By Kara Sherrer
Brandon Kieffer
Brandon Kieffer (MBA’19) has always been passionate about marketing. The Louisiana native got his undergraduate degree in marketing from Louisiana State University (LSU) and then began working for his family’s stone and landscaping supply business in Texas. After a few years, he began talking future plans with his father, and realized their goals were beginning to diverge. “I really wanted to start carving my own path, so that’s when the lightbulb went off,” Kieffer said.
He’d always been interested in brand management, and realized that he needed his MBA to make that transition. “That’s one of the reasons I chose Vanderbilt, is because you can specialize in brand management,” he said.
Kieffer interned at Kellogg’s Snacks on the Rice Kripsies brand before ultimately landing a full-time offer as an Associate Brand Manager at Amplify Snacks, which is owned by The Hershey Company. Amplify makes popular healthy snacking brands such as Skinny Pop Popcorn and Krave beef jerky.
“They want to take a lot of the best practices from the CPG industry but also combine that with a startup, disruptor mentality,” Kieffer said. “To think that I can help build the brands of tomorrow is the most exciting part…I couldn’t have asked to end up in a better spot.”
Click through the timeline below to find out how Kieffer landed his offer.
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