Executives from Energy Drink Maker Celsius Inspire College of Business Students at ‘Red Carpet’ Town Hall

Celsius Holdings CEO John Fieldly and nine of his executives participated in a town hall discussion on Oct.18th with about 90 FAU College of Business undergraduate and executive MBA students at the Schmidt Family Complex, an event organized by the student-run Global Business Association (GBA).

After introductory remarks by Dean Daniel Gropper, Ph.D., and Executive Education Director Sybil Alfred, GBA President Gaby Rodriguez emceed the evening in which Fieldly and his management team explained how the Boca Raton-based corporation went from a penny stock to a Wall Street darling. Founded in 2004 and initially backed by billionaire philanthropist and FAU donor Carl DeSantis, Celsius manufactures energy drinks.

In August, Celsius reported record second quarter revenue of $326 million, up 112% from the same quarter a year ago. Second quarter gross profit was $159 million, compared to $59 million in the second quarter of 2022.

During the town hall, company executives addressed such topics as supply chain management, guerilla marketing, social media and work-life balance.

Following a question-and-answer session, students mingled with the executives, a valuable networking opportunity with industry leaders.

“We were humbled at the generosity of spirit from the Celsius executives,” said David Herst, Ph.D, the GBA faculty adviser and senior instructor in the College of Business.  “These undergraduates put on a flawless red-carpet event, and Celsius responded by answering their questions authentically, in detail, and then spending an enormous amount of time one-on-one with everyone after the panel discussion.”

The GBA promotes undergraduate education in international business by visiting multinational companies and hosting speakers from local organizations. Aside from Rodriguez, seven other GBA board members helped organize the Celsius event.

“This event exemplifies the collaboration between the business community and the business school that we foster at FAU,” said Gropper. “We thank Celsius’ exceptional leadership team for sharing their valuable time with us as well as their fabulous products. What a great south Florida company!”

Herst said the town hall was the result of an encounter Rodriguez had with Fieldly at another event in August. He gave her his business card and suggested she stop by the office. When her email to him bounced back, she showed up at Celsius headquarters and explained to Fieldly’s assistant that he had invited her anytime. Impressed, Fieldly met with her on the spot, and she asked him to speak at FAU.

“The C-suite panelists were inspiring with stories of how they succeeded and failed, along with advice on building a solid work ethic and doing 100% more than what is asked,” Alfred said. “Our students learned what business is about and how it is done. What a privilege to host a CEO of an internationally successful company. He could have given his time anywhere and chose to spend it with our students.”

-FAU-