Education/training
In just three years, firm places 10th among Profit agazine's top emerging growth companies across CanadaRemarkable success for Centennial gradHow many people do you know who are able to start a business and, in just three years, achieve revenue growth of 907%, and score 10th place on Profit magazine's top emerging growth companies across Canada? |
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 [ 2008-03-05 ] |
At age 27, Christopher Rowland started his Toronto-based freight forwarding company, Equitrans Global Logistics.
How many people do you know who are able to start a business and, in just three years, achieve revenue growth of 907%, and score 10th place on Profit magazine's top emerging growth companies across Canada?
Probably not too many, but then you likely haven't met Christopher Rowland, CEO of Toronto-based freight forwarding company Equitrans Global Logistics. Rowland did all of the above and, to boot, he started his company at the age of 27.
'QUITE AN HONOUR'
Rowland's remarkable success recently caught the attention of the Ontario Premier's Awards, which recognized the Centennial College graduate's accomplishments with a 2007 award in the recent graduate category. The annual awards are given to six college grads who have made outstanding contributions to the province of Ontario in the categories of creative arts, technology, health sciences, business, community services and recent graduate.
"It's quite an honour and I'm very happy," says Rowland, who accepted his award at a gala celebration dinner on Feb. 11. "Centennial is a great school and I'm happy to be able to represent it."
Inspired by his entrepreneur father, Rowland enrolled in Centennial's three-year business administration diploma program in 2002 and began learning the basics of business, including operations, marketing, accounting, human resources, management and communications.
"I liked the courses that were offered -- they very relevant to business topics of the day," says Rowland, 30.
Equally as valuable to Rowland was the opportunity to gain first-hand insights about the business world from his experienced instructors.
"I found that most of the teachers were seasoned execs, and they were able to offer real-world examples to go along with the teaching," he says. "Being able to draw from their varied experiences was quite beneficial."
While in school, Rowland took a part-time job in the office of a Mississauga-based trucking company, and saw the potential for a business opportunity in the industry. He began researching the market and, in 2004, with his own savings and the support of a private investor, launched Equitrans.
Much of the company's early momentum was fuelled by Rowland's own unflagging perseverance and strong sales skills, he says.
"It was my sheer determination, for one," he says. "But sales is very natural for me, and I knew how to put together good logistics solutions packages for customers from my previous job. If I didn't have that sales background, the company would never have gotten off the ground."
By the time Rowland graduated in 2005, his company was growing rapidly, and Rowland felt more than confident that his training, experience and business instincts would catapult Equitrans to even greater heights.
He was right: today, Equitrans is a six-employee company that works with clients from a variety of sectors and ships goods across North America and overseas.
FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT
Rowland, whose right-hand man is his 27-year-old brother, says Equitrans excels because it customizes its services for each clients, and observes and quickly reacts to industry trends. The latter ability has enabled the company to survive the rise in value of the Canadian dollar by offering his Canadian and American cross border-shipping customers -- 95% of his clientele -- price cuts and flexible payment options.
He adds that his own involvement in every aspect of the business, from marketing to sales to, at times, even driving a truck -- he's a licensed truck driver, too -- also gives Equitrans a competitive edge.
"With each customer, I can consult on logistics, expenditures, loading freight -- every segment of their shipping processes," he says. "You tend to get a higher level of respect from customers when you have a 360o view of the industry."
The future looks bright for Equitrans: Rowland, a licensed realtor, has just added commercial real estate to the company's range of services, and plans are afoot to open an office in western Canada.
And since Rowland has benefited so much from his experience at Centennial College, he's planning to go back to take graphic design and web development courses so that he can enhance his marketing skills.
"My Centennial education was very relevant to today's business demands," he says. "It has helped me manage all of the aspects of running a business and ensure my company is on the right growth track."
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