Close Up: Robin Quinn


How often do you multi-task?
All the time, it's the only way I get things done. Sometimes, I try not to but sometimes I can't help it. Never, I just can't do more than one thing at a time.

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Close Up: Robin Quinn
By: Staff
Issue: 2010jan

After climbing the ranks in human resources and operations management with companies such as Kraft and Pepsico-Frito Lay, Robin Quinn ran her own consulting company for 18 years before joining Norwood six years ago this month as senior vice president, human resources and customer relations. Her expertise in development, training, customer service, sales training, large-scale organizational change and strategic planning has served her well at one of the industry’s largest supplier companies. She is currently on the board of directors for Promotional Products Education Foundation (PPEF) and will assume the role of chair in 2011.

How do you like to spend your leisure time?
Leisure time is a gift—I don’t get much of it—but when I do, I spend that time with family and my golden retriever, Moses. We have a growing passion to raise goldens for disabled veterans—in a small way it will give back to so many who have given for our freedom. We are still in the research and networking stages, but the need is great.

What’s a little-known fact about you?
Probably that I have lived my life in distinctly different stages. While my professional career has been constant, my personal life has not. I have gone from the Eastern shore to being a cowgirl in Texas, raising and showing horses, and dancing in a country-western music video, to owning a quaint café in the mountains of Colorado.

What person, living or dead, would you most like to meet and why?
I would love to meet Billy Graham—his words of wisdom have touched millions. He has positively impacted more issues and people’s lives than anyone else in our lifetime—especially issues around family, our freedom and being an American.

When did you know you wanted to work in this industry?
I had the opportunity to consult for Norwood in 2003 and found the industry fascinating. It was filled with unique personalities, fun products and a multitude of complex business challenges. In 2004, I joined the company.

What promotional product do you wish you had invented and why?
I think it would be the calendar. It is in front of someone every day and it is an opportunity to send a message. Calendars have been part of America’s history and served as an art source in many homes for years.

If you had a motto, what would it be?
“Our life is our palette; we can create whatever we want it to be.”

What’s your dream vacation destination and have you been there?
I love Italy! It is filled with art and art history, and incredible food. I have been there, but quickly realized a visitor needs several months to really begin to touch the tip of the iceberg.

Where do you get creative inspiration?
At work, it is when working with others. A natural flow of ideas and creativity seems to build as ideas are shared and a team’s vision comes to life. Personally, it is when I am working on décor—it is a hobby, but it is a real stress reliever too.

If you had to choose a different career, what would it be?
That is really hard to say—I really love what I do, so it is hard to imagine a different path. But if I really had to choose a different career, I would probably do something with art. I might be a gallery owner or an art tour guide in Italy. Make no mistake, I am no artist, but I am good at appreciating it.

What actor would play you in a movie about the promotional products industry and why?
Sandra Bullock. I think the many quirks and surprises she experiences in many of her movies seem to parallel the twists, turns and surprises we face daily—always a challenge, always a tear and a laugh.

If your typical day was a song, what would it be?
Beethoven’s 5th Symphony—dunt dunt dunt dun!

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