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= John W. DeGraff, CPI =

John W. DeGraff
(Born 1956) is an American professor, entrepreneur, professional speaker, innovator, marketing coach and business leader. He is most well-known for launching over 150 successful new products, most notably, Gerber Baby Food Graduates, and the first shelf stable microwave popcorn in Walmart called Pop Weaver, both of which have recorded sales of over a billion dollars. John is currently on staff at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater as a marketing lecturer in the Business and Economics department, which is the largest business school in the state of Wisconsin. In 2009, DeGraff co-founded the Innovatrium Innovation Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan that has worked with over 20 Fortune 500 companies.

Early Life
DeGraff was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1956. He was the first of 5 children. He holds a B.S. in Biology and Chemistry from Western Michigan University, an M.S.B.A in Marketing from the University of Indiana at Fort Wayne and is a Certified Professional Innovator from the University of Michigan.

Co-Founder Innovatrium Institute for Innovation
DeGraff helped co-found the company in 2009 with his brother Jeffrey DeGraff and has successfully launched labs at The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan and University of Wisconsin Whitewater, Wisconsin. There he is a coach to executive teams at both Fortune 500 and midsize companies where he trains innovation teams and students on how to accelerate the growth of their business.

Innovatrium is an innovation partnership between Haworth Inc, and top universities and firms. The goal is to develop new practices for leading innovation to connect public and private organizations as well as to bring experts, practitioners, students and professors together in order to solve real-world problems.

Professional Work
John has worked for several Fortune 500 companies to help them innovate, restructure and rebrand. He is currently an Advisory Board Member for Arrow Companies, the largest sewing cabinet machine manufacturer in the USA.

DeGraff was also the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Auto Glass Specialists, a division of Belron (2002-2006), Vice President of Marketing for HBG New Media where he launched a $3.5M startup application, Director of Marketing for Jones Dairy Farm (1994-2000), Director of Marketing for Lykes Meat Group, a division of Smithfield Foods (1992-1994), Director of Marketing for Gerber Product Company (1988-1992) where he launched 44 new products in one year, including the first Hispanic line of baby food called Tropical.

He has also the Director of Marketing for Weaver Popcorn (1985-1988) where he launched the first ever multi-pack popcorn at Wal-Mart, which sold over $1 billion dollars and led to an increase of 25% from the previous year and marked the company’s largest ever one-year growth.

From 1983-1985 John was the Associate Brand Manager for Kellogg’s where he managed their startup company Whitney Yogurt. DeGraff started his career at Peter Eckrich & Sons, another division of Smithfield Foods (1978-1983). While there, he worked on promotion for their #1 brand of smoked sausage and managed a $7 million budget.

Academic Work
Mr. DeGraff currently resides on staff at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the Business and Economics Department. While there, he has taught honor courses as well as courses in Online Principles of Marketing, Entrepreneurial Marketing, Innovation and High Technology Marketing, Integrated Marketing Communication, Principles of Selling, and Direct and Multi-channel Marketing.

DeGraff is also a committee member on the Chancellor Innovation Committee. Most recently, DeGraff helped in receiving a grant to help build a business innovation center for students with disabilities along with the chancellor of UW-Whitewater..

Since 2014, Mr. DeGraff has served as the Student Organization Advisor for the American Marketing Association where he has advised on marketing and the social impact. He was the keynote speaker at the regional AMA conference and was a key advisor in a National Championship Social Impact video.

Also in 2014, DeGraff became the Student Organization Advisor for ENACTUS. In 2018 he took a group of students to Chicago, Illinois to the regional ENACTUS competition where they became national qualifiers. Projects included Combat Blindness, Hydroponics for Honduras, Scouting Forward and Studio 84..

Outside of the classroom, DeGraff is an I-Mentor Advisor at the UW-Whitewater Innovation Center and has been since 2015. There he mentors business students and helps them find their “superpower.” He was also an advisor and coach for Sweet Velvet Cakes, which won the $80 thousand UW-Whitewater Janesville Business Marketing Challenge.

John has been an adjunct professor at several of the nations top business programs including the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan (2006-2015), the University of Notre Dame (2014), University of Dayton (2007-2008) and the Mary Ann Memick Leadership Program.

DeGraff was given the 2018 Teaching Excellence Award by the UWW Student Government. This award is given to staff members who help students in and out of the classroom.

Conference Presentations
ENACTUS  Reverse Pitch Workshop, ENACTUS USA National Conference, May 2018

Keynote Speaker: Learning to be an Innovator SBDC Wisconsin Statewide Meeting, May 2018

A Marketer’s Guide to LinkedIn: How to Build Your Personal Brand, AMA 10th Annual Regional Conference at UW-Whitewater, October 2017

Keynote Speaker: Learning to be an Innovator, Great Lakes International Innovation Summit, September 2017

Learning to be an Innovator, Young Credit Union Leaders State Conference, June 2017

Marketer’s Guide to LinkedIn: OKNER Symposium, February 2017

Keynote Speaker: Leading Innovation, Concordia University Innovation Competition, December, 2016

A Marketer’s Guide to LinkedIn: WCEDA Innovation Center Fall Showcase, December 2016

Continuing Education Presentations:
Innovation Showcase Presentation, UW-Whitewater Innovation Center, May 2017

Leading Innovation Workshop and Report, UW-Whitewater Chancellor’s Office, April 2017

Leading Innovation Card Game, Provost Innovation Committee Snow Box Project, January 2017

Corporate Clients
KPMG

Haworth

Bosch

Amway

Westmoreland

Didion Milling

Whirlpool

Honeywell Aerospace

Prudential Retirement

Eaton

Prudential Real Estate

Cougar Tools

Liberty Mutual

Clark Hill

ESSupper

Ingersall Rand

Sabre

Syngenta