Drozd grew up in Glencoe, Illinois, where tennis played an important role in shaping her discipline and competitive mindset. She became captain of the varsity girls’ tennis team at New Trier Township High School before being recruited to play at Williams College. She graduated from Williams with a BA in English, along with concentrations in Art History and Psychology.
Her professional career began in advertising in Chicago. As an Account Executive at Lois/EJL, she worked on the local KFC account during a product launch. One memorable assignment involved coordinating a group of costumed Colonel Sanders lookalikes at sporting events and public appearances across the city.
Wanting to move closer to brand strategy and consumer marketing, Drozd later earned her MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management. She then joined Kraft Foods as a Senior Associate Brand Manager, working on Kraft Singles and FreshPrep.
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Kendra Stearns Drozd later moved into executive recruiting with Bloom, Gross & Associates, a boutique firm focused on consumer packaged goods marketing. The position allowed her to combine industry knowledge with her ability to understand people, careers and organisations.
After becoming a mother, Drozd eventually stepped away from full-time corporate work. Today, she remains active in community service and has served as a commissioned Stephen Minister since 2012. Across each stage of her career, her focus has remained consistent: understanding people, building trust and approaching challenges with purpose.
Interview with Kendra Stearns Drozd
You grew up playing competitive tennis. How did that shape the way you approached your career later on?
Tennis taught me discipline very early. I started playing seriously when I was about nine because I knew the high school I would eventually attend was extremely competitive. I played tournaments, took lessons and went to intensive tennis camps. By my senior year, I was captain of the varsity girls’ tennis team and played number two singles.
I later played varsity tennis for four years at Williams College. That experience taught me that progress takes consistency. You don’t improve from one good practice or one good match. You improve by showing up repeatedly, learning from losses and continuing to work. I carried that mindset into school and later into my career.
What first interested you in advertising and marketing?
My dad had a significant influence on that decision. When I was around 19, he introduced me to several women working in business. Seeing their careers helped me understand what was possible. I became interested in advertising and eventually developed a very clear goal of attending business school and working in consumer marketing.
After college, I entered advertising in Chicago. It was a great introduction to the business world because I had to learn how clients, agencies and consumers all interacted.
One of your early advertising stories involved quite a few Colonel Sanders lookalikes. What happened?
I was an Account Executive working on the local KFC advertising account during a product launch. Part of the campaign involved about a dozen costumed Colonel Sanders characters appearing around Chicago, including at sporting events such as Cubs games.
My job included making sure everyone followed the rules. There were guidelines about things such as smoking and drinking while in costume. A few of the Colonels were not always cooperative, so I spent a surprising amount of time managing situations that I never imagined would be part of an advertising career.
It was funny, but it also taught me about execution. A campaign might look simple from the outside, but somebody has to manage all the details behind it.
Why did you decide to pursue an MBA at Kellogg?
I wanted to move from the agency side into consumer packaged goods and brand management. Kellogg was a natural fit because of its strong focus on teamwork and management.
While I was there, I also had opportunities to learn outside the classroom. I helped lead a trip to Japan where we studied the country before travelling there and then worked on a consulting project involving laundry detergent. