Kristin Garnett
Class of 2009 – B.A. Communications, Class of 2012 – M.B.A.
Kristin worked in the broadcasting and tourism industries before landing in the food service industry as the Digital Marketing Manager for Pro Food Systems in Holts Summit, Missouri – just down the road from William Woods!
Garnett says, “My job is a lot of fun (most days). I get paid to create and help bring ideas that will resonate with people to life. I get to be hands-on in all of the most interesting areas of marketing, in my opinion: business-to-business lead generation, consumer marketing, franchisee communication, internal marketing, and all while having a heavy emphasis in problem-solving, which keeps me feeling challenged and up-to-date in this ever-changing field.”
Pro Food Systems (PFSbrands) is the parent company of Champs Chicken® and Cooper’s Express® – both fried chicken programs with all the fixin’s. From being the ‘unofficial’ corporate mac n’ cheese taste-tester to teaching a weekly Zumba® class in the company’s fitness center, Garnett says life at PFS is all about balance which she truly enjoys.
While on campus as an undergraduate at William Woods, Kristin was involved in several campus activities such as Student Alumni Council, Alpha Chi Omega sorority, Campus Activities Board, Omicron Delta Kappa and President’s Twenty (PXX). “Having leadership experience under my belt really gave me a jumpstart in the working-world. Not only was I comfortable contributing in a group setting, but when asked, it was fairly easy for me to step up and take the reins on large projects as well.”
Working at PFS since 2012, some of Kristin’s favorite projects include overseeing four website creation projects, establishing an email marketing program and leading the charge for a custom-coded menu development system for field representatives to utilize to create branded menus, in the process replacing a cumbersome, confusing Excel file with 300+ tabs.
“Anyone who is thinking about starting their M.B.A. – stop hesitating, and just do it! With William Woods, you really do have the flexibility to be a working adult. I am so glad I jumped in and completed my M.B.A. when I did. With the open-book management style at Pro Food Systems, my M.B.A. really gave me a leg-up on the financial information and key performance indicators we monitor closely, and I think ultimately it helped me contribute to the bottom-line quicker,” Said Garnett regarding her accelerated M.B.A. cohort experience.