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CLOSE UP
INTER WEATHER MAY have thrown
the Northeast a curve this year, but
Kevin Dougherty has embraced the
change-up by spending time with his wife, Barbara, and
their sons Jayson, 11, and Timmy, 7, snowboarding in
the Pennsylvania Poconos.
Dougherty, a Medford, New Jersey resident, has also
embraced the change-ups he sees in promotional prod-
ucts business as the director, special markets for Seiko
Corporation of America (UPIC: S596169). Seiko partici-
pates in the industry through Mt. Prospect, Illinois-based
supplier Indigo (UPIC: INDIGO).
“I started in the promotional products industry in 2001
working with the special markets division at Movado
Group, Inc.,” says Dougherty. “With extensive knowledge
of the watch industry, I was
approached by the retiring
sales manager of Seiko to
be his successor; I am very
happy he did.”
What was your first job, and
what lessons did you learn
that you apply today?
Besides the typical paper route,
my first real job was as the
facilities management supervi-
sor at OnLine Software in
Fort Lee, New Jersey, in 1987.
This job was the keystone to
my management style of treat-
ing people with respect.
What piece of advice would
you share with an industry
newcomer?
If you ever meet someone who
claims to be an expert in this industry, turn around and run very
fast. This industry is filled with so many nuances and changes
that every time you think you have it figured out, someone
throws you a curveball, and you feel like you just started that
day. That being said, there is no other industry I’d like to be in.
Who do you consider to be your mentors?
I’ve never had an appointed mentor but I do consider the
bosses I’ve had in my life as my mentors. The women who
hired me in my first sales position left an incredible impact on
me. The gentleman I had as a boss in my first industry sales
position taught me more than I could ever learn in school. I’ve
even learned things from the worst boss I’ve ever had … and
when you can learn lessons from someone like that, it leaves a
tremendous impact.
What motivates you in business? In life?
I’m motivated by success. I love it when someone tells me
I cannot do something or something is unobtainable. When
I work really, really hard to achieve a goal or finish a task
and I get a well-deserved “job well done,” it motivates me.
My family also motivates me … everything I do is with them
in mind.
What promotional product do you wish you had invented?
I actually wish I had brought Seattle, Washington, supplier
Cutter & Buck (UPIC: CUTT0001) into the industry. It’s
such a great story of how a small garment manufacturer with a
small following blew up to be the company it is today, basically
because they took advantage of putting logos on their products.
They were able to reach the masses and market themselves
through this industry.
What professional accomplishment are you most proud of?
I’m very proud to be able to manage at a company that has an
incredibly respected reputation. Being part of the more than
130-year tradition of Seiko makes me feel that we truly are one
step ahead of the rest.
90 •
PPB
• APRIL 2015
CONNECT
Kevin Dougherty, director, special mar-
kets for Seiko Corporation, appreciates
the nuances of the promotional products
industry.
No Trouble With The Curve
W
KEVIN DOUGHERTY THRIVES IN THE EVER-CHANGING PROMOTIONAL WORLD.
BY JEN ALEXANDER