributors with more robust and seamless integrations.”

Durand has already been working at Vantage for several months. He’s heading up the production, sourcing, IT, customer service and digital operations teams.

“Fred has a strong technology background, experience running large-scale manufacturing operations and a passion for fostering excellence throughout an organization,” said Neaman. “In his first six months back, he implemented significant process enhancements to give our service and operations teams more visibility to real-time information, access to technology benefits and ultimately an overall better order experience.”

Over the last 15 years, Durand has held C-level positions outside of the promotional products industry, leading operations and e-commerce. His roles have included chief operating officer at GAR Products, which specializes in commercial seating, and vice president of operations at home-appliances manufacturer Galanz Americas Limited Company.

Based on reported 2021 North American promotional product revenue of $45.4 million, Vantage Apparel ranked 36^th on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest suppliers in the industry. The new list will be released later this month.