Industry Leaders Unite To Establish Food Marketing Program At Niagara University
In what would appear to be an unlikely alliance, John Persons and Michael Keating are seated at a boardroom table inside Niagara University’s Bisgrove Hall, strategizing toward a common goal.
Persons, president and COO of Tops Friendly Markets, and Keating, senior VP for operations ofWegmans Food Markets, are joined by Robert Denning, president and CEO of Perry’s Ice Cream, Jamie McKeon, VP of marketing for Rich Products Corporation, “Wing King” Drew Cerza, and a host of fellow titans of the regional food market industry.
Formed in February 2015, the 16-member food marketing advisory board is a collaborative endeavor of industry leaders and Niagara University’s marketing faculty. Its charge is to create, build and inspire transformative programs and partnerships that position the food industry of Western New York at the pinnacle of global excellence, while enriching educational and service opportunities for students.
The latter objective will be fulfilled through a new food and consumer packaged goods marketing concentration that is now being offered at Niagara University.