July 31, 2018 – Tom Smith, a dedicated alumnus, mentor, and current chair of the King’s College Board of Directors, has been selected as the fifth recipient of the Rev. James Lackenmier, C.S.C., Award for Achievement and Leadership.  The award will be presented at a ceremony to be held Thursday, October 18, at the Union League of Philadelphia.

Proceeds from the award dinner will benefit the King’s College Presidential Hope Fund, a critical resource that supports deserving King’s students who are faced with unforeseen financial hardships that threaten their ability to complete their undergraduate studies.  Nearly $840,000 has been raised for the Fund through the four previous award dinners.

The award dinner will be held in conjunction with the College’s 14th annual McGowan School of Business Forum.

“Tom Smith is a committed Monarch who leads by example,” said Father John Ryan, C.S.C., King’s president.  “Despite many demands on his time, he is ever-present on King’s Campus, and he is accessible to students, faculty, and staff. The priests and brothers of the Congregation of Holy Cross play an important role in his life, counting many of these special men as close friends.”

Smith is the vice president of finance for Campbell’s Snacks and International Business, where he has fiscal responsibility for nearly 50 percent of the company’s global revenues. In addition, he is overseeing the financial integration of the recent $6.1 billion Snyder’s-Lance acquisition, the largest in the company’s history.

A 1977 graduate of King’s, Smith began his career as an auditor at Coopers & Lybrand. In 1981, he joined The Campbell Soup Company in Camden, NJ, where he has steadily advanced through increasing levels of financial and management responsibilities to where he currently leads a global team of more than 300 finance professionals.  A resident of Cherry Hill, NJ, Smith has been a member of King’s Board of Directors for 23 years and has served in the role of the Chairman of the Board for the past eight years.

“King’s College inspired me to seek more than I thought I could ever achieve,” said Smith “They taught me the importance of hard-work and being committed to excellence and to each other.  These are values I try to share with my team members and to personally live every day.”

With more than 35 years at Campbell, Smith has helped solidify the company’s global market presence, while mitigating many of the financial risks associated with these strategic initiatives. He is credited with helping Campbell expand its market throughout the US and Asia-Pacific.

In addition to helping Campbell grow its global market, Smith helped revitalize leading brands and innovate key manufacturing facilities. When he was senior vice president of finance for Pepperidge Farms, he led the financial team during the launch of the iconic Goldfish Colors and Goldfish Graham Crackers.

The annual McGowan School of Business Forum provides approximately 100 King’s students each year an opportunity to be mentored by leaders in the business field, most of whom are graduates of the College.  The mentoring session is followed by a formal dinner, presentation of the award, and remarks by the recipient.  The award dinner and Forum rotate on an annual basis between New York City, Philadelphia, and Wilkes-Barre.

Tickets for the event are $250/person or $175/person for King’s graduates from the classes of 2008 to the present.  Various levels of sponsorships and program ads are available. For further information, contact Rose Gryskevicz at  rosegryskevicz@kings.edu at 570-208-5879.

Tom Smith