Interdisciplinary business course hears from leader in Food Industry

Ted McKechnie, a well-recognized thought leader in the Canadian food industry, was at the University of Guelph this week to give a guest lecture to food science and business students as part of an interdisciplinary food product development course.

McKechnie has had an extensive career within the food industry, including a role as the president of Maple Leaf Foods, owner and senior executive at Humpty Dumpty, and a senior leader at Pepsi Co. After a distinguished career in food manufacturing, he now focuses on chairing the William Davies Consulting Inc. to move the Canadian food sector into the future.

Invited by Lang professor Yuanfang Lin, McKechnie’s lecture focused on the business and science behind new food product development. The guest lecture was part of the Food Product Development course (MGMT*4020/FOOD*4260), which is offered jointly with the Department of Food Sciences and Lang’s Department of Marketing and Consumer Studies. The course investigates the development of new food products, services, and business ventures for the agricultural and food industries.

McKechnie also spoke to a Lang graduate research seminar to discuss job perspectives, prospects, and challenges for business graduate students in the food industry.

The visit from McKechnie is another piece of a larger effort at the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics to prioritize Active Learning and integrate industry and practice with in-class learning.