FIMnews
Congratulations to the
Summer 2013
NEWS
Congratulations Class of 2013!
FIM Class of 2013!
Welcome to the Summer 2013 issue of FIMnews! This issue celebrates the graduation of the
Food Industry Management Class of 2013. We commend you for your successful completion
of the FIM program and look forward to hearing about your upcoming achievements.
In this issue you can find a summary of the highlight events of the term, such as the
FIM and Neighborhood Academic Initiative Day, in which participants obtained enough food
donations to fill 500 grocery bags of food to feed 250 families. Or the FIM Donor Luncheon,
which was hosted to honor the companies that contribute to the WAFC fund, allowing for
millions of dollars in scholarships to assist in educating future leaders of the food industry.
We also recap the culmination of this program in the Education Day Presentations,
which showcased the students’ applications of their new knowledge and expertise on strategic issues in the food industry, and the 55th Annual Awards banquet. This year, FIM honored
Greg Longstreet as the 2013 Executive in Residence and Karl Schroeder as the FIM Executive
of the Year.
FIM Class of 2013 Details
EVENTS
Orientation Day
Donor Luncheon
FIM & Neighborhood
Academic Initiative
WAFC Conference
Education Day Presentations
Awards Banquet
PEOPLE
Executive in Residence
Executive of the Year
UPDATES
FIEP Fall 2013
Alumni Updates
Thank you to the new leaders of the food industry for a wonderful year. Fight on!
FIM Details
FIM Class of 2013
Roger Arechiga, Bristol Farms
Scot Huntington, The Myers Group
Robert Rhodes, WinCo
Mike Barter, Smart & Final
Victor Kao, Unified Grocers
Carrie Rodgers, Costco Wholesale
Erick Bitter, Friedman’s Freshmarkets
Victoria Krabill, Fred Meyer
Jeff Shantz, Nestlé USA
Alexandra Bolanos, Northgate Gonzalez
Markets
Christina Lee, Kraft Foods
Colin Smith, Safeway Inc.
Britney Martinez, Farmer John
Janice Song, Superior Grocers
David Clark, Clark's Market
Christopher McDaniel, Shellie Curtis Inc. Rosie Swan, Food 4 Less
Bryan deGroot, Smart & Final
Lizette Montano, Unified Grocers
Ken Wall, Ralphs
Angelica Gonzalez, Bimbo, S.A. de C.V.
Andy Newberry, Brookshire Grocery Co.
Daniel West, Safeway Inc.
David Higginbotham, Stater Bros.
Aisha Patel, Kraft Foods
Warren Young, Smith’s Food & Drug
Size
 26 members
Gender
 16 Males, 10 Females
Ages
 Ages range from 23 - 55
 Average age: 35
Companies Represented
 Suppliers:
Bimbo, S.A. de C.V.
Farmer John
Kraft Foods
Nestlé USA
 Retailers:
Bristol Farms
Brookshire Grocery
Clark’s Market
Costco Wholesale
Food 4 Less
Friedman’s Freshmarkets
Fred Meyer
Northgate Markets
Ralphs
Safeway Inc.
Shellie Curtis Inc.
Superior Grocers
Smart & Final
Smiths Food & Drug
Stater Bros.
The Myers Group
WinCo
Unified Grocers
FIM Events
FIM Orientation Day
Friday January 18, 2013
Facilitated mostly by previous FIM graduates, Orientation Day on January 18, 2013 introduced the new FIM class of 2013 to their upcoming 14-week program. The day started with
breakfast, in which the incoming class had a chance to mingle with each other, faculty,
staff, and alumni. Bob, Mike, and Jennifer gave a welcome speech, then FIM Alumni speakers shared their experiences, tips for success, and expectations of the program. Following
lunch on the lawn of Bridge Hall, Alumni took incoming students on a campus tour to
obtain their books, parking permits, and student IDs. The day concluded with an Alumnihosted BBQ at the Oakwood Apartments, where most of the students were to reside over
the course of the program.
FIM Donor Luncheon
Tuesday February 19, 2013
On February 19th, 2013 , USC hosted its annual Donor Luncheon to honor the companies
that contributed to the Western Association of Food Chains fund. The WAFC fund has distributed over $20 million in scholarships to more than 1,700 USC Marshall FIM students
over the past 55 years. We thank these companies for their continued generous support.
Attendees at the 2013 Donor lunch included executives from Bristol Farms, Coca-Cola,
General Mills, Kellogg, Safeway, Procter & Gamble, and many more.
Special guests and speakers for this year’s luncheon were Greg Longstreet, President &
CEO of Farmer John and this year’s Executive in Residence, and Oscar Gonzalez, CoPresident & COO of Northgate Markets and President & Chairman of WAFC.
FIM Events
FIM and Neighborhood Academic Initiative
Saturday, March 16, 2013
On Saturday, March 16, 2013, the Food Industry Management Program distributed hundreds of
bags of food to 250 families affiliated with the Neighborhood Academic Initiative (NAI) at USC. This is the
fifth year the FIM program has collected food from their parent companies to donate through NAI. They
represented companies such as Stater Bros. Markets, Nestlé USA, Kraft Foods Global, Unified Grocers,
and Costco Wholesale Corporation. Last year’s FIM class distributed 250 parcels; this year’s organizers
increased the initiative to fill 500 grocery bags to provide to two bags of food each to selected families.
The FIM class of 2013 also spoke to 175 students from 6th to 12th grade about opportunities for
future leaders in the supermarket industry in departments such as accounting, marketing, store management, and human resources. Parents listened to these speeches on the importance of continued education as well.
Robert Hermanns, executive director of FIM at USC’s Marshall School of Business, remarked,
“The FIM program grooms individuals to be leaders in the food industry. Part of leadership in any industry is giving back.” This initiative was developed in 2008 by FIM ‘09 students Frank Mota (Bristol Farms)
and Jaime Leal (Costco Wholesale Corporation) to build on the FIM program’s existing relationship with
NAI, which was initially established for food industry students to share their success stories and educate
NAI students about career paths in the food industry.
FIM Events
92nd Annual WAFC Conference
April 20-24, 2013, Palm Desert, CA
The Western Association of Food Chains has been a participant of USC FIM program for over 55
years. WAFC, along with many generous donors, makes FIM possible for new students every
year by providing full tuition scholarships for each accepted student . WAFC is committed “to
serving the food industry and its communities... initiate and support continuing educational
