Baking & Snack - June 2009 - 27

LEADERSHIP AWARDS

Climbing the Ladder
John Khoury's baking career started
on the ground floor and continues to
climb. The president and co-owner
of Custom Foods, Inc. was introduced to the baking industry by Jim
McLain, the father of a high-school
girlfriend who worked for Penny
Curtiss Baking Co. in Syracuse, NY.
"Over the years, I've met so many
who are passionate about the industry, and I'll always remember Jim
McLain telling me, 'You won't be
rich. You won't be poor. But you'll
always have a job,'" Mr. Khoury said.

"There are below-average,
average and aboveaverage people. To be
considered above-average,
you have to make people
say, 'Wow, you did what?'"

MOVING UP. This humble start at
Penny Curtiss found Mr. Khoury
stacking bread pans at his first bakery job after high school. After two
years of diverse production experience at Penny Curtiss, and on the

BAKING & SNACK / June 2009

advice of Mr. McLain, an American
Institute of Baking (AIB) graduate,
Mr. Khoury enrolled in the Bakery
Science and Management program
at Kansas State University (KSU),
Manhattan, KS. There, Mr. Khoury
experienced a technical and diversified scientific and business approach
to the baking industry.
Bakery science students at KSU
have the opportunity to work closely
with AIB, also located in Manhattan, to further their scientific education with hands-on baking experience. Looking to enhance his baking
knowledge, Mr. Khoury enrolled in
AIB's 20-week Baking Science and
Technology course immediately after
receiving his degree from KSU.
KSU encourages its bakery science students to become active in the
baking industry, and through KSU's
Bakery Science club, they have the
opportunity to attend the American
Society of Baking (ASB) meetings in
Chicago, IL, each year. At these ASB
conferences, Mr. Khoury directly interacted with leaders of the industry
and would always pick up valuable
knowledge through these interactions.
"The combination of education
and experience early in my career
at KSU and AIB provided me with
a broad horizon of the industry and
many networking opportunities,"
Mr. Khoury said.
After graduation from AIB, Mr.
Khoury returned to Penny Curtiss
to serve as a production, quality and
R&D supervisor over the next three
years. While working at Penny Curtiss, Mr. Khoury gained hands-on
experience with fresh breads, rolls
and donuts, as well as a wide range
of frozen dough experience. After
leaving Penny Curtiss, Mr. Khoury

John Khoury, president
Custom Foods, Inc., DeSoto, KS

accepted a position with Heinz Bakery Products, Mississagua, ON, as a
Q&A manager and eventual plant
manager at the age of 28. Subsequent
career advancements were as a plant
manager for Sara Lee/Wolferman's,
Lenexa, KS, and later as a plant and
regional sales manager at ADM
Arkady, Olathe, KS.
In each of these positions, Mr.
Khoury made it a priority to observe
how the company leaders interacted
with staff and how they attended to
the business and its employees, noting which efforts produced the best
results. Mr. Khoury credited hard
work and the power of observation
for his success within the baking
industry, making it a priority to incorporate the actions of successful
leaders into his business and personal interactions.
Those leadership goals have also
extended to his personal life. Active in his community, Mr. Khoury
coaches his children's basketball
and baseball teams, stays active in
their school events and has served
as president and assistant district
governor of his local Rotary Club. "I
have lived by the philosophy that if
you work hard while you are young,
hopefully you can relax when you're
older. I also believe that you should
always go above and beyond the call
of duty," he said. "This is what will
distance you from the crowd."
This intense work ethic drove
Mr. Khoury for many years, but he
admitted that over the years, he has
mellowed and learned from experience that you can get more done by
being nice and being clear about expectations for yourself and others,
rather than being overly aggressive
all of the time.

Baking & Snack - June 2009

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