Written by: Tim Brouk, tbrouk@purdue.edu
Nancy Quan (BS ’89) credits her time as a Purdue University resident assistant at Meredith Hall — and telling Susie in room 2320 to turn down the Tears for Fears during study hours — as her first leadership experience.
That leadership and her academic prowess in the Department of Nutrition Science led to Quan’s current role as The Coca-Cola Company’s executive vice president and global chief technical and innovation officer. The Coca-Cola Company is a global business operating in over 200 countries and territories. Quan reports directly to The Coca-Cola Company’s Chairman and CEO, James Quincey.
Quan reflected fondly on her years in West Lafayette. Under the mentorship of then graduate student counselor Laura Welch at Meredith Hall and distinguished nutrition science professor emerita Connie Weaver, she blossomed as a leader in Meredith Hall, in classrooms and in nutrition science labs.
“I learned so many things — emotional intelligence, how to deal with people, how to motivate people from those experiences,” said Quan, who also earned a degree in food science from the Purdue College of Agriculture.
At The Coca-Cola Company, Quan’s leadership and science expertise has made her an award-winning executive. Her fireplace mantle will become even more crowded when she receives a Purdue College of Health and Human Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award on April 4.
Smalltown roots
Growing up in Newton County, Indiana, as a member of one of just two Chinese families in the area, Quan said she felt like she was under a microscope. However, it seemed folks were just fascinated by her, especially in high school when she was starting point guard for their beloved South Newton Rebels and eventually valedictorian of her class.
“It was a little bit like a fishbowl,” Quan recalled. “Everyone even knew how many points I scored in a game. Like I’d see someone in a grocery store, ‘Oh, I saw you scored’ however many points. So, they knew everything about our family just because we stood out a little bit.”
Quan was thrilled to start her Purdue career to grow her interest in science and to blend in. There was some trepidation coming from a smalltown high school to a huge BIG 10 university, but Quan jumped into Boilermaker country with both feet.
“That’s probably the single biggest thing that I noticed was so many different cultures and backgrounds from the students that it was a big change. For me, it was a welcome change,” she said.
Internship to Mars
Quan’s career started quickly. She earned an internship at Mars Inc., makers of Snickers, Skittles and M&M’s as well as pet food and Ben’s Original, Tasty Bite and KIND bars. Quan’s excellent work as an intern earned her a job right after her Purdue graduation.
The young professional quickly rose in the ranks of the international food purveyor. She started on the Dove line of chocolates and used some lab know-how in developing “heat stable” chocolates for military servicemen and women that were stationed in the Middle East “so the troops could have chocolate that wasn’t melting in their hand,” Quan remembered. She also worked with renowned European chefs to develop and design new Mars food products. This work helped her apply a wealth of nutrition and food science know-how from her Purdue days.
“I also worked in pet care when I was in Australia and China, and it was kind of fun to understand what pets are like and how you bring the best nutrition for them,” Quan said. “Because they’ll eat anything. You want to make sure what they eat is going to give them a complete nutrition diet, which also leads to beautiful fur.”
Eventually, Quan’s natural curiosity and desire to continue learning and growing led her to an even larger global brand — Coca-Cola.
‘Coke is it!’
Quan oversees technical, innovation and supply chain for all of The Coca-Cola Company’s brands, even ones not sold in the United States. Most of her time is spent in other countries meeting with the team and making sure these international markets are well-equipped to meet the public’s thirsts.
The work is much more than selling sodas. One of her career highlights at Coca-Cola was her lead in the redesign of plastic bottles in India. In the interest of using less plastic, Quan and her team reduced the plastic in the bottles by 38% without sacrificing quality and carbonation.
Quan also leads the research and development of new products, packaging and equipment such as new dispensing technologies and coolers, of which the company has over 20 million worldwide.
“We have 1,000 plants around the world,” said Quan, from her Atlanta, Georgia, office just days after business trips to Singapore, India and Vietnam. “We have to make sure that everything coming out is high quality, safe and consistent to provide a great consumer experience and protect our brands.
“So, we have a big governance role. We have regulatory and scientific affairs. We are dealing with what’s the latest on plastics. What’s the latest on sweeteners? What’s the latest on flavors? We’re making sure that things are commercialized effectively. Our technical teams around the world are very closely connected to the supply chain. We own probably one of the largest fast-moving consumer goods supply chains in the world.”
Nutrition Science foundation
As Quan was finishing up her time at Purdue, she felt confident entering the workforce. While she did not become a dietician or nutritionist, Quan said her years studying nutrition science laid the foundation for an outstanding career so far.
“One thing that I can honestly say is I love coming to work every day. I love what I’m doing,” Quan said. “And (Purdue nutrition science) gave me a really nice foundation to springboard into a field that I am passionate about and enjoy working in every day.
“Purdue has given me a strong foundation in science, technology and engineering, and it’s also taught me how to learn and continue to grow my knowledge base from there.”