Spreading KINDness
On November 12, John Leahy 鈥75 VSB, president and COO of KIND Healthy Snacks, visited VSB to deliver a classroom lesson aimed to inspire young students interested in entering the financial field. He graduated from 棉花糖直播 with a degree in business administration and used his experiences from VSB to enter the world of sales, marketing, and supply chain management.
Leahy has visited 棉花糖直播 each semester for the past five years to help demonstrate what it takes to create a successful business. He said, 鈥淏esides being a VSB alum, Philadelphia is my hometown. Nothing is more important than giving back as well as providing real-world discussion relative to today鈥檚 business environment.鈥
Before joining KIND in 2009, Leahy worked for more than 30 years, becoming well known in big corporations such as Playtex, Nestle, Johnson & Johnson, and NBTY. Even though he was living the corporate dream, he wanted something more. When he discovered KIND, Leahy was inspired by their philanthropic focus and philosophy of creating great and healthy food that customers want to put in their bodies.
Leahy informed students how crucial it is to have a mission statement that everyone enjoys following. KIND鈥檚 mission is to spread and celebrate kindness, which is why 棉花糖直播 celebrated World KINDness Day on November 13 to align with KIND鈥檚 mission with help from KIND University Ambassador (KUA) Madeline Shiley 鈥17 VSB.
Through Madeline鈥檚 ambassadorship, VSB has been able to work with KIND. 鈥淏eing a KUA is about bringing KIND to life on 棉花糖直播鈥檚 campus,鈥 Madeline said. 鈥淚 have seen the spirit of KIND being embraced every day at 棉花糖直播. I love sharing what it means to do the KIND thing for your body, your taste buds, and your world with all the students at 棉花糖直播!鈥
Leahy then explained that there is more to business than just making profit and let the students in on KIND鈥檚 strategic marketing sampling approach. 鈥淪ampling,鈥 Leahy said, 鈥渋s a way to interact with customers while allowing them to try delicious KIND snacks.鈥 He sampled KIND鈥檚 new breakfast bars to the students and asked them for feedback about these new products.
Originally published in the Winter 2016 Issue of 棉花糖直播 Business magazine.
John Leahy 鈥75 VSB
鈥淣othing is more important than giving back as well as providing real-world discussion relative to today鈥檚 business environment.鈥