Kraig Kayser
MBA, Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management
Tell us about what you're doing with your life
I retired after 28 years as CEO of Seneca Foods, and am now Chair of Cornell’s Board of Trustees. It brings me back to Ithaca with some regularity, and involves me thousands of passionate Cornellians!
What was your favorite class at Cornell, or the one you found the most useful?
I had several classes that I found useful, especially accounting, but perhaps the most memorable was Management Consulting, where you were teamed with a classmate to do a consulting project for a local company. We did one for the Ithaca Gun Company which was perched on the hill overlooking Fall Creek. They were interested in rolling out a single shot shotgun, and we conducted a survey of gun shops all over the country to get their opinion of Ithaca selling a single shot shotgun. We had the opportunity to tour the plant, sit down with management, and provide them feedback on the survey. Memorable experience for a 22 year old.
How has your time at Cornell influenced you since you graduated?
How hasn’t it! Cornell has been part of my entire life from going to Cornell as a kid and watching the football games with Ed Marinaro tearing up Schoelkopf, through into my business career—our company worked with CALS. Our Founder, a Cornellian class of '49 relied on Cornell’s help in the early years of our company, in particular the Geneva campus for food ag research. The lasting relationship with Cornell through participation in continuous learning, volunteering, and friends made along the way because we shared our common bond, has enriched my life immensely. Besides my family, there has been no greater influence on my life other than Cornell.
What random or surprising encounters with Cornell or Cornellians have you experienced since you left?
I was just out to dinner a few weeks ago in Rochester, NY, and an elderly man came into the restaurant to eat alone. He was wearing a Cornell vest. I introduced myself, and he asked if I was Chuck Kayser’s son, and I replied yes. He told me that my father had reached out to him to join the Cornell Club of Rochester back in the 1960s, when my father was President, and he said it was one of the best things he ever did, and went on to run the Cornell Club of Rochester himself. My father passed away in 1988, but he remains an influential figure in my life, and one of the reasons why I love Cornell. He was a first-generation student who came from nothing, and like so many- Cornell changed the trajectory of his life.
Another related experience just happened a few years ago when a Cornell hotel graduate reached out to me to relate his experience as an undergraduate on scholarship who was the beneficiary of a scholarship that my father had donated near the end of his life. He had done so anonymously and the Hotelie reached out through the Dean to see if he could contact my family. I gave permission- he sent me a letter inviting me to the grand opening of his first owned hotel after a career in the hotel industry. He did so out of gratitude to the anonymous donor who in fact had died before he went to Cornell. I could not attend the grand opening, but I did visit him several months later at his hotel and share our Cornell experience together at the rooftop restaurant of his new hotel.
What does being a Cornell alumnus mean to you?
What I have experienced as a Volunteer and Trustee over the years is that Cornellians are passionate about their time on the Hill. Whether it is a function of the isolation and cold winters, the shared experiences, it is a special sauce that continues throughout your entire life. I often advice students who are graduating to stay close to your alma mater because it benefits not only Cornell, but themselves through the networking, and ability to stay close to the leading edge of change in our society. Cornell faculty and alumni are often at the forefront of trends, and in your career, staying abreast of the latest innovations gives you a leg up in both your professional and personal life.
What are you most looking forward to at Reunion 2024?
Given my role as Chair, Reunion is my favorite event of the year. I have a chance to meet Cornellians from every decade back to the fifties, and hear their Cornell stories. Some breakdown and weep when they describe how Cornell changed the trajectory of their lives. We continue to do that each and every year.