SUNY New Paltz makes presence felt at retail industry conference

Students and faculty from the School of Business represented SUNY New Paltz at the annual Retail Execution Conference, which was hosted by the Promotion Optimization Institute in Morristown, N. J.

The event is designed as a resource for consumer goods companies and a networking opportunity for individuals in related industries, helping them discover innovative solutions to retail challenges.

Lecturer Russell Zwanka presented at the conference, in a general session titled “A Journey Through the Minds of the Customer.” His talk was developed to help attendees better understand customers’ experiences as relates to businesses’ branding efforts.

Zwanka was joined by students Anh Vu ’18 (Marketing) and Fleur Combridge ’21, who each have worked with him in courses focusing on food marketing and the food retail industry.

“Being able to interact with food industry leaders, and see how what we are learning in our Food Marketing classes is applied in real life, was an eye-opening experience for me,” said Vu.

“I took the Food Marketing classes because it is a special interest of mine back in Australia. The classes have been so much more than I expected,” said Combridge.

The New Paltz cohort took the opportunity to attend seminars, meet with potential employers and tour a new Wegman’s location in Montvale, N.J.

“Any time we can represent SUNY New Paltz on a national scale, we embrace the opportunity,” said Zwanka. “In this event, we had food industry leaders from around the country who now have been exposed to our growing and exciting Food Marketing program.”

Visit online to learn more about the SUNY New Paltz School of Business and about courses in Food Marketing