Lisa Hodson-Walker
"Drawing upon my analytical skills on a daily basis, I utilized statistical models to develop optimal marketing strategies to drive sales and profits, analyzed data to develop customer segmentations for marketing expenditure decisions, and conducted extensive testing and analysis to create successful direct marketing campaigns."
Lisa Hodson-Walker is a clear example of how a mathematics degree from Purdue prepares you for a breadth of career options. Equipped with an applied mathematics and secondary math education degree from Purdue and an MBA in finance from Indiana University, Hodson-Walker joined Ford Motor Co., assisting in the financial planning for the launch of Explorer at the automaker's Louisville plant. She later assisted in the development of pricing for a new model in Ford's UK market. A transition from finance at Ford took her into marketing as a vice president for office equipment giant Staples, leading the development and implementation of a multimillion-dollar marketing strategy. Her focus shifted in 2002, when she launched Silverwood Partners, a specialized investment banking firm focusing on the consumer growth sectors. That extended into Silverwood Organic Farm, which provides organic produce to local community customers using sustainable farming by bringing back into production historic, colonial farmland. Using the community supported agriculture (CSA) model by selling "farm shares" locally, the farm has grown to 300-plus members in two years. It also expanded into farm partnerships, which provide a distribution channel for local farmers and grows its product offering to members. A "Farm to Hospital" initiative with local hospitals delivers farm shares to employees and low-income pediatric families. "As co-founder of a certified organic farm, I draw upon the solid problem-solving background that gained at Purdue to delve into issues associated with a new business venture."
Education:
- BS '86, Applied Mathematics, Purdue University
- BS '86, Secondary Math Education, Purdue University
- MBA '89, Finance, Indiana University
- 1989 Played key role in financial assessment for launch of Explorer vehicle by Ford Motor Co.
- 1991 Assisted in market assessment for new-vehicle launch in Europe by Ford Motor
- 1997 Appointed Vice President of Corporate and Retail Marketing Strategy and Small Business Marketing at Staples
- 2002 Named managing director of Silverwood Partners, a specialized investment banking firm
- 2009 Co-founded Silverwood Organic Farm