University Outreach (Invitation Only)

Prior to Vicenzi USA, Inc. she opened the U.S. market for an Italian based global food company, Dr. Schär AG / SPA where she was President/COO for eight years. In that position she was responsible for the construction and opening of a manufacturing facility in the U.S.  Donna has also held sales positions with  Venice Maid Foods and Heritage Brands, both leading private label manufacturers, She began  her career with The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P) where she held several positions including Vice President of Corporate Brands and Vice President of Category Management.

And has been awarded by the American Marketing Association for its societal impact. Currently a faculty member at The State University of New York (SUNY), Sara has been teaching undergraduate and MBA marketing courses for 13 years and has previously served as a faculty member for the Haub School of Business Food Marketing Department at Saint Joseph’s University. Sara also offers more than a decade of industry experience in sales and marketing within both private and public sectors, working with stakeholders along the value chain to foster successful relationships among retailers, restaurants, and food suppliers.

With 25 peer groups covering all aspects of sales, marketing, logistics, and management, Theo can offer leaders confidence that when they present a new idea, it is well vetted by the best minds in the industry. Previously, Theo was the Director of Private Brand Food at Target where he oversaw brand positioning, product development, and promotional strategy for Target’s portfolio of brands. He was the VP of Strategy at BBDO advertising agency.

And, for 20 years she worked within Europe and the U.K. for retailers including Ahold Delhaize, Unilever, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s. Jac serves on the Board of Directors for Women Impacting Storebrand Excellence™ (WISE), a non-profit professional development organization that champions the power of diversity and inclusion within the store brands industry.

Having spent a career in the food industry before teaching, Dr. Z conceptualized and formed the Food Marketing Concentration at Siena College; as well as the Food Marketing Track at the State University of New York at New Paltz.

Dr. Z has led the merchandising, marketing, advertising, procurement, and all customer engagement areas for multiple food retail companies domestically and internationally.

...and strategic internal and external communications. Prior to joining Topco, O’Neill served as managing partner in a consulting company. She has also held communications roles at Honeywell, Accenture, and served as vice president of communications at Nielsen.

Since joining Topco, she has revamped and relaunched Topco’s internship program, developed an entry-level rotational program for college graduates, and created the Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) strategy.

He has conducted numerous U.S. study tours for International Scholars through the USDA and has also led the Senior Leadership of Ferrero Germany on facilitated tours. He has also done seminars for the NASFT regarding selling your products into specialty stores. He brings 35+ years of Sales/Marketing executive experience with Tastykake & his consulting into the classroom. Key positions at Tastykake included: Director of Key Accounts, Director of National Sales/New Business Development, Director of Customer Relations/E-Commerce, & Director of Marketing.

He began working for Pacific Coast Producers shortly after his time at Santa Clara University, where he graduated in 1986 with a degree in Economics.

Prior to Topco, Thomas worked in CPG sales for Consolidated Biscuit Company, Bake-Line Products (a division of the Keebler Company) along with several years with Daymon at both retail and wholesale customers.

...and was also responsible for forecasting retail food price inflation at the national level.

Now at Cal Poly, Ricky teaches courses on food retail and supply chain management. He works closely with industry leaders in food retailing, wholesaling, and distribution to facilitate collaboration on public-private partnerships, student internships, and scholarships.

In 2017, Sam established Sam Mayberry Consulting, LLC where he assists both manufacturers and retail clients in developing and enhancing the skills necessary to thrive in a competitive market. His passion for sharing knowledge and expertise is evident through past participation with share groups and his involvement with the PLMA Executive Education program.