The realm of STEM encompasses more than one might initially imagine; yes, it covers laboratories and hospitals, engineering firms and data centers, but many of the principles and practices of science, technology, engineering, and math are hard at work in the most surprising of fields. Students in Pennington’s Applied Science Certificate Program learned about one such example when listening to recent presenter Fred Leeds P’24 ’26, a global procurement and purchasing executive with leading beverage company Pernod Ricard.

In a talk entitled, “From Biology and Medical Technology, to Bordeaux and Martinis,” Leeds chronicled an unconventional path that has successfully bridged science and business. After earning a BS in biology from Shippensburg University, Leeds became a medical technologist certified by the American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP) through Harrisburg Hospital School of Medical Technology. Early in his career, he developed a broad expertise in clinical laboratory science, working in microbiology, hematology, chemistry, and immunohematology for various organizations, including a city hospital, a county health department, the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and the national clinical lab, LabCorp. 

Leeds later earned an Executive MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler Business School and put his scientific knowledge and business skills to work at Bristol-Myers Squibb. There, he established the company’s research procurement division, developing important processes with broad applications that he was able to take with him when transitioning out of the pharmaceutical industry. 

As Leeds explained to his audience, “STEM establishes a mindset of critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and adaptability that is the foundation of many career types.” Citing a real example from his work involving expenditures for third-party carriers—the trucks that deliver Pernod Ricard products—Leeds explained that in order to solve the problem of rising costs, he ran a competitive bid process. As he walked the students through the steps he took—identify a problem, research, design a solution, build and test, and finally, evaluate and improve—students saw a familiar model which is utilized regularly in the engineering design process. “The STEM process is absolutely critical in what I do in procurement,” reiterated Leeds, who was able to save his company several million dollars from this one project.

Before opening up the floor to questions, Leeds had two important pieces of advice for students: “Always ask questions and always question… ask why. Why are we doing this? Why aren’t we doing this? Why can’t we do something different?,” he urged. His other recommendation was for students to find a good mentor as they begin to explore career options: “I attribute the success that I have had thus far in my career to having a spectacular mentor,” Leeds shared, “someone who was willing to take me under their wing, someone that was willing to guide and help me.” Thanks, in part, to that mentorship and the foundational principles of STEM, Leeds has been able to navigate an extremely successful career across multiple industries.