Kent State's College of Business Administration Announces Speaker for Michael D. Solomon Series

Sept. 30, 2015 - PRLog -- Keith Levy, president of Royal Canin USA based in St. Charles, Missouri, a leading global manufacturer of premium dog and cat nutrition will be the keynote speaker at the Michael D. Solomon Speaker Series on November 5. His presentation titled “Laws of Growth, Redefined” is being hosted by the College of Business Administration’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation (CEBI).

“Kent State University equipped and positioned me to enjoy an incredibly successful career in business, and I met and made life-long friends including the girl of my dreams who later became my wife,” said Levy. “Coming back to Kent State after 30 years to share my story and what I’ve learned since graduation is both exciting and humbling.”

Royal Canin is a division of Mars, Inc., one of the world's largest private companies. The business manufactures, markets, and distributes more than 200 different specialty diets and 450 skus to approximately 30,000 clients nationwide.  Mr. Levy’s team operates a network of 4 factories in North America and leads nearly 1,000 associates across the country. Since being appointed President of the company in 2012, he has led several key initiatives including the creation of an eCommerce strategy and organization, the installation of brand management and marketing discipline, broad based consolidation in logistics and distribution producing significant cost savings and other margin enhancing results driving productivity, efficiency and cost containment.

Prior to Mars and Royal Canin, Mr. Levy enjoyed a successful 24 year career at Anheuser-Busch, Inc. During his tenure at Anheuser-Busch, he held numerous executive roles including Vice President of sales, Vice President of Brand Management and prior to leaving AB in 2011, he was the company’s Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer responsible for leading some of the world's most valuable brands including Budweiser and Bud Light.

Levy helped drive the company's revenue to a record $13B, and was instrumental in shaping modern brand management at Anheuser-Busch.  He also led the development and launch of many innovative new products including Bud Light Lime, one of the most successful line extensions across all CPG in 2008/2009.

Some of Mr. Levy’s awards for marketing excellence include winning USA Today’s Super Bowl ad meter in 2008 and 2011 as well as capturing 3 out of the top 10 ad meter selections in 2010, Cannes Gold and Silver Lions in 2008 and 2010, several POPIA Gold and Silver medals for outstanding merchandising achievement, and three Emmy nominations for advertising excellence in 2009/2010. Additionally, he was a key member of the senior integration team during the $53B acquisition of Anheuser-Busch by Inbev in 2008.

Mr. Levy is a past board member of the Association of National Advertisers, a current board member of Banfield Charitable Trust in Portland, OR, and an advisory board member to the George Herbert Walker School of Business & Technology at Webster University in St. Louis, MO.  In addition, he has been a past contributor on Forbes.com where he is a member of the Forbes CMO Network.  He earned his BBA in marketing in 1985 from Kent State University and has attended executive education at both Kellogg School of Management and Harvard Business School.

To learn more about the Michael D. Solomon Speaker Series or to register, visit http://business.kent.edu/events/michael-d-solomon-speaker-series-0.

To learn more about the College of Business Administration, visit http://business.kent.edu/.

###

Kent State University’s College of Business Administration is one of only 180 colleges or schools of business worldwide to achieve dual accreditation in both business and accounting from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International, the global accrediting body providing specialized accreditation at the bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels. The College of Business Administration is home to 4,502 students. The college boasts a satellite office of Kent State University’s Career Services Center dedicated to business students, and operates the Global Management Center, the Center for Information Systems and the Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation all propelling scholarly research, establishing innovative industry partnerships and providing outreach to Northeast Ohio and beyond.

Media Contacts:

Michelle Parrish Manning, Director of Marketing Communications, mparris3@kent.edu, 330-672-2717

Bri Figley, Marketing and Communications Specialist, bfigley2@kent.edu, 330-672-1279