C&S Wholesale Grocers is coming to campus on Tuesday, October 5 from 5-6 p.m. in MBH 104.  They currently have a Business Analyst job for graduating seniors, but all students are welcome to come to the event to learn more about the company.  Read more after the jump about Bruce Johnson ’78, Executive Vice President of Human Resources for C&S, and his transition from Middlebury student to alumni and how he navigated his 30+ year career.

C&S is a 92 year old privately held company with more than 18,000 employees across the U.S.  The single biggestcompetitive advantage that our organization has is the people who work here.  As the Executive Vice President of Human Resources, I have the principle leadership responsibility for “people” – recruitment selection, development, benefits, labor relations, safety, social responsibilities and a host of other duties.  The role of HR really should be titled CEO – Chief Employee Officer!

The field of HR has become one of increasing importance to organizations.  What once was a function that saw company picnics, played the role of “morale police” and processed administrative paperwork has transitioned to one of leadership within the corporation.  HR is now engaged at every level of decision-making, development and execution of strategic initiatives, integration of M&A, project planning, succession planning, corporate governance and compliance just to name a few.

Like most Middlebury graduates during the Black and White TV generation of the 1970s, I had little idea what a BA degree and Liberal Arts education would enable me for employment.  The on-campus programs provided a wide assortment of opportunities to interview with quality organizations across multiple career paths – sales, marketing, and operations.  IT was not invented yet!

The On-Campus Recruitment Programs are coordinated by the Human Resource function and my career unfolded because it sounded “cool” to go from college to college chatting up students.  Little did I suspect that an interview on a Wednesday afternoon in the middle of winter would be the beginning of a 30+ year career.

Clearly, today’s students are much more sophisticated, and proper due diligence needs to be completed in order to make an informed decision on a career and an employer.  The training and development that will be invested, the career paths and pacing available and the more basic needs of remuneration vs. effort required, benefits and location.  I encourage you to understand the “culture” of the company before you say yes.  I believe that C&S is a great place to start that 30+ year journey.

Bruce Johnson ‘78