programs in the West for the Food Industry….and to produce a yearly convention with a goal
toward better understanding, better communications within the food industry and its
customers“ (WAFC, Mission Statement).
This year, the WAFC held its 92nd annual convention in Palm Desert, California. USC FIM
students participated in the WAFC 92nd Annual Conference when one group was selected to
present their strategic issues facing the food industry. USC’s capstone presentation this year
was on the topic of food waste, by Christopher McDaniel of Shellie Curtis, Angelica Gonzalez of
Bimbo S.A. de C.V. in Mexico City, Warren Young of Smith's Food & Drug SLC, Robert Rhodes of
WinCo Foods, and Carrie Rodgers of Costco Wholesale.
USC’s FIM presenters: Team Waste Busters
Oscar Gonzalez, Northgate Markets and WAFC
president.
Karla Wiseman, USC Marshall School of Business; Karl
and Aurelia Schroeder, Safeway
FIM Events
EDUCATION DAY
PRESENTATIONS
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
In these final presentations, the FIM class of 2013
displayed their newly developed expertise and knowledge
on strategic issues facing the food industry. Students
presented on the following topics:
Reduce Food Waste
Daniel West, Carrie Rodgers, Angelica Gonzalez,
Christopher McDaniel, Warren Young
Employee Engagement
Mike Barter, Scot Huntington, Victor Kao, Christina Lee,
Colin Smith, Janice Song
Childhood Obesity
Roger Arechiga, Erick Bitter, Bryan deGroot, Lizette
Montano, Aisha Patel
The Millenial Boom
Victoria Krabill, Britney Martinez, Andy Newberry, Robert
Rhodes, Ken Wall
The Role of Sugar in the Grocery Industry
David Higginbotham, Jeff Shantz, Alexandra Bolaños,
David Clark, Rosie Swan
FIM Events
FIM 55th Annual Awards Banquet
Wednesday, April 27, 2013
Presented by
The University of Southern California
Food Industry Management Program
in association with the
Western Association of Food Chains
Congratulations to the FIM Class of 2013!
Also honoring
Karl Schroeder
FIM Executive of the Year
President of Safeway’s Northern California Division
Warren Young & Andy Newberry
FIM Students of the Year
FIM Events
FIM People
USC Marshall School of Business Honors Karl
Schroeder as FIM Executive of the Year
The Food Industry Management Program at the USC Marshall School of Business celebrated
Karl Schroeder, President of Safeway’s Northern California Division, as the "Food Industry Executive of
the Year" at its annual graduation banquet this spring on April 17th, 2013.
“Karl Schroeder is the type of dynamic leader that the FIM program honors,” said Robert Hermanns, the USC Marshall School of Business Director of Food Industry Program. “His experience leading
a group of 270 grocery stores in California, Nevada, and Hawaii makes him the perfect example and
mentor for this year’s FIM class.”
USC presents the FIM Executive of the Year award annually to a selected food industry executive who has shown extraordinary leadership and exceptional business results in their field. Schroeder
joined the supermarket industry at Safeway in 1976 as a courtesy clerk in Phoenix, AZ and quickly
moved up the ranks; he was named President of the Northern California Division in 2004. Schroeder
also served as the President and Chairman of the Western Association of Food Chains (WAFC) during
2010 and now serves as an Advisor on the Executive Board. He is also an active Board member on the
Bay Area Council, and on the executive boards of Junior Achievement of Northern California and the
California Business Roundtable.
Schroeder graduated from Marshall’s Food Industry Management Program (FIM) in 1990 while
he was a district manager for Safeway in Phoenix, Arizona. At the University of San Francisco, Schroder
completed his Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Leadership & Behavior and was presented the “Dean’s
Medal of Excellence” from the McLaren School of Management in May 2012.
FIM People
USC Marshall Honors Greg Longstreet
as 2013 Executive in Residence
The USC Marshall School of Business Food Industry Executive
Program named Greg Longstreet, Pesident & CEO of Farmer
John, as the 2013 “Food Industry Executive in Residence."
Longstreet brings more than 20 years of food industry experience and is also a USC Marshall Food Industry Management
(FIM) alumnus. “My experience in the USC FIM program has
been an important part of my development as a leader within
my company. This program has the unique ability to join grocery retailers and manufacturers in the pursuit of advanced
learning, personal growth, and strategic industry insight,”
Longstreet said.
In 2007 Longstreet became the first Farmer John president outside the Clougherty family in their 75year history, and in 2011 he assumed additional management responsibilities overseeing Saag’s Specialty Meats Company. Longstreet has led the evolution of Farmer John and Saag’s by expanding sales and
distribution, driving operational efficiency, improving supply chain management, and increasing portfolio innovation.
Longstreet began his food industry career as a sales representative for Hormel Foods and in 1993 was
promoted to their regional office in Anaheim, California. He gained additional experience as product
marketing manager for Hormel’s Ethnic Foods portfolio and Hormel Chili brand. In 1998, Longstreet became a senior business manager for Dole Food Company and was named Vice President Sales and Marketing in 2002. Longstreet joined Farmer John (owned by Hormel Foods Corp.) in 2006.
Longstreet graduated from Michigan State University in 1992; he completed the USC Marshall School of
Business Food Industry Management Program in 2000. He is an active board member on the California
Chamber of Commerce and North American Meat Association.
PROGRAM Updates
Register for our Food Industry Executive Program!
The four-day Food Industry Executive Program conducted by faculty from USC’s Marshall
School of Business and Food Industry Subject Matter Experts will enhance the business mindset
of executives, managers, and high potentials while providing useful knowledge and engaging
discussion and activities. Focusing on leadership development, team management, marketing
strategy, and finance, attendees will complete the program inspired and equipped to lead their
organizations.
Join the likes of these participants in our fall or spring FIEP sessions:

