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McCormick CEO gives career advice at Smith event

by Taylor Griffith

The leader behind McCormick spices spoke at the second CEO@Smith lecture series of the semester Tuesday night.   

Alan Wilson, chairman, president and CEO of McCormick & Co., addressed a crowd of Robert H. Smith School of Business students, faculty, and staff in Frank Auditorium. The audience listened as Wilson discussed his business, gave career advice and answered questions. 

McCormick – a 121 year old business based in Baltimore, Md. – does $3.5 million in sales and produces famous brands such as Zatarin’s, Thai Kitchen and the staple spice of Maryland – Old Bay. 

For freshman Talia Sieff, attending the event was more than just a requirement of the College Park Scholars program. “I mostly want to hear [the speakers’] stories of success,” she said.   

During the talk, Wilson related the triumphs of McCormick back to the students.     

“Every company needs to stand for something,” Wilson said. “You need to stand for something. You should be responsible, have a strong moral fiber, and be the kind of person other people can trust.” 

Tailoring the talk to the goals of the audience was something unique to Wilson’s lecture, according to freshman letters and sciences major Elisa Edelberg, who had attended several of the lectures. “[Wilson’s presentation] was very interactive,” she said. “It was cool to hear his stories.” 

Wilson used several anecdotes of his own experiences throughout the presentation to advise students in their up-and-coming careers. “You open up career options by performance,” he said. “If you can’t get results, you can’t get opportunity. You get recognized for being extraordinary.” 

Of all the advice he gave, Wilson urged budding executives to, most importantly, spend time building relations with what he views as the most important elements of a business: the people.   

“Spend the time managing and developing relationships,” Wilson said. “If you don’t like the people you’re working with, and they’re all nice people, then you’re probably the jerk.”