Peter Rowan, PhD, MBA, MA

Peter Rowan is the Lawrence K Johnson Chair in Entrepreneurship and the Executive Director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center at the Albers School of Business and Economics at Seattle University.

Peter has been an entrepreneur-in-residence and an entrepreneurship educator for twenty years. Previously, Peter was the Corporate Vice President, New Ventures at Coinstar, Inc. from 2001 to 2010. During his tenure, the company grew from $150 million to $1.3 billion in revenue, entered new lines of business and introduced innovative growth initiatives like its DVD kiosks, money transfer, electronic payment and gift card programs. At Coinstar, Peter led more than 20 acquisitions, investments and divestitures, including its investment in and buyout of Redbox. Peter’s past experience includes advising early-stage companies for the Interactive Strategy Group. Until its sale in 2000, he was President of T3 Media, an internet services provider that was recognized in 1998 by Forrester Research as one of the top “web integrators” in the US. Peter also held various corporate development positions, including Director of Mergers and Acquisitions and Director of International Business Development, for GP Strategies Corporation, a NY-based private equity firm.

Peter has a BA in Russian History from Cornell University, an MA in International Policy Studies and an MBA from Middlebury Institute of International Studies, and a PhD in Business Administration from the Shidler College of Business at University of Hawai'i. He is marginally proficient in Russian and Spanish. His hobbies include reading, skiing and classical guitar.