FLORIDA SOUTHERN COLLEGE HOSTS CEO 100 LECTURE SERIES ENTREPRENEUR RICHARD THOMPSON TO SPEAK

LAKELAND, Fla., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Florida Southern College CEO 100 Lecture Series resumes on Thursday, April 7, as Richard Thompson, the Managing Partner of Factory, LLC, will offer his recollections, wisdom, and experience. The event will take place at noon in the George Jenkins Field House. The series is sponsored by The Barney Barnett School of Business and Free Enterprise.

Thompson has been a serial entrepreneur his entire life, founding, owning, and operating successful businesses across several industries. As CEO of American Italian Pasta Company, The Meow Mix Company, and Freshpet, he helped create over $3 billion in enterprise value.

With his wealth of experience, and as founder and managing partner at Factory LLC, Thompson leads a one-of-a-kind investment company that, in addition to capital, provides strategic guidance to food, beverage, and pet entrepreneurs in areas like marketing, supply chain, new product development, and sales.

At the conclusion of the lecture, FSC President Dr. Anne B. Kerr will confer a Doctor of Business degree, honoris causa, upon Thompson.

Previous speakers for the CEO 100 Lecture Series have included Todd Jones, Sr., Chief Executive Officer of Publix Super Markets, Inc.; John Ferriola, the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President of Nucor Corporation; Richard Smucker, Executive Chairman of The J.M. Smucker Company; Craig Menear, Chairman, CEO and President of The Home Depot; and Ken Powell, Chairman of the Board of General Mills.

Event parking will be in Lot C, located on Frank Lloyd Wright Way, adjacent to the Barnett Athletic Complex.

About Florida Southern College
Founded in 1883, Florida Southern College is the oldest private college in the state. It maintains its commitment to academic excellence through 70+ undergraduate programs and distinctive graduate programs in business administration, education, nursing, and physical therapy. Florida Southern has a 14:1 student-to-faculty ratio; is an award-winning national leader in engaged learning; and boasts 30 NCAA Division II national championships. It is ranked among the top 10 Regional Universities in the South by U.S. News & World Report in its 2021 "Best Colleges" guide, and is included in The Princeton Review's 2021 "386 Best Colleges" guide, the "Fiske Guide to Colleges 2021," and Forbes magazine's "America's Top Colleges." Home to the world's largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture, FSC was twice named "Most Beautiful Campus in the Nation" by The Princeton Review, and one of the nation's "Ten College Campuses with the Best Architecture" by Architectural Digest. Connect with Florida Southern College.

SOURCE Florida Southern College