Karen Doochin Vingelen

Karen is Senior Vice President of the South Central Region for American Paper & Twine (AP&T), the premier wholesale supplier and distributor of janitorial, packaging, disposable food service, safety and office products in the southeastern United States.AP&T is a division of Imperial Dade, the leading independently owned and operated distributor of foodservice packaging, facilities maintenance supplies and equipment in the United States with a growing network of over 100 distribution centers nationwide. Prior to Imperial Dade’s acquisition of AP&T in December of 2021, Karen served as President/COO of AP&T and was instrumental in growing the business by $20 million in 2021, leading AP&T to achieve over $200 million in sales in 2021.

She grew up working summers at AP&T with her father, current CEO Emeritus Bob Doochin, and her grandfather, Nathan Doochin, who started the business in 1926. After graduating from the University of Georgia in 1992 with a degree in Psychology and then obtaining her Master of Social Work from the University of Kentucky in 1994, she had a brief career in clinical social work before officially joining the AP&T team in 1998. During her tenure, Karen has been a driving force in modernizing business practices and technology, particularly on the operational side of the business. She has worked in almost every area of the business, including warehousing and operations, human resources, customer service, purchasing, sales, marketing, and technology. Since its origin, AP&T has expanded to include eight locations and nine distribution centers throughout the Southeast, nearly 400 employees and a fleet of 110 company owned vehicles.