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Steve Presley, Head of Nestl茅 USA and USF alumnus, to be the Next Guest at the Conversation with a CEO
By Keith Morelli
TAMPA (June 5, 2019) -- Just over a year ago, Steve Presley, a University of South Florida alumnus, landed one sweet gig. He was appointed CEO of Nestl茅 USA, a company that boasts close to $10 billion in annual sales with brands that go well beyond Nestl茅 Toll House cookies.
The company also produces such brands as Lean Cuisine, DiGiorno pizza, Stouffer鈥檚, Nescaf茅 and even H盲agen-Dazs ice cream.
Presley will return to Tampa to visit his alma mater and be a guest of the Muma College of Business鈥� Conversation with a CEO scheduled for Sept. 19 from 8:30-10 a.m. in the Center for Advanced Medical Learning Simulation, 124 Franklin St., in downtown Tampa. To register for the event,
Presley, who graduated with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in accounting and finance, began his career with Nestl茅 more than 20 years ago as a controller for one of the company鈥檚 beverage factories in Virginia. He held various roles within the beverage division, including vice president of finance and vice president/general manager of premium ready-to-drink beverages.
Named CEO in April 2018, Presley said he鈥檚 ready to tackle the challenges of a corporation whose success depends on the fickle tastes of its consumers. His main goal: implement change while maintaining a culture of success.
鈥淚 think any change of leadership at the top inevitably means a shifting culture but, for us, the culture we create 鈥� and making talent a priority 鈥� is going to be fundamental to our success as a business,鈥� he said. 鈥淢any things impact culture. Strategic acquisitions can impact culture, and we鈥檝e made a few of those in the last year. We moved our U.S. headquarters from Glendale, California, to Arlington, Virginia, which definitely means changes to the culture.
鈥淎nd we鈥檙e really ramping up our future-forward capabilities, from e-commerce to flex manufacturing to the use of analytics and data to drive and inform our decision-making,鈥� he said. 鈥淐hanging the way you鈥檝e done things in the past requires a change of culture. I think consumers will ultimately be the best judges of Nestl茅 USA鈥檚 culture.鈥�
The real challenge of a large corporation is keeping in touch with its customers, Presley said, and the food and beverage industry is undergoing an unprecedented period of change.
鈥淐onsumer tastes are rapidly evolving and even the way people purchase products is changing by the day,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut rather than seeing this as pressure, we鈥檙e excited by the opportunities to serve our consumers and customers in new ways. You can either wait to be disrupted by this type of sea change, or you disrupt yourself. We鈥檙e very much embracing the idea of self-disruption.
鈥淣estl茅 USA is a success story and the global brand has a 150-year-plus track record to prove it,鈥� Presley said. 鈥淏ut the status quo will not satisfy today鈥檚 consumer. We know that and have been aggressively leading a strategic transformation to meet and exceed this highly disruptive period in our industry. But I鈥檓 an intensely competitive guy, so this is where I thrive.鈥�
Nestl茅 has been included on the 鈥淲orld鈥檚 Most Admired Food Companies鈥� list in Fortune magazine for 20 consecutive years. Nestl茅 USA is part of the Switzerland-based Nestl茅, which is the world鈥檚 largest food and beverage company. Employees rate the company well, with a 3.5 out of a 5 rating on Glassdoor and Presley prides himself on the company鈥檚 relationships with its employees.
鈥淲hen I became CEO, I said I would put all of my energy into creating a workplace where collaboration is essential, courage is rewarded, speed is expected and agility is the norm,鈥� Presley said 鈥淭his is the culture Nestl茅 USA is embracing, and it鈥檚 the culture we need to transform our business to succeed.鈥�
If you make a great company, he said, people won鈥檛 want to leave.
鈥淎n environment where people are empowered, engaged and passionate is a winning environment,鈥� he said. 鈥淲ho doesn鈥檛 want to be a part of that? It is intense 鈥� because I do believe a certain level of drive and intensity is needed to do anything at a high level 鈥� but it鈥檚 also a good place to be because, face it, winning is fun.鈥�
Intensity breeds thinking beyond the border, a key in maintaining success, he said.
鈥淚 believe it takes every single one of our employees to think and act differently if we鈥檙e to be the best,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how you accelerate innovation and that鈥檚 how you stay ahead in the marketplace.鈥�
Of his own experience, Presley said his past is part of his future.
鈥淲hat I can say is that every step in my career 鈥� and every job I had 鈥� provided me with something that I bring to the office today,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 never stopped learning. That was true on USF鈥檚 campus, and it鈥檚 still the case.鈥