Saint Joseph’s Announces Commencement Speaker
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA former president of Walmart China will be the featured speaker next month at the Saint Joseph's College commencement. Cassian Cheung, a 1976 graduate, has also served in leadership roles with Nestl? and Quaker Oats Asia. April 28, 2014
News Release
Rensselaer, Ind. – On Saturday, May 10, Saint Joseph's College alumnus Cassian Cheung '76 will return to campus for the College's 119th Commencement ceremony. Since graduating from SJC, Cheung has had several high profile jobs with some of the world's most recognizable companies.
“My experience at SJC has had a lifelong impact on my career,” said Cheung. “It planted the seed for my career aspirations and continues to provide me with the strength to handle difficult situations.”
Cheung graduated Summa Cum Laude from SJC in three years with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. The senior class president and valedictorian, Cheung was a member of the SJC soccer team and managed the Halleck Student Center cafeteria's student workers. He went on to study at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, where he earned a Master of Business Administration with a focus in Marketing.
Cheung credits the Core Program with teaching him a new way to view the world and his place in it.
“The Core Program was at the center of my SJC experience. The books on the humanities that I read and the discussions and lectures were all eye-openers. Several of my professors remain good friends and mentors to me.”
Cheung started his career on the international marketing staff for Swiss food company Nestl? and was first assigned to their office in White Plains, NY. He soon joined the international team and was relocated to Singapore, Hong Kong, and eventually to Nestl?'s world headquarters in Switzerland. He became the first general manager and chief operating officer for Nestl? China in the late 1980s.
After 16 years with Nestl?, Cheung joined the Quaker Oats Company as the head of Quaker Oats Asia. After the acquisition of Quaker Oats by PepsiCo, Cheung was recruited to be the president of Walmart China. He led the development and expansion of Walmart stores in China in the early to mid-2000s, building a team of more than 20,000 associates.
Today, Cheung is an executive director and the group chief executive officer of Next Media Limited, Hong Kong’s largest publicly listed Chinese-language print media company. He is also an independent non-executive director of Trinity Limited, a Li & Fung company specializing in high end men's fashion that owns several renowned British and French labels. He is a member of the Kellogg Alumni Council of Asia and an adjunct professor at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Business School.
Cheung resides on Hong Kong Island with his wife, Vivian.
Named a “character-building college” by the Templeton Foundation, a “Best Midwestern College” by the Princeton Review, and “Best Value” and “Best Midwestern College” by US News & World Report, Saint Joseph's College is a four-year, Catholic college offering 27 majors, 4 group majors, 35 minors, and 9 pre-professional programs, complemented by the nationally acclaimed Core Program. Founded and sponsored by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, SJC is located in Rensselaer, Indiana, approximately 90 minutes from both Chicago and Indianapolis, on a park-like campus of 180 acres and has an enrollment of nearly 1,200 students.
Source: Saint Joseph's College