Tim Andrews on Leadership, Listening & Letting Go

It’d be tempting to describe Tim Andrews’ career – even his life story – as Dickensian: a kid who grew up with a heart-of-gold single mom who showered him with an abundance of support and unconditional love directly inverse to the dearth of material items she could provide him in a home without indoor plumbing, supported by Food Stamps and community charity.

But Andrews’ story, more accurately, is decidedly American: success manifested by self-determination, pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps chutzpah and more than a little luck in finding the right people with the right guidance and the smarts to seize opportunities as they came.

Hope in the Heartland

Tim Andrews grew up in Middle America – St. Louis Crossing, Indiana, to be exact – near a town called, of all things, Hope. And hoo boy, did it live up to its name. Surrounded by a caring, nurturing community and friends, what Andrews lacked in financial security was surpassed by a belief that he was the solution to his life’s limitations. And this is where his signature drive and initiative make their first appearance, as well as some classic foreshadowing of his chosen future profession: journalism.

His first paying job – for a whopping total of $204 for the summer – was at the age of 13. As Andrews tells it, that $204 financed carbon paper and typing stock so he could launch The Crossing ChitChat, a thin community newsletter he sold for a nickel. From there, at the age of 16, he detasseled corn – pulling the tops off the stalks to allow cross-pollination – in 200 hot, damp acres in Southern Indiana. He did that work for three summers, in a field that was decidedly not made of dreams.

He did a stint as staff intern and then staff reporter in the early ’80s at The Republic – a local newspaper in nearby Columbus, where he wrote and photographed community events like church dedications, holiday parades, 4-H fairs, sewing circles, Fun Runs and a rocking chair marathon, in a slice of Americana that conjures the quintessential postcard image of sleepy small-town life.

From there, the trajectory for the kid who attended high school in a town of fewer than 2,000 and a graduating class of 84 and who wanted to be an astronaut to the man whose career as ASI’s president and CEO has taken him around the world, meeting promo pros across the globe, interviewing heads of state, former and current U.S. presidents, celebrities and formidable business leaders has been arcing and expansive. In the process, he racked up about two million lifetime flown miles on United – proving just how far bootstrapped American gumption and Hoosier grit can take someone with the right amount of steel in his spine and drive in his soul.

“I was always very much open to learning and hearing the views of others,” says Andrews. “You know, my desire to be a journalist was probably driven by a couple of things: First, I gave up on being an astronaut because I wasn’t that good in science,” he laughs. “Keep in mind that my youth was filled by people walking on the moon and doing unbelievable things that you couldn’t even have imagined. But it was coming home every day from school, watching the Watergate hearings and reading the news coverage – that’s when I knew I wanted to be a journalist.”

And it’s the desire to gather and metabolize information that continues to be a driving force for Andrews. “I think successful businesspeople, in whatever role they have, are those who seek out facts and information from a variety of sources, consider data and synthesize all of that to dig into what it means,” he notes. “And then you do that across a broad array of people with differing viewpoints to make an independent assessment. As in journalism, what’s the headline and what’s the lead? How do I convey this in a way that’s going to make sense to somebody? As a business leader, I’ve always believed my role is to listen to lots of different customers and colleagues, and then make decisions based on what my conclusion is. And so early on I was always interested in gathering facts, information and differing opinions.”

Jo-an Lantz, CEO of Counselor Top 40 distributor Geiger (asi/202900) and the 2020 Counselor Person of the Year, has known Andrews since he started at ASI and maintains that, in today’s increasingly polarized world, he embodies the kind of statesmanship we all hope to see. “Tim’s engaging personality, genuine ability to listen and remarkable talent for bringing people together have set him apart,” says Lantz, who’s also a member of Counselor’s Power 50. “For more than two decades, his leadership has extended far beyond ASI – shaping and elevating the entire global promotions, gifts and incentives industry. Why? He listens.”

CJ Schmidt, the CEO of Counselor Top 40 supplier Hit Promotional Products (asi/61125) and the 2024 Counselor Person of the Year, says that what’s always stood out to him is how Andrews treats people – regardless of the size of their business or who they are. “Relationships are at the heart of the way Tim ran the business at ASI, and people can feel that when they work with him,” Schmidt, a member of Counselor’s Power 50, believes. “The relationships and trust he’s built will carry his impact at ASI forward for years to come.”

No Chutes, All Ladders

When Andrews entered Ball State University, his world became exponentially bigger in every way and gave him his first taste of working with a robust, frenetic and dedicated team on the school newspaper, learning not only the creative side of producing print journalism, but the economic side as well in selling advertising – underscoring, no doubt, the decision to have the dual major of journalism and economics that would serve him so well in his transition to the business side of media.

