Chase's career is a complete package: ConAgra's director of packaging technology has worked in all aspects of consumer goods

Food & Drug Packaging, July, 2005 by Pan Demetrakakes

Jane Chase's career as a packaging professional has covered a lot of ground in the consumer packaged goods industry.

Her resume includes jobs with industry suppliers, a leading manufacturer of household goods and two of the biggest food companies in America: General and ConAgra Foods, where she has sewed as director of packaging technology and process development since February.

But there are some constants in all that variety.

"I really believe that any job is all about people," Jane says. "The people that you work with, the suppliers that you interface with and the other professionals that you interact with."

After her graduation from Marquette University in 1983, her career began with Johnson Controls, where she started as an associate product safety engineer and quality assurance engineer. In 1988, shortly after receiving her master's degree from the Milwaukee School of Engineering, she joined S.C. Johnson Wax, where her career in packaging began.

Her tenure with S.C. Johnson allowed her to contribute in the areas of quality assurance and operations before being drawn to the arena of packaging R&D. During her 10 years with S.C. Johnson, she received an environmental leadership award for the development of eco-efficient packaging for Vanish toilet bowl cleaner, an Officer's Innovation award for the development of Shout Gel packaging and a patent for a reusable aerosol container.

Her first food-industry position was with General Mills, where she rose to package R&D manager. Her accomplishments there included an AmeriStar Award from the Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) for co-development of a plastic resealable bag for Gold Medal flour, and recognition from the company for saving $1 million in costs for baking products.

Her career has circumscribed an are from quality control, through manufacturing, to R&D, in what she calls a continual learning process.

"In quality control, you were always deciding whether a product was good or bad," Jane says. "In operations, you could impact the business by affecting the quality of the product. But when you work in R&D, you can really contribute to the bottom line of the business by developing consumer-accepted designs that are efficiently produced by operations. It's understanding the impact that the product you are designing has on the entire organization that makes an engineer effective."

Having worked in multiple industries, Jane offers some interesting observations of the food industry.

"The food industry continues to be an extremely consumer-driven and competitive marketplace," she says. "Consumers make the decision on what product they will eat every day. What they will eat is in the consumer's consciousness on a consistent basis."

One of the most gratifying events in Jane's professional career was recently being inducted into the IoPP College of Fellows--the Packaging Hall of Fame.

"That experience really hit home how it's not just one thing that you do in your career that is significant," she says. "It's all about the cumulative effect of your contributions to your chosen profession and what you're able to give back to your community. I've always found the times that you step out of your comfort zone and are most challenged are the times that you are able to accomplish the most."

Jane also values the comradery in the packaging industry. "Developing relationships, establishing a network and maintaining contact with others in your profession is critical to career success," Jane believes. "I always feel good when I get a call from colleagues that I have interfaced with and am able to help them solve a problem, share a technical insight or put them in contact with someone who can provide direction."