Archives for April 2018
April 2018 Meeting (includes Audio)
Posted April 8, 2018 at 8:50 PMThe guest speaker for our April 5, 2018 meeting was Roger Schnorbus, Adjunct Professor, Robins School of Businss at The University of Richmond. Roger spoke on “Disruption,” specifically focused on what Amazon is doing to disrupt the retail grocery industry via their recent acquisition of Whole Foods. This is a fascinating topic in that the grocery industry as it exists today will be far different in the next 10 years; the same can be said for many other industries as change driven by technology will be rampant.
Roger Schnorbus is a retiree of the Campbell Soup Company where he held senior level positions including Director of International Product Development, Vice President of Corporate Product Development and President of Mrs. Paul’s Kitchens.
While heading Product Development, Campbell transitioned from being a manufacturing based firm to becoming marketing driven. The new product program resulted in the successful introduction of over 200 products including Chunky Soups, Prego Spaghetti Sauce and Le Menu Frozen Dinners. During his 7 year tenure in this position, Campbell became the leading innovator in the food industry. While heading Mrs. Paul’s, he led a turnaround attaining and maintaining market share leadership in the frozen prepared seafood industry. This was accomplished with an Operations overhaul and a Marketing/New Product introduction focus.
Roger currently teaches or has taught courses in Strategic Management, Mergers/Acquisitions, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at both the undergraduate and MBA levels at the Robins School of Business, University of Richmond. He also served as the Executive-in-Residence at the school for 6 years and has taught several Executive Education programs there.
In addition to his teaching duties, Roger has consulted and coached for companies including Con Agra, Hunt Wesson, Campbell Soup, Reynolds Metal, Genworth, Altria, Luck Company as well as a myriad of small businesses. He also has ownership positions in several startup businesses.
Roger holds a B.S. degree(Chemistry) from St. Francis University and an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Judy are the proud parents of three wonderful daughters and nine grandchildren, all of whom live in Woodlake.