Rowan Alum Chris Greco Inspires Students with Insights on Creativity, Growth, and Pursuing Passion in Business
On Friday, Sept. 27, the Rowan Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (RCIE) hosted Chris Greco ’95, President of Brands & Marketing at Ginsey Home Solutions in Swedesboro, NJ, to speak to students about his experience working in consumer-packaged goods. In addition to his work for Ginsey Home Solutions, Greco is also a proud Rowan alum and a member of Rowan’s Entrepreneurship Advisory Council and the Rowan Innovation Venture Fund.
Growing up, Greco wasn’t entirely sure which industry he wanted to pursue, but he knew he wanted to find something that combined both the creative and logistical aspects of his personality.
“I grew up always having a left and right side brain thinking. I had an analytical side and there was a creative side. When I was growing up, I really, really had an urge and desire for business and being independent and being on my own. But I really love the creative side. I was able to draw and paint, and then I really took a deep dive into computers. And so through grade school, I was trying to figure out, you know, where am I going to end up?” said Greco.
Greco decided to major in visual communications and marketing at Rowan, hoping to work on the creative side of advertising. This led him to take an internship from one of his professors at Fleer, a trading card company that has since gone out of business. At Fleer, Greco learned about product design and got to put his creative skills to use.
“That part-time job then turned into a full-time position, and it was a design studio we were creating at the time. We were creating all types of trading cards, packages, and more or less corporate identities and corporate plans for Fleer,” said Greco.
After about two years at that company, Greco then moved to Comcast Spectator, the company that owned the Philadelphia Flyers, 76ers, The Wings, and the arenas they played in. There, he was a Senior Marketing Manager, overseeing the promotional side of the teams and arenas.
“It was the greatest experience of my life. I saw concerts that I was able to see just a few rows [away] because I had a badge — the Rolling Stones and John Denver –, but saw some really crazy and wild things there,” said Greco. “And it was a tremendous, tremendous experience, and that was all just marketing materials, you know, creating copy briefs and designs associated with the design team and creating signage. We did it all.”
While he enjoyed his time there, ultimately, he decided to leave to pursue a job where he saw more opportunities for growth within the company.
“I’ve always been eager for what’s next, what’s next, what’s next. I can’t tell you how many times my wife tells me, ‘Slow down, pump the brakes, you don’t always have to have what’s next; be happy with in front of you.’ That is true, but to get anywhere in life, unless someone is handing it to you, you’re not going to get it unless you go after it yourself.” Greco said.
This led him to Ginsey, which at the time was primarily a company focused on manufacturing bathroom products. However, when the company changed ownership and went through a rebrand, this was a new opportunity to get creative and expand their product offerings.
Ginsey started focusing more on licensed products, creating items in collaboration with large brands — like Disney and Clorox — to find creative ways to sell bathroom products. This was working, but Greco and the Ginsey team were still in search of new ways to reach more customers, and realized they needed to create household products for more rooms in the house.
“We have to get in other rooms. We have to, we can’t be a bath-centric company because it just limits your sales opportunities. It limits your product scope. It limits the categories that we’re vying for with new brands,” said Greco.
They started using their skills to expand into different household products, some of which include Crayola kitchen sets for children, Arm & Hammer Odor Buster balls, and Clorox splash guards for kitchen faucets.
“We make a home life that works. [We’re] experts providing simple, safe, sustainable, and approachable solutions to families that allow everyone to enjoy special moments in life. We deliver reliability, predictability, and repeatability, and really strive for continuous improvement, progress, learning, and innovation, helping make possible the celebration of milestone moments, traditions, memories, and experiences,” said Greco.
He left students with one final piece of advice: “If you can find what you love to do, chase it and turn it into something, because there is something there. If you see just a glimmer of hope, chase that and make that yours, because there is nothing better.”
Samantha Tamtama, a freshman entrepreneurship major, attended the event and found Greco’s journey and his advice to be quite inspirational as she develops her own small business.
“I feel like the way that he talked to us and the last thing that he said about, like, you gotta make it happen — you’re the one who has to take action. So it really opened up my eyes and makes me want to really start that business and take a step,” said Tamtama.
Another freshman entrepreneurship major, Jennalys Cruz, was encouraged to take action toward her own goals, even if it feels stagnant at the moment.
“His piece of advice at the end definitely meant a lot, because I feel stuck with what I’m doing right now. I don’t know if I should keep going, but this advice definitely encouraged me that I should go for it, or at least try,” said Cruz.
Visit ent.rowan.edu to learn more about Entrepreneurship at Rowan.
Story by: Madison Miller
