Campbell Soup CEO Douglas Conant to Present 2007 CEO Innovation Lecture October 25
Madison, NJ (October 4, 2007) — How can innovation benefit and expand your organization?
Campbell Soup Company President and CEO Douglas R. Conant will deliver the second annual CEO Innovation Lecture on Thursday, October 25, 2007 at 8 a.m. at FDU’s College at Florham, Madison, NJ. The CEO Innovation Lecture Series exposes participants to the very latest ideas of great CEO innovators.
Conant said, “At Campbell Soup Company, innovation continues to be critical to our success. The progress we have made as a company, particularly throughout the last six years of our company’s transformation, is based on the innovative mindset we apply to our work.”
Douglas R. Conant was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Campbell Soup Company in January of 2001. He also was elected a Director of the company at that time. Conant is Campbell's 11th leader in the company's nearly 140-year history.
Under Conant's leadership, Campbell has made significant investments to develop a robust innovation pipeline, improve product quality and packaging, and strengthen the effectiveness of its marketing programs.
The company also has improved its financial profile, enhanced its relationships with its customers, and improved its employee engagement through investments in its organization. As a result, Campbell once again has become a formidable force in the global food industry.
Conant joined Campbell with 25 years of extensive food industry experience from three of the world's leading food companies: General Mills, Inc., Phillip Morris Companies, Inc. (Kraft), and Nabisco. Conant began his career in 1976 in marketing at General Mills. He then spent six years at Kraft, where he held top management positions in marketing and strategy. And from 1995 to 2000, Conant was President of Nabisco Foods Company, leading the $3.7 billion cookies and crackers business.
A native of Chicago, he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University and his master's degree in business administration from the J.L. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern.
Gary Rose, Chief, Office of Economic Growth, State of New Jersey, will give welcoming remarks. This office is responsible for the overall policy direction of state government activities that affect the business community.
Registration/Breakfast will take place at 7:30 a.m., with Conant’s lecture beginning at 8 a.m. Pre-registration is required, at $50 per person and seating is limited. To register, call 973-443-8842.
The CEO Innovation Lecture, sponsored by FDU’s Silberman College of Business and Rothman Institute of Entrepreneurial Studies, will be held in Hennessy Hall, (The Mansion) at FDU’s College at Florham, 285 Madison Avenue, Madison, NJ.
About Campbell:
Campbell is a global manufacturer and marketer of high quality simple meals, including soup, baked snacks, vegetable-based beverages, and premium chocolate products. The company has more than $7.5 billion in annual sales, and a portfolio of more than 20 market-leading brands, including Campbell's, Pepperidge Farm, Arnott's, V8, and Godiva.
Campbell now is focused on Driving Quality Growth by combining the power of its icon brands, its competitive advantages in simple meals and baked snacks, and its talented people. The company seeks to build the world's most extraordinary food company by nourishing people's lives everywhere, every day. Two key goals are to achieve world-class employee engagement and to deliver the best total shareowner returns over the next decade relative to peer companies.