Upon graduating in 1984, he took a junior-level position as a copyreader at Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal, serving in a variety of editorial, marketing, product development and senior executive roles during his near 16-year tenure. His final role there was in bringing together a Dow Jones U.S. business with its archenemy international competitor, Reuters. He provided leadership for merging the interactive business services of both into a single global entity, with combined revenue of more than $225 million and operations spanning dozens of countries and a dozen languages. Earlier, he had developed the business strategy of the company’s news and information online service offerings for corporations. Under Andrews’ management, Dow Jones was one of the first companies to provide business information to corporate desktops over the internet.

Peter Kann remembers him from their years at Dow Jones when Kann was CEO. “Tim began as an energetic young newsman on the Dow Jones newswires but later moved to a new unit responsible for online media,” Kann recalls 30 years later. “He was among the pioneers who developed WSJ.com – the online Wall Street Journal – and our other internet content and data products. A particular source of pride is that we charged a subscription price for it while all other such editions were free; the others, much later, came to adopt our model and Tim was a driver of that. He always stood out for his creativity and enterprise, as well as his good humor and charm, which endeared him to his colleagues.”

From there, Andrews became the CEO of Primedia Business Magazines, a $400 million media division of a publicly traded publisher, where he spearheaded business, editorial and product strategy for Primedia’s hundreds of properties across more than a dozen industries.

Dorothea Coccoli-Palsho presciently saw notable leadership traits in Andrews when she worked with him when he was a young staffer at Dow Jones – but not right away. “The Dow Jones president came to me about ‘a kid in New York’ who was on the electronic side of Dow Jones, because the president thought Tim would be a good fit if I had any positions open,” Palsho remembers three decades later. “Honestly, if I had the opportunity, I would’ve hired someone else. But then I met Tim, and he was quick, bright and interesting. I determined pretty quickly that he had a sharp, analytical mind, was quick to digest information and was intrigued by the financial side of the business. Some instances came up where we had to be very resourceful and make difficult decisions – Tim was very decisive.”

Consequently, as Dow Jones was starting a new business entity and looking for someone to run it, Palsho thought of Andrews immediately. “With Tim’s unique combination of attributes, I knew it had to be him – there wasn’t anyone else as forward-thinking,” she remembers. “He’s both sharply analytical and creative in a visionary way in that he can see things both vertically and horizontally – points of intersection where we could make and save money and build brands. He’s also an honest, empathetic leader who’s very mindful of the capabilities of the people who work for him, and good at supporting them at their level of ability. He’s a standout among leaders I’ve encountered throughout my 60-plus years in business.”

The Game Changer

In 2003, as Andrews was contemplating his next career challenge, the Cohn family which has owned ASI since 1962, came calling with an offer to become only the fifth nonfamily member CEO of the promotional products technology, events and media company.

ASI’s Norman Cohn, chairman emeritus of the fourth-generation industry company, was emphatic in stating how Andrews’ 23-year tenure has been impactful for the industry, for ASI and for clients who’ve been able to successfully grow their businesses with ASI’s products and services. “Tim means so much to me and our family; I’m so glad we were bright enough 23 years ago to hire him, and we will never forget him.”

Andrews, who was 41 when he started at ASI, dug in immediately and did away with antiquated procedures like time clocks and excessive management oversight of employees, ushering in a more current, vibrant and transparent form of leadership. Rather than presiding in his CEO role from a distance, he spent one-on-one time with staffers throughout ASI’s 400-count roster, visited ASI distributors and suppliers of all sizes and went to any industry event he was invited to get to know the people who worked for and bought from the company.

Stephanie Cohn Schaeffer, co-chairman of ASI and a member of the third generation of the Cohn family, remembers that when she and her family first met Andrews as a potential CEO candidate, the realization was almost immediate that he was different than other candidates. “There was this instant energy and connection, where Tim felt like family,” she says. “Because the question always is, how do you have a family business with a nonfamily member CEO? But the ‘family’ isn’t just our family; it’s the family that is this industry. What’s so magical about Tim is that he feels like family to us, and to everyone – and we’ve all been so lucky to be on this journey with him.”

Andrew Titus, president of Counselor Top 40 distributor UFG and Fully Promoted (asi/384000) – speaking on behalf of himself and his father, Ray, the company’s CEO – notes that Andrews’ leadership “has been transformational for ASI and the industry. Tim has always been so supportive of Fully Promoted and the Titus family, welcoming me into the industry, taking time to meet with me one-on-one multiple times and acting as a great resource for me as I have led Fully Promoted over the last four years,” he says. “The industry, ASI and Fully Promoted are in a better place because of Tim’s leadership.”

