Mary Washington alumna Roberta MacDonald ’72, senior vice president of marketing for one of the country’s largest cooperatives, Cabot Creamery, will be back on campus on Thursday, Oct. 19, to speak about leadership.
As the College of Business’ most recent Executive-in-Residence, MacDonald’s presentations throughout the day will be themed, “What’s a nice co-op like yours doing competing with global giants?”
She will discuss the creative – and occasionally over-the-top – marketing campaigns she is known for, the business model that turned the Vermont-based cooperative into a global competitor and how supporting the community can help get companies into the big leagues.
“She is going to be able to bring some perspective on leadership,” said Acting College of Business Dean Ken Machande, “and [present] a different type of model that represents about 10 percent of businesses in the United States and worldwide.”
With almost 40 years of consumer product experience, MacDonald, who served as Vermont’s first marketing director, has spent the last 28 with Cabot Creamery. She also has provided marketing services for entities such as the San Francisco Opera, National Endowment for the Arts, Ford Foundation, American Express and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
“It’s important for students to see what alumni have been able to accomplish once they leave UMW,” said College of Business Student Support and Outreach Coordinator Andrea Cordray. “Students will come to this event and hopefully be inspired to think, ‘that could be me someday.’ ”
MacDonald’s invitation-only Executive-in-Residence Business Breakfast, will be followed by a trio of talks, which are free and open to the public, inside the Hurley Convergence Center Digital Auditorium, from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m., from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and from 2 to 3:15 p.m.
The Executive-in-Residence program seeks business leaders who have made an impact in their fields and are willing to share their successes with students. For more information, visit the UMW College of Business’ Executive in Residence page.