Byrnes retires from NetPlus, leadership promotions follow
After 12 years at the helm of NetPlus Alliance’s business development team, Paul Byrnes is set to retire in June.
Byrnes is closing this final, impactful chapter in his career as the senior vice president of business development, a role he has held since he was promoted from vice president of the same department in 2023. NetPlus is promoting three leaders from within to continue guiding the organization into the future.
“Over the years, Paul has provided valuable guidance to our team,” said NetPlus President and CEO Jennifer Murphy. “He always makes sure there’s a metaphorical seat at the table for our members whenever our team is discussing how we communicate, how we develop programs, and make choices that set the trajectory of our group. Paul has been one of those people who has brought his own ‘secret sauce’ to NetPlus from his experiences in our industry and the results have been tremendous.”
NetPlus said that through Byrnes' tenure with the organization, he personally shepherded an 260 distributor members into the group. His authenticity and sincere efforts to spark growth for smaller, often family-run businesses, shone through. Byrnes brought along with him more than a decade of carefully honed expertise in aiding distributors toward increased profitability.
“We all love something about our job, and the piece for me that is so powerful is the belief that I’ve helped so many of our members become better, more profitable businesses,” Byrnes said. “It makes me so happy that I was able to do that. I don’t have anything against big corporate stores, but it’s so important that we have these thriving family businesses. I work for that and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”
In 2016, Byrnes was a key driver behind the NetPlus sales and marketing planning program, Growth Plus. He saw the need in the NetPlus community for a structured but customizable template to reach mutually beneficial growth and helped bring that to life. Byrnes understood that each distributor-supplier relationship is unique, and one strict format would not suit all partnerships. Now, hundreds of NetPlus members and partners each year take advantage of the program, which has been shown to bring 50% greater purchases growth to distributors who participate.
"It has been a privilege to work alongside independent distributors and NetPlus supplier partners who work together every day to get better,” Byrnes said. “Working together, we learn from each other, become stronger, smarter, and increase the value of local distribution in the categories we compete in. Local distribution is vital and remains vibrant."
I’m proud of what I was able to help build at NetPlus,” Byrnes added. “I told Jennifer I could bring in valuable distributor members to grow the group, and I was able to do my part. It has been an honor to be part of this for the past 12 years. I am grateful for the journey and proud of what this group has built and continues to build.”
Prior to joining the NetPlus team, Byrnes spent 11 years with NetPlus wholesale supplier partner ORS Nasco as the eastern region sales director. In that role, he had the opportunity to travel with his team of salespeople to thousands of distributor businesses, building authentic and lasting relationships along the way.
“The story of Paul coming to NetPlus is somewhat serendipitous,” said Murphy. In the fall of 2013, Byrnes filled in for an ORS Nasco colleague at a NetPlus Advisory Council meeting. It was that meeting in which Murphy announced the newly open position that would shape the next 12 years of Paul’s career. “I knew from the minute he called me that he was the right person for the job,” she said. “Paul's experience with ORS gave him both a deep understanding of the supplier side of the business, as well as a familiarity with all the distributors in the business. He came on almost in a consultative way, able to advise distributors on their businesses and guide choices they were making toward their own success.”
Byrnes credits his mentors and experiences with many of his life and business lessons, in addition to the professional development opportunities he was grateful to benefit from.
“There has been a common thread of learning opportunities throughout my career,” he reflected. “I’ve learned from all of them; I learned what to do and what not to do and that has all shaped me into who I am. I’ve had a lot of business experience and the type of formal sales and management training that big companies can provide. I’ve been sure to share everything I’ve learned with the next group of leaders. Just like when I left ORS, I’m really passionate about wanting the organization I helped build to continue to succeed and grow.”
As of May 1, 2026, three NetPlus leaders have been elevated to greater organizational responsibility.
Zach Brado has been selected to pick up Byrnes’ mantle as senior vice president of growth and development.
“If you want to see Zach at his best, go with him to a trade show,” Murphy said. “He has been with NetPlus for 14 years now, and in that time he has built up a solid knowledge base of the industry, our manufacturer partners, and our distributor members, with genuine enthusiasm. I’ve had the privilege of watching him grow; he’s my right-hand-man now. His approach to partnerships in the industry is 100% genuine, and he wants to learn more from everyone he meets so he can have a better understanding of how he can provide additional support.”
Brado began his time at NetPlus in 2012 as an eager marketing intern. After accepting a full-time roll in marketing with NetPlus, Brado quickly proved his value to the company and a succession of marketing promotions followed until his elevation to Director of Business Development in 2017.
“Paul is an industry veteran who has always been so generous in sharing his life and business lessons along the way,” Brado said. “Learning from him has not only made me a better businessperson, but a better person in general. I’ve gained so much from Paul that you could never learn in a business book. As I’ve led our supplier relationships for the past several years, Paul’s guidance taught me to keep the best interests our distributors at the forefront of mind.”
In 2020, Brado was promoted again to vice president of development and marketing, leading the marketing, programs, and events team in addition to heading up supplier relations on the development side.
"I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with Zach and sharing a lot of things with him, especially over the last six years,” Byrnes said. “Zach is ready for this, and it is going to be very powerful for our members and for our organization that we have someone internally who has been specifically groomed for this position.”
Jennifer McMillan is now leading the marketing, programs, and events department as the new vice president of human resources, operations, and marketing. McMillan previously steered HR and operations for the organization as senior director of the department, sharing some additional technology duties with the finance department.
Kate Borth has also been promoted from senior director to vice president of finance, continuing to demonstrate her dedication to using effective tools, efficient processes, and financial diligence to benefit the NetPlus community.
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