News
John Bello, A68, President, JoNa Ventures
New lecture series highlights successful Tufts alumni
September 25, 2003
Co-founder of SoBe beverages, John Bello, A68, will visit the Medford/Somerville campus on Wednesday, October 8, launching a new lecture series that celebrates the achievements of Tufts alumni.
Students, alumni and the University community are invited to hear Bello speak at 3:30 pm in Room 106 of the Pearson Chemistry Building. His remarks will be followed by a reception at 5:00 pm in the Remis Sculpture Court of the Aidekman Arts Center.
The event kicks off the Lyon & Bendheim Alumni Lecture Series, established by J. B. Lyon, A85, and Tom Bendheim, A85. It also marks the first event of the Tufts Entrepreneurial Network (T.E.N.), created to bring together Tufts students and alumni who are interested in or are actively pursuing an entrepreneurial career.
"We're thrilled to be hosting John Bello on campus and excited to share the experiences of this well known entrepreneur", said Program Director, Pamela Goldberg. She adds, "This is a key part of what the Entrepreneurial Leadership Program is trying to achieve which is to bring students and alumni together. That is the same goal for the Tufts Entrepreneurial Network."
Lyon and Bendheim share great expectations for the lecture series, to consist of one alumni lecturer per semester over the next three years.
"Our goal for starting the lecture series was to bring prominent and successful alumni to campus to share their wisdom and experience with the students," said Bendheim. "The students benefit, the alumni feel good about being asked and about speaking, and Tufts ultimately benefits in terms of alumni support and overall exposure as a school that breeds highly successful professionals in all fields."
Lyon added that the name of the lecture series pays tribute to a friendship that started as freshman roommates in Miller Hall. "Twenty plus years later we are still best friends," he said. "We hope this naming provides further inspiration for the lasting friendships and ties that take root at Tufts."
Bello is the co-founder of South Beach Beverage Company (SoBe), the maker of nutritionally enhanced teas and juices. Established in 1995, the company was purchased by PepsiCo in 2001, the same year Ernst & Young named Bello National Entrepreneur of the Year in the Consumer Products category.
Prior to founding SoBe, Bello spent 14 years at National Football League Properties, the marketing arm of the NFL. He worked for Pepsi-Cola in marketing and strategic planning capacities and at General Foods, where he held product management roles on the Sanka and Maxwell House Brands. Bello was also product director for Keds Brand footwear. Currently, he is president of JoNa Ventures, an early stage investment and strategic management company he founded with his wife, Nancy (Nelson) Bello, J69.
The lecture series is created by two graduates with distinguished entrepreneurial track records. J.B. Lyon, Tufts class of 1985, joined Staples as a senior associate of strategic planning in 1996. A year later, he wrote the business plan for Staples.com and led the development of the site. He then served as head of marketing for Staples.com and drove sales from $0 to $50M in one year. J.B. currently serves as vice president of business development for Staples, Inc., while simultaneously leading operational initiatives for Staples Business Delivery which includes Staples catalog and Staples.com.
Prior to joining Staples, J.B. founded and managed Uncle Dave's Kitchen, a nationally distributed all natural pasta sauce and condiment packaged foods company. Before starting Uncle Dave's, he spearheaded the use of satellite technology in the 1988 presidential election. J.B. also served as Assistant to the President of New World Entertainment, the production company that produced The Wonder Years. J.B. received a M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. from Tufts University
Tom Bendheim is the President and CEO of the Rheingold Brewing Company and has revived Rheingold, the iconic brand that was once the number one beer in the New York area. From 1997-2002 he was COO of Dooney and Bourke, a premier marketer and retailer of luxury handbags, and was instrumental in the revival of the brand. Previously, he held management and marketing positions both at Lenox Brands (china, crystal and flatware) and PepsiCo. Earlier in his career, he held management consulting positions with McKinsey & Co. and Bain & Co.
Bendheim has spent much of his career in management, principally in the areas of marketing and brand positioning. Tom has a B.A. Magna Cum Laude from Tufts University (1985), as well as an M.A from the University of Pennsylvania, and a MBA from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. As a director with the Leon Lowenstein Foundation, he has leveraged significant philanthropy to Tufts. He and his father, John Bendheim, helped to establish the Bendheim Family Scholarship and the Bendheim Family Scholarship Fund for Study Abroad.
The Entrepreneurial Leadership Program at Tufts, founded in 2000, provides hands-on educational opportunities for students interested in founding their own companies or working in entrepreneurial environments. The program is open to Arts & Sciences and to Engineering students and is housed within The Gordon Institute, a graduate program designed for practicing engineers and scientists who want to advance their knowledge to become technical and business leaders.
Those interested in the Entrepreneurial Leadership Program may contact Pamela Goldberg at (617) 627-2153 or Pamela.Goldberg@tufts.edu.
Please see the calendar listing for RSVP information for this event.
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