College of Agriculture & Natural Resources School of Packaging

A 1997 graduate from the School of Packaging, John returns home to Michigan State University with 20 years of packaging development experience with global fast moving consumer good (FMCG) companies in the Food & Beverage and Health & Wellness space.  Prior employment includes Sara Lee Foods, Brach's Confections, The Andrew Jergens Company, Godiva Chocolatier (a former division of the Campbell Soup Company), Kraft Heinz, PepsiCo, and Green Thumb Industries.  Most recently, John provided consulting services to Mars Wrigley Confections to help advance the organization’s packaging sustainability agenda.  His most notable and proudest contribution was leading the exploratory, design, development, and commercialization of the innovative Heinz Ketchup Dip & Squeeze® package, which was created to enhance the consumer experience.  In 2009, John was granted a design patent for co-inventing the ketchup condiment cup with dual functionality.

In addition to earning a BS degree in Packaging, John holds an MBA specializing in Management of Advance Technology and Innovation from the University of Cincinnati in 2004.  He also holds a professional Doctorate degree in Business Administration (DBA) specializing in Strategy and Innovation from Capella University in 2018.  As part of fulfilling the DBA requirements, John conducted qualitative research using the case study method.  His dissertation research was Front-end innovation and craft beer breweries: Exploring problem framing and the customer experience through design thinking.

John has lived in various parts of the country, but his roots are in metro-Detroit and northern Michigan.  He will be relocating to the beautiful East Lansing, Michigan area to co-teach Packaging 485 (Packaging Development) and Packaging 430 (FMCG Packaging).  He enjoys outdoor recreation and exercise, cooking and craft beer pairings, visiting cultural museums and parks, and spending time with close friends and family.  One fun fact about John is while living in Cincinnati, he enrolled in a hand-drumming course practicing the bongo drums for eight weeks and performed in a musical polyrhythm percussion group for an African dance class.