Coming from a finance and accounting background, including a stint with Price Waterhouse, Jim Kearns might not strike some readers as the kind of executive who would thrive on the broad-based challenges of helping lead a large privately held global uniform and linen services company like Alsco Uniforms. But in fact, Kearns’ vision for growing Alsco and the industry at large extends to a range of strategic areas.

We posed several questions to Kearns, TRSA’s newly elected chair, earlier this year during an interview at the Salt Lake City headquarters of Alsco Uniforms. He serves as executive vice president and ...