Terry Rowinski lives out the inspiration quote often referenced in the African Proverb about the value of community: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” According to his staff, “In the work that Terry leads, it has been shown time and time again that we are indeed better together.”
Working together with his staff while learning from each other is what defines his leadership style, said Rowinski, the Chief Operating Officer at Integrated Merchandising Solutions.
Integrated Merchandising Solutions makes it easy for brands to make the right connections with their customers at retail by creating fully integrated digital and physical retail experience solutions.
“From the earliest days of my college career through my first full-time role as a software engineer, the principals of being a lifelong learner and a teacher of others took root,” said Rowinski. “To me, lifelong learning is not merely an educational philosophy, but rather a way of life, a continuous journey of self-improvement, exploration and adaptability.”
This commitment to personal and professional growth is evident as he leads teams at IMS. The firm has continued to grow both revenue and profit in the mid-to-high single digits over the past three years through organic growth and newly acquired business.
“The magic of IMS’s success stems from the way team members share knowledge, seamlessly integrating new insights and lessons into the collective fabric of the company,” said Rowinski. “Our team takes pride in their collective achievements, celebrating milestones both big and small.”
There is nothing small about Rowinski’s success. He has played crucial roles in restructuring, launching and leading high-performing businesses for public and private companies. “Terry has achieved positive bottom-line results by effectively managing turnover, productivity and waste,” said his colleagues. “While these are nice from a business economic standpoint, he also believes and advocates that what drives the entities culture is what happens in the halls.”
Rowinski has put his staff at the center of his focus from the time he led teams at Kohl’s Department Stores and Excel Logistics to his time as the COO at Integrated Merchandising Solutions. His love for learning is evident through his active support of education missions in the community.
“I believe that a family, a company, a community, is indeed stronger together and when adversity of any kind hits, we should simply figure it out together,” he said.
For his unending commitment to lifelong learning and emphasis on building culture, Rowinski has been named a Titan.
