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Steven A. Davis, chairman and CEO of Bob Evans Inc., addressed Miami University business students as part of the Executive Speaker Series Wednesday afternoon.
Davis' approach was unorthodox, as he opened his lecture with a question and answer session where he asked students specifically what they wanted to know about.
The audience responded by asking Davis about centralizing procurement function, diversification, enterprising risk management and exactly how a college student can become a CEO.
"Do you think you can be a CEO?" Davis asked one of the students in the audience.
The student responded by saying, "No, I'm just 20," which received a resounding laugh from a full Hall Auditorium.
Davis, 49, had done what he does best-connect with his audience, similar to how he connected with his customers at Bob Evans.
Before becoming the CEO of Bob Evans, Davis received a bachelor's degree from the University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin and went on to get his MBA from the University of Chicago.
The application for the University of Chicago's business school asked Davis the question, "Where do you want to be in 10 years and in 20 years?"
Davis' answer was he wanted to be the vice president of a Fortune 500 company in 10 years and the president of a Fortune 500 in 20 years. He thought his answers would help him get into business school-but they also inspired him to strive for his goals.
"Did I just do this to get into business school or do I really believe (I can achieve those goals)?" Davis asked.
Davis began his career with Kraft, where he was the director of marketing for its All-American Gourmet brand. He moved onto Yum! Brands where he was the president of Long John Silvers and A&W All-American Food Restaurants, and he also helped launch Pizza Hut's Wing Street concept. Along the way, Black Enterprise Magazine named Davis one of the 75 most powerful black men in American business. In 2006 Davis was hired as the CEO of Bob Evans, Inc.
"The key to turning a business around is innovation," Davis said.
Davis' innovations include a line of Bob Evans grocery products and a revamped Bob Evans menu. He has worked to introduced foods such as stuffed pancakes, Bob-BQ, stir fry, deep-dish dinners and farm-fresh salads.
All of the changes and innovations are to create a larger customer base. The customers Davis said he is after are the "millennials"-those in the age range of 18 to 30.
"We need to speak to you the way you want to be spoken to," Davis said, referring to the "millennials" in the audience.
Graphing where the money in advertising is spent and where most of the people consume their media, online media was an untapped resource Davis explained. He showed a graph explaining most advertising dollars are spent on television, but people in a younger demographic consume media online with the same regularity as on television.
Davis gave students like first-year Lauren Graham, who attended the lecture, an outside perspective on business.
"(Davis) is introducing real world stuff to what we are learning," Graham said.
Davis continued to pepper students with advice, telling audience members to find mentors, take the tough assignments, educate themselves, know their customers, and most importantly, have balance.
"No one can really teach (balance)," Davis said.
Balance your career, your family, your spiritual involvement and the needs of your community, Davis said.
Davis is putting into practice the lessons he is teaching: He is the assistant coach for his daughter's third grade basketball team and coached his other two daughters. Davis said he schedules the time out of his days because he wants to have those memories and if he is working for his family then he should be there for them as well.
Even with planning and balance, Davis cannot account for all of the challenges that he faces as a CEO. With the U.S. economy unstable, Davis begrudgingly nodded that his business may take a hit.
"Pocket books are tight … people are trading down," Davis said.
Davis is relying on what he calls his West Coast offense to help his business thrive. His West Coast offenses are his five brand builders: win as a team, drive sales growth, improve margins, be the best at operations execution and increase returns on invested capital.
"These are the things I can control," Davis said, about his business model.
Roger Jenkins, dean of the Farmer School of Business, said Davis was brought to speak to help students see beyond business into life.
"We strive for diversity, we strive for someone who will be able to speak beyond the industry and (offer) coaching for life," Jenkins said.
