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Pepsi Bottling Group Chief Executive Officer Eric Foss sees a lot of similarities between Texas A&M University and his company.
Both have cultures of loyalty and people who are goal-oriented and have strong values and a sense of community responsibility, he said.
They should be alike, he said, because the company is filled with Aggies.
Foss was on campus last week as part of A&M's Mays Business School Executive Speaker Series. He was returning to a city where he started his career with Pepsi more than 20 years ago.
The company has become a regular recruiter of A&M business graduates, Foss said. Last year, the company hired 44 Aggies for positions across the state and expects to hire a similar number this year, he said.
Foss said Pepsi Bottling Group hires from schools all over the country, but Texas A&M is the main focus of its recruiting in Texas. The reason, he said, is that A&M's curriculum focuses more on skills than business theory.
"The students are well-prepared," Foss said. "They know where to go and where they are going. It really allows them to lead in a way that other schools don't allow to happen."
Foss noted that A&M's commitment to community service also makes the Pepsi Bottling Group attractive to Aggie graduates. The company announced Friday that it was donating $10,000 to the university's student-organized Big Event, a one-day community service project.
The company, which employs nearly 75,000 people worldwide, focuses on manufacturing, distribution, sales and local advertising of Pepsi products, which include a line of soft drinks, Gatorade and Tropicana products.
It has three plants and about 20 distribution centers in Texas.
Foss met with a small group of students for breakfast Friday and said he was impressed. They asked smart questions, he said, and gave valid opinions.
"From Fish Camp to the Big Event to the 12th Man and the Corps of Cadets, A&M breeds leadership, and that is something that we are looking for," he said.
• Matthew Watkins' e-mail address is matthew.watkins@theeagle.com.
