Terry McGowan, P.Eng.

Experienced Leader in Complex International Sales, Manufacturing and Technical Businesses.

Terry has had extensive experience in an ownership and executive leadership role for family businesses. That experience includes roles as CEO, COO, General Manager and Plant Manager in capital intensive manufacturing businesses that internally develop their own products and services and then market and sell them internationally.

Terry’s greatest strength is taking on complex operational, human resource and technical situations and then leading change; by simplifying the problem, taking a team approach, and listening to stakeholders. He provides clear direction and expectations so that growth can take place and the business can succeed in the long term. Key areas of expertise are International Sales Management/Leadership, Manufacturing Operations Management, Financial Decision Making and Metrics and Technical Product synthesis.

Working extensively with international business partners to drive sales growth, Terry understands how to work effectively in diverse international cultures. He has also successfully set up and led/managed international sales and manufacturing operations, including in Canada, Poland, and Russia.  As an Osborne Principal, Terry looks to continue providing strategic and experienced business guidance to businesses struggling with sales or operations challenges in Canada or internationally.

Client Services

  • Family Business Leadership/Management

  • International Manufacturing Operations Leadership

  • International Sales Leadership

  • Technical Product/R&D Management

  • Change Management

Selected Achievements

  • Led the successful transition of the company’s distributor in China which represented 30% of revenues to a new distributor that hit the ground running with no impact on existing business and continued growth in the Chinese market.
  • Successfully took over the company as a non-family CEO from the founding owner who became ill and eventually passed away.  Taking on the roles of director, president of all business units and joint executor of the owner’s will, successfully transitioned and led the organization on to its next phase.
  • Set up and put in operation a satellite manufacturing facility in Slupsk, Poland. Led a team of people and family members to obtain permits, establish relationships with lawyers, accounting firms and political players, build the facility, buy equipment, and successfully integrate the business with Canadian operations.
  • Transitioned management of a business with over 100 years of history from retiring senior managers and directors to new hires for finance and accounting, sales, manufacturing, engineering, HR, and new product development.

Experience

  • Thomson-Gordon Group/Thordon Bearings Inc. – President & CEO
  • Interplast Joint Stock Company (St. Petersburg, Russia) – Director
  • Thordon Bearings Inc. – President & CEO, General Manager
  • Bartek Ingredients Inc. – President & CEO, Director
  • Bartek Ingredients Inc. – General Manager, Manufacturing; Plant Manager Maleic Anhydride
  • Broad Oak Inc. – President
  • Professional Engineer (Ontario), P.Eng.