UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Smeal College of Business students interested in careers in branding will have a special opportunity to hear insights into the profession during an upcoming panel discussion.
“Forging a Career in Branding” is scheduled for 5 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 13, in Room 112 of the Forest Resources Building. The event, which is open to all students, will feature a collection of top-level executives from companies known for their branding efforts.
“The speakers represent a combination of companies that focus on branding. It will be a real melding of minds who care passionately about the topic,” said Jennifer Chang Coupland, clinical professor of marketing and Paiste Fellow in Teaching and Learning. She helped to organize the event, along with the student organization Penn State Prime.
Penn State Prime is an organization started in 2015 by marketing and communications students. It is intended to give students exposure to branding, marketing/new media and analytics. The group holds workshops twice a week in the fall to give students hands-on opportunities through case studies, speakers and sessions on industry-related software. In the spring, the group holds a course in which the students are selected from Prime to work on a real-life project with an actual advertising agency and client. Last year students worked with Unilever and Moxie advertising.
Timmy Garde, a 1978 Smeal accounting alumnus, the chief innovation leader for life sciences at LevLane Advertising, and a member of Smeal’s Alumni Society Board, will serve as the moderator of the discussion.
Panelists will include:
- Nick Bayer, CEO, Saxby’s
- Sherry Korczynski, 1991 Penn State marketing alumna and senior vice president of marketing, Eagle Pharmaceuticals
- David Lane, CEO, LevLane Advertising
- Lee Meyers, 1975 Penn State business management alumnus and marketing director of oral care and wound care, Johnson & Johnson
- Katie Ambrose, employee brand manager, Unilever
“We will have a diversity of heavy hitters in branding, each representing different passionate ideas,” Chang Coupland said.
Students who attend are invited to a post-panel reception, sponsored by Eagle Pharmaceuticals, from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Smeal MBA Commons in the Business Building.
To RSVP for “Forging a Career in Branding,” visit the Penn State Prime Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pennstateprime/.