And in a role that’s fulfilling and draining in near equal measures, Andrews’ steadiness and equanimity have kept the company and the industry calm during the economic downturns of ’08-’09, the pandemic and PPE pivots, sourcing issues and tariff upheaval. Through it all, Andrews was the voice of reason whose calm words of wisdom have aged well in the cask.

Steely Resolve

In dealing with the many challenges that Andrews faced as CEO of ASI during his near quarter-century tenure, his guiding principle was keeping people focused on a plan. “In times of real distress, when people are uncertain and scared for their families, their employees, their businesses and livelihoods, it showed me how incredibly resilient the industry is and how there’s always a better day. And so, one can think about the drama or the trauma that you’re in right now, but by focusing on the day ahead, you’ll get to that destination.”

The example Andrews cites is when, in the early days of COVID, he hosted a webinar with four industry suppliers and distributors for which over 1,000 industry promo pros logged on live. “My main goal in that webinar was to simply tell people it will be OK and here’s what’s happening and what ASI will be doing. At the end of the day, people want a plan and they want a path to that. And really, they just want hope.”

In reflecting on what makes a strong leader, Andrews is quick to point out that leadership isn’t just a title; that anyone can be a leader. “It’s about giving people space, asking good questions and allowing them to land on the answers. People almost always know what the answers are – they just need to be asked the questions,” he believes. “The decision process itself isn’t a difficult one: What are the opportunities? What should we really be doing? What are our customers asking us about? If you ask those questions across your organization and have people asking each other questions, then you bring those answers together. From there, you can write the headline for the story that people then will follow.”

Vera Muzzillo, CEO of Counselor Top 40 distributor Proforma (asi/300094) and a member of Counselor’s Power 50, calls Andrews’ time at ASI “inspirational.”

“He’s revolutionized the way that the industry views and manages automation, efficiency, education and conversation,” says Muzzillo. “I’m proud to call him both a wonderful friend and a strong mentor, and his legacy will always be a part of the foundation of ASI and this industry.”

But perhaps most vexing – and in a metaphor that Andrews, ever the Star Trek fan would find apt – was how to completely overhaul a family business that had built a legacy as a print-based service provider and completely transform it, with employee buy-in, to a cutting-edge technology company. It could’ve been the Kobayashi Maru of business challenges, but Andrews steered ASI from being a print publishing company first and foremost to a technology leader continually updating and evolving to weave in new applications for the promo industry’s tens of thousands of users. Today, ASI’s tech stack, led by ESP+, is its preeminent product offering.

Most recently, led by an unending curiosity and a need to keep pushing boundaries and upending norms, Andrews has been downright evangelical in banging the drum for implementing data-driven decision-making and the mass adoption of AI, especially regarding how it could change the industry and streamline processes within ASI, forming exploratory committees, setting up classes and tutorials for employees and constantly challenging colleagues to embrace the transformative technology. Acutely aware that not everyone was so eager to embrace these new ways of doing business, Andrews isn’t one to shy away from a difficult topic or shaking up the status quo; when faced with hot-button issues, he’s never hesitated to push twice. At the same time, he consistently emphasized the importance of thoughtful adoption, education and governance alongside innovation.

The ‘Hugs & Handshakes’ Industry

After 23 years in the promo industry as one of its leaders, Andrews is uniquely positioned to offer some advice to people new to the business after two decades of watching what’s worked, what hasn’t and how he’s had a successful run leading ASI.

“I think that people just coming into the promo industry need to realize that this is a much more difficult business than it looks from the outside,” he says. “And it really requires grit and determination, but that the payoff is huge because this industry allows you to have a business that you drive, that you’re leading. The one thing I’ve seen over and over again is that the opportunity for success is limitless.”

Sharon Eyal, founder of ETS Express (asi/51197) and Counselor’s Person of the Year in 2018, didn’t graduate from high school and started his business with his dad, printing glass ashtrays for 10 cents apiece. “From the early days when ETS was just a small supplier, the entire ASI team always took such great care of us – no doubt, Tim and ASI were instrumental to ETS’ growth,” Eyal says. “Tim is an amazing leader who took the industry to the next level, and we’re all better because of it.”

Andrews distills the road map for success in business to this: “It’s really about how you form relationships, and how you solve people’s problems,” he says. “And if you’re a distributor, it’s looking at how you help a small business get new clients, more clients and increased sales through promotional marketing. That’s a huge payoff in terms of psychic profit – meaning, being able to truly help someone – but also the real profit. The North American promo industry is a $27.7 billion industry and whether the industry grows in a year or doesn’t grow in a year, that’s still $27.7 billion of opportunity.”