VP of Customer Service

Sales Strategy Managers

Director of Business Development

Director of Retail Sales

District/Regional Store Manager
For more info click here.
FIEP now offered in two locations for Fall 2013!
For the first time ever, the USC Marshall School of Business Food Industry
Executive Program (FIEP) will be offered in Chicago, Illinois in addition to our
normal Los Angeles location. Kraft Foods Group at Three Lakes Drive, Northfield, Illinois has generously offered to host the program; registration is limited
to 50 participants so secure your spot today!
Los Angeles, CA
September 9 –12, 2013
Chicago, IL
October 14—17, 2013
Click here to register
Click here to register
For more information call: 213-740-5585 Or visit our website: For FIM www.marshall.usc.edu/fim For FIEP www.marshall.usc.edu/fiep
PROGRAM Updates
Alumni Updates
Troy Harding
David Crews
FIM Class of 2012
FIM Class of 2010
Promoted to District Food Coordinator for
Fred Meyer Alaska division.
Director of Strategic Projects, United Supermarkets, honored with “Operational
Leadership” award in Ventana Research’s
8th Annual Leadership Awards
What About You? UPDATE US PLEASE!
Have any updates for the program office? Changes in job responsibility? Address and contact
updates? Do you have a newsworthy event to report or story to tell? We’d love to hear about it!
We are also looking for pictures from your time in FIM and/or any alumni gatherings you’ve attended. Please send them our way—and be sure to include the names of the people in the photos!
E-mail us at fim@usc.edu or call the program office at 213-740-5585.
Stay Connected!
USC Marshall School of Business is all about networking. Connect or reconnect
with other FIM Alumni, cohorts, members, faculty, or others who are prominent industry members. In order to help encourage these connections we
have created a FIM Alumni Group on Facebook and LinkedIn!
As a member of the groups, you will be able to post items of interest, connect
with other people in the group, and send messages to other members. Start a discussion, build relationships, share tips, and promote some of your top successes. We’ll also make sure to post program and
event updates to keep you in the loop!
The power of social media is unimaginable. After all, the people in your network are the
ones who will help you in time of need and will toast to your success.