About

About Me

After a distinguished career in the pharmaceutical sector and achieving great success as a high school basketball coach, Ken Termini has focused on helping college student leaders leverage their experience during entry-level job interviews.

Making His Mark in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Ken graduated from Penn State University with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing in 1987. He then worked for Revlon for two years before finding a home with Forest Pharmaceuticals, where he was promoted through multiple sales and sales management positions. During his 27-year journey in the pharmaceutical space, he navigated complex healthcare landscapes.

His work with Forest Pharmaceuticals was recognized early on. He won all three of the company’s major sales awards: Rookie of the Year, Representative of the Year, and Sales Manager of the Year.

In 2002, Ken was promoted to the corporate office of Forest Pharmaceuticals, where he headed the State Government Affairs Department. Three years later, another promotion had Ken creating and running Forest Laboratories’ Federal Public Policy & Government Affairs department during the critical period of the Affordable Care Act’s implementation. He wrapped up his pharmaceutical career by returning to a local field sales position with Forest Laboratories (now Allergan) as an Anti-Infective Hospital Specialist involving infectious disease and hospital-based IV antibiotics.

Ken’s goal was to retire by 50, and he did. Accomplishing his goal required long-term planning and ongoing execution of a financial plan. At age 19, a friend’s father advised Ken to split his life into thirds. The first part of life was spent learning, with the second working hard and providing for his family. If all goes to plan, the final third is spent enjoying the fruits of one’s labor and chasing passions. This plan was his life blueprint, and he was able to follow it, crediting having the right team of advisors, coordinating financial with estate and tax planning, working with a firm that understands one’s risk tolerance, and having the long-term discipline to develop, execute, and evaluate one’s progress on an ongoing basis.

Smart Real Estate Investments Helped Make Early Retirement a Reality

Ken has more than two decades of investment real estate experience, focusing on vacation rental property development and deployment. He was part of a group that built large oceanfront houses in the Outer Banks (mostly in Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills). The group also built a 36-unit oceanfront condominium project with a construction budget of over $20 million. Although he has sold most of his real estate portfolio, Ken remains active in the Outer Banks NRPO (non-resident property owner) group and has a deep understanding of the property management business.

Ken’s Success As a High School Basketball Coach

While Ken retired in 2016, basketball, his other passion and dedication, kept him motivated and accomplished. Since 1990, he has coached basketball and has been involved as a coach at the high school level for all but four of his 34 years. Ken coached the basketball program at Palisades High School in Pennsylvania for three years until accepting a coaching job with Palmerton High School. Both high schools were part of the Colonial League.

As head coach of the Blue Bombers, the varsity team at Palmerton, for eight seasons, Ken’s players were recognized and lauded for exceeding expectations. Ken was named Boys Basketball Coach of the Year in 2015. He also coached the Blue Bombers to win the District 11 Class 3A title in 2019. In fact, Ken’s coaching style developed the Bombers basketball program into Colonial League and District 11 contenders year after year.

Ken Termini of Palmerton also founded the Colonial League Boys Basketball Coaches Association to help ensure the league’s best players receive recognition for their on-court accomplishments.

Open-Water Swimming

Basketball isn’t the only sport that has captured Ken’s attention. He competes in many open-water swim events. This August, he will be competing in the New York City SEAL Swim, a fundraiser for the Navy SEAL Foundation. The event starts at Liberty State Park, New Jersey, where all participants swim 3.5 miles to Manhattan, stopping at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Ken also does many other swims along the New Jersey Shore in places like Cape May, Avalon, and Sea Isle. He has participated in events in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina, including a personal long of 3.5 miles at the Swim the Loop event in Wrightsville Beach last fall. He finds open-water swimming an amazing experience and physically challenging – a sport he can enjoy in his 60s and beyond.

What’s Next? Building a Professional Development Company for College Students

Ken Termini is ramping up a professional development company to help college students leverage their leadership skills during job interviews. He saw an opportunity to fill a need after hiring nearly 500 entry-level individuals in the pharmaceutical industry. Although many college students gain incredible experience through leadership positions in student organizations, Ken realized they need more solid interviewing skills. He initially began offering group and one-on-one interview mentoring and presentations to college students through a company he formed, Career Launch Consulting (CLC). He plans to revive CLC with content that organizations can incorporate into their annual student leadership meetings. Ken is currently working with the international fraternity Lambda Chi Alpha.