Baking & Snack - December 2019 - 19

SPECIAL REPORT
Operations Executive of the Year

MARSHALL'S LAW
The Bakery Cos.' Marshall Maddox proves that success is all about being open to the possibilities.

by Joanie Spencer

Some guys have all the luck. Some of them make their
own. And sometimes, it all depends on who you ask.
Marshall Maddox believes he's the luckiest guy on earth.
However, many would argue that this chief product officer (CPO) for Nashville, TN-based The Bakery Cos. was
more than just in the right place at the right time.
By creating opportunities, developing solutions and
becoming a voice for all associates, Mr. Maddox put
himself on a path that spans more than two decades,
three acquisitions, one patent and nearly a dozen changes of address. He has been a student and a teacher by
following his mentors and serving as one. Mr. Maddox's
commitment to the baking industry - his employers,
associates, customers and consumers - has earned
his recognition as Baking & Snack's 2019 Operations
Executive of the Year.

Roll the dice
A relatively soft-spoken man who tends to shy away
from the limelight, Mr. Maddox ironically began his
manufacturing career with one bold move.
It was the late 1980s, and his college internship for
Metal Container Corp. (the can manufacturing division for Anheuser-Busch) in Oklahoma City was coming to an end. He was getting ready to graduate from the
University of Oklahoma, and the plant manager - his
first mentor - had informed him that there were no
available positions to suit his engineering degree.
So, Mr. Maddox made him a deal: "I told him, 'I'll
give you a year. I'll work as an hourly associate, learn the
company from the ground up, get my fingers dirty and
understand the business. If nothing happens in a year,

we'll part ways as friends.' He said, 'Deal.' " Four months
later, Mr. Maddox was on special assignment, and in
less than a year, he was working at the Anheuser-Busch
headquarters in St. Louis.
While at Anheuser-Busch, Mr. Maddox was lucky
enough to work with the head of international brewing, and their work on optimizing beer flavor and quality improvement initiatives caught the eye of then-CEO
August Busch III and Barry Beracha, who at the time
was the vice-president of engineering. Mr. Beracha
invited Mr. Maddox to join him on an adventure into
the world of bakery, to Campbell Taggart, which was
owned by Anheuser-Busch.
"Barry asked me to come along with a handful of folks
into the baking industry to turn that business around
and make it more profitable," Mr. Maddox recalled.
"He said they wanted someone with a scientific mind to
drive science into the art of baking."

Marshall Maddox started
his operations career with
one bold move when he
was still just an intern.
Photos by Emanuel Roland

Play the cards right
Over the course of his career, Mr. Maddox has been
dealt some interesting hands. From Campbell Taggart
and its spinoff into Earthgrains and then to its acquisitions by Sara Lee in 2001 and Horsham, PA-based
Bimbo Bakeries USA (BBU) in 2011, he's always turned
change into opportunity. "I've been really lucky," he said.
"And you could say I've been in the right place at the
right time."
He's also had the right mentors, and more than that,
he's been open to learning from them. "When I first
entered the baking industry, it was very artistic. It was
reliant on those 'old timers' who knew everything,

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