This year’s Whitman Day featured PepsiCo Inc. Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston, who has played a vital role in the company’s success.

Johnston, the keynote speaker at the ninth annual event honoring Martin J. Whitman, delivered his address in Lender Auditorium on Wednesday.

Johnston gave insight to Syracuse University students and faculty about the company’s success and the overall transformations it has taken throughout the years to remain one of the leaders in the beverage and consumer goods industry.

He shared his knowledge about making wise career choices with students. He said students must choose a career that will seek to continuously develop their skills and talents. He said to be successful students must ‘follow our passions and not the financial world.’

Johnston said when people are happy with their career, they work with determination and through their efforts, ‘the money will come along.’ He said to be successful within the opportunities that arise in various careers, students must first embrace them and secondly adapt to the changing markets.

Johnston concluded his speech by saying, ‘If you constantly work on developing yourselves and the skills you possess, you will stay fresh and be able to transform in any environment or market that you are in, and when you do, you will remain up-to-date and be successful.’

After the presentation, Johnston gave everyone a can of Pepsi Next, a soda for ‘relapse cola users,’ which many seemed to enjoy.

Brett Cornell, a junior accounting major, said he enjoyed Whitman Day and the presentation. He said he was glad to be a part of a ‘star-studded’ event, noting that Chancellor Nancy Cantor, Dean Melvin Stith and Whitman himself were also in attendance.

Cornell also said he felt he received invaluable advice about his career.

Ruoya Leng, a junior accounting and finance major, said she enjoyed being able to see how Pepsi advertised to its current market through the use of commercials and celebrity figures, such as Michael Jackson, who was shown in a Pepsi commercial back in the 1980s.

Joyce Zadzilka, an assistant accounting professor who attended Whitman Day, said she enjoyed Johnston’s presentation.

‘I thought his comments on career development served as an excellent message for all the students in attendance,’ Zadzilka said in an email. ‘I hope the students realized that while his role is the company’s CFO, very little of his presentation was accounting-related. It’s a good reminder for students that it’s important for managers to be able to talk about all aspects of a company’s operations, not just their specialty area.’

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Published on April 4, 2012 at 12:00 pm