Our Founder

Our strength as a company, the root system that sustains us, must be credited to Martin Stein and his business philosophy. Martin set a standard of insight and leadership that has earned us the trust and respect of our clients. Our growth and success is due to his mentoring and the many core values he shared with us. He continues to inspire all of us to serve our clients above and beyond their expectations. This philosophy was termed “Eleven:” a commitment to never be satisfied with a ten in service, but to dig deeper, try harder and reward your decision to work with us.

It all started in 1985. RMI Direct Marketing was founded by Martin A. Stein and John Forte, both experienced direct marketers who held executive positions at Walter Karl Companies, Inc. before leaving to found RMI. Martin and John shared a vision of how direct marketing would be changing in coming years and how to serve the evolving needs of the industry. As the company grew, they always maintained that vision and instilled their core values in us.

Martin was a former List Leaders board member and past recipient of the HVDMA (Hudson Valley Direct Marketing Association) Founder’s Award. He was a voting member of the Direct Marketing Association, Inc. and a member of the DMA List Council, DMA Non Profit Federation, DMA of Washington, DMA Special Interest Council and was on the Advisory Board for the DMA’s PAC Organization.

Martin Stein passed away in March, 2010. In honor of Martin’s many contributions and achievements, the DMA List Leaders Group posthumously awarded him the 2010 DMA List Leader of the Year. Martin requested that donations be made to the American Institute for Cancer Research, his long-term client and an organization he believed in. We proudly continue to honor that charity.

Martin lives on in the company he founded and nurtured to success. His wisdom, energy and humor are part of our DNA. The culture of excellence he established continues to inspire us, and we strive every day to work according to Martin’s standards, fulfill his vision and make him proud.