[Navigating the Grey] Barry Rowan, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Gogo
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"Living Life on Purpose"
What is the purpose of my life and how does my work contribute to its fulfillment? Does my work make the world a better place and can I be made better by my work? Please join us for a conversation with Barry Rowan, EVP and CFO at Gogo, and his wife Linda Rowan, moderated by Alana Taube (MBA ’20) and co-sponsored by the Harry L. Davis Center for Leadership and Catholics at Booth. The discussion will focus on how business leaders can come to realize meaning in their work and purpose in their lives.
More from the Navigating the Grey Series
We would love to host you for our entire Navigating the Grey Series! Events are taking place from Tuesday Apr 6th - Friday Apr 9th. Our series includes:
Further Event Details
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Co-sponsored by the Harry L. Davis Center for Leadership, Catholics at Booth, and Intervarsity Christian Fellowship.
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The event will be held virtually.
About Barry Rowan
Barry Rowan has over thirty years of senior leadership experience building significant technology and communications companies. He currently serves as the CFO for Gogo, the inflight internet company with over $800 million in annual revenues. He was previously CFO for Cool Planet Energy Systems, a renewable energy company located in Denver, Colorado. From 2010-13, Barry served as EVP, CFO and Chief Administrative Officer for Vonage Corporation in Holmdel, New Jersey where he was part of the leadership team that successfully turned around this $900 million internet communications company.
From 2003-2006, Barry was with Nextel Partners, serving as its EVP, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. From its founding in 1999 in Kirkland, Washington, Nextel Partners grew into a Fortune 1000 company providing Nextel-branded services to over 2 million customers in mid-sized and rural markets in 31 states. The company was consistently ranked among the fastest growing wireless companies in the U.S., reaching $1 billion in revenues in its first five years. Fueled by this rapid growth, the equity value of the company grew from $2 billion to over $9 billion during Rowan’s tenure, culminating in its sale to Sprint for $10 billion in June of 2006.
After starting his career in the finance department for a division of Hewlett-Packard, Barry joined Comlinear Corporation after graduating from the Harvard Business School. Comlinear was a venture-backed technology company that would become the 110th fastest growing company in the U.S. He began as its Chief Financial Officer and was later promoted to President at age 32. In 1992 he joined Fluke Corporation (NYSE) as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. In 1995, he became Vice President and General Manager of the verification tools division, and in 1996, he was promoted to Senior Vice President and General Manager of the newly-created networks division, a business that grew from start-up to $100 million in six years. Fluke’s stock price more than tripled during Rowan’s six years with the company. From 1999 to 2001, Mr. Rowan served as Chief Financial Officer at Velocom Inc., a large-scale telecommunications start-up doing business in South America, and subsequently served as Chief Executive Officer of Vesper, the company's Brazilian subsidiary.
Mr. Rowan earned his M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School in 1983, and his B.S. summa cum laude in Business Administration and Chemical Biology from The College of Idaho in 1979.
Mr. Rowan has served as a director for public companies, including ICO Global Communications and ARIS Corporation, has also served on the boards of privately held companies. Motivated by his belief in giving back to the community and investing in the next generation of leaders, he has also served as a trustee for Seattle Pacific University, Gordon College, the board of advisors for the Honors Program in Entrepreneurial Leadership at Gonzaga University, and as President of Bellevue Christian School. He has served on the InterVarsity board of directors and chairs the board of the Harvard Business School Christian Fellowship and Alumni Association. He has taught university courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels and is a frequently requested speaker at a wide variety of forums. He is married to Linda, his best friend and wife of thirty-eight years, and they have two sons, Mark and David, both married to wonderful young women. An avid reader and lover of the outdoors, Barry enjoys skiing, hiking, golf, and most sports.
About Linda Rowan
Linda earned her CPA and worked first in public accounting and then with Hewlett-Packard, spending ten years in financial management roles before retiring to become a “tennis shoe mom.” As a “community entrepreneur,” she has started and led prayer groups, co-chaired capital campaigns, started the Parent Advisory Council at Seattle Pacific University, and invests her time in event planning for many non-profit organizations. Linda currently serves on three nonprofit boards, chairs the executive Committee for Amigos de Jesús, a home for homeless children in Honduras, and is a member of the World Vision National Leadership Council.
Linda and Barry combined their heart for the poor and investing in the next generation of Christ-following leaders as they led six trips to Central America with their family and Harvard graduate students. Based on a desire to continue the intergenerational friendships formed on these trips, they designed a three-year experience called “An Adventure with God” based on living a surrendered life: As God transforms us he transforms the world through us. Linda is passionate about breaking the poverty cycle through sustainable programs and her current focus is on bringing clean water and education to the “least of these” in remote areas of Central America.
Hobbies & Fun Facts: Snow skiing, golfing, biking, and traveling to interesting places. Explored all 50 states with our sons. Visited 22 countries. Welcomed two beautiful daughters-in-law into our family and three wonderful grandchildren.
About Navigating the Grey
Navigating the Grey is an annual, student-led ethics conference at Booth, born out of the Great Recession by members of the Christians in Business student club in recognition of our responsibilities as future leaders. Each year, we invite prominent representatives of the private and social sectors so that they can share valuable lessons learned with us.
Our goal is to inspire audience members to define their own compass of values, and think consciously about how they will live out those values in the face of inevitable "grey areas" in our personal and professional lives. How will we not just survive these grey areas, but thrive in them?
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Co-hosted with: Catholics at Booth (FT)
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