George Vindiola on diversity in thought
From QuickTake: George Vindiola on the Benefits of Diversity in Thought · · Commercial Baking
“The diversity in thought really helped us because it wasn't just the Pepperidge way. When I came in from a different experience, I was disrupting that. That was part of the reason I think they brought me in, because I wasn't legacy Pepperidge; I'd been in a different company doing things a different way.”
On , George Vindiola, Senior Vice President of Enterprise Research & Development at Campbell Soup Company, spoke about diversity in thought during QuickTake: George Vindiola on the Benefits of Diversity in Thought on Commercial Baking.
About George Vindiola
In a September 2023 appearance, George Vindiola, then Vice President of research and development for Campbell Snacks, discussed the role of diverse perspectives in the company's innovation process. He described the formation of Campbell Snacks from Snyder's Lance and Pepperidge Farm as bringing together "disparate brands, processes, but especially the people." Vindiola noted that the combination included distinct cultures from companies such as Stars of Hanover, Lance, and Kettle Foods, and that his own non-legacy background was part of why he was brought in. Vindiola stated that integrating "four or five different ways of thinking and ways of working" was initially challenging, requiring a baseline level of agreement on processes. However, he said the diversity of thought ultimately allowed teams to "challenge each other" and "innovate in a better way—not necessarily faster, but better." He attributed this to the ability to draw on different points of view to reach a stronger final product.