He advises seeking people out in the industry and asking for advice, mentorship time and honest feedback. “This is an industry that’s incredibly welcoming – hugs and handshakes, as I like to say,” Andrews maintains. “I was a little uncomfortable when I first started because I came from a business and an industry where you didn’t hug anybody. And the entry of private equity and consolidation could’ve led the industry to be less welcoming – it could’ve been more cutthroat and people thinking, ‘You’re my competitor; therefore I hate you.’ But that’s not who we are.”

Andrews suggests asking friends outside of the promo industry if they feel like they have control over their own success and believe they can move their business forward in any economy by simply doing great work and taking care of their customers. “Most people in the big world don’t love their jobs,” he says. “But I’ve found people in our industry love the creativity, the chance to help clients grow their businesses, and to go to a trade show or an industry event like ASI’s Power Summit because they want to spend time with their friends. How wonderful is that?”

Matthew Cohn, co-chairman of ASI, maintains that one of the most extraordinary things about Andrews’ time as ASI’s CEO is that early on in his tenure, Andrews solidified and documented the company’s core values in a way that hadn’t been done before. “And before anything else, it was that, at ASI, we care – about our clients, the industry, our team and our community. And Tim conveyed that in such a meaningful way because he cares,” Cohn recounts. “It says a lot about Tim that he’s always doing the right things for the right reasons. I learned so much from him.”

Flattening Borders, Building Alliances

One noteworthy achievement for which Andrews has been a stalwart advocate is the continued globalization of the promo marketplace. He was instrumental in the 2011 formation of PromoAlliance, the international networking and education initiative among ASI, PSI in Europe and Sourcing City in the U.K.

“Tim’s leadership has always reflected a simple belief that our industry is strongest when it works together globally,” says Ella Long, CEO of Sourcing City. “His support for PromoAlliance and the partnership between ASI, Sourcing City and PSI helped turn that belief into real progress, creating new opportunities for distributors and suppliers to connect, learn and grow across markets. Tim has been a true partner to Sourcing City and a real champion of global collaboration. His openness, integrity and long-term thinking have strengthened relationships that will keep benefiting the industry for years to come. His legacy is a more connected and forward-looking promotional products community, and we’re grateful to have worked alongside him.”

Petra Lassahn, the director of PSI, concurs. “Tim has been an exceptional partner – professional, reliable and always forward-thinking,” Lassahn says. “Over the years, our collaboration has been built on trust, mutual respect and a shared passion for our industry. Tim has not only contributed strategically and commercially, but also personally, with integrity, warmth and a great sense of humor. He will always have a lifetime PSI VIP ticket from us.”

Manifesting Psychic Energy

But it’s also in the area of philanthropy and giving back by way of his time where Andrews has leaned all the way in, whether it’s routinely matching employee donations for ASI charity drives, endowing a scholarship and sitting on the foundation board at Ball State University, financially supporting the food bank in his hometown in Indiana, or being an active board member of Moore College of Art & Design in Philadelphia and ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative journalism group.

It’s like he’s continually remembering where he came from and paying it forward tenfold. Because he was mentored selflessly, he mentors; because his internships were foundational moments in what would be a rich and robust career, ASI now hires a dozen or more throughout the company each summer and started, in 2016, an industrywide internship program through which ASI has trained more than 2,000 interns for 1,000 industry companies.

“Tim has had a truly amazing rise up the corporate ladder,” says Jonathan Isaacson, CEO & Chairman of the Board of Counselor Top 40 supplier Gemline (asi/56070) and the 2021 Counselor Person of the Year. “ASI is a different and better company than when he arrived. Along his journey, Tim used his good fortune to support his hometown, his alma mater and other philanthropic endeavors. He has led ASI in its humanitarian response to various crises that we experienced during his tenure and has championed internships so others can have a chance to climb the ladder themselves. As long as I’ve known him, Tim has been a person of great integrity. While I had disagreements with Tim over the years, I never once doubted his word.”

Without even hesitating, Andrews – who’s very mindful of how his career was impacted by internships he had – names the creation of the ASI Industry Internship Program as his proudest achievement. “Even those interns that haven’t stayed in the industry, they’re now aware of the power of promo so they can be advocates in the form of informed buyers,” Andrews says. “And then let’s say 10% of the interns stayed in the industry – that’s nearly 200 enthusiastic young people we wouldn’t have had otherwise.”

And what does his first day after his last day as ASI’s president and CEO look like? “I’ve been very intentional in planning some things,” he smiles. “And so for the first six months I’m considering it to be a sabbatical because I’ve never had more than about two weeks off consecutively.”

He points to the nonprofit organizations he’s involved with, two of which he plans to spend significantly more time with, as top goals on his new to-do list. “I want this part of my life to be about giving back,” Andrews says. “When I leave the earth, I would like the institutions and people who have supported me in my life left in a better place than they are now, even in some small way.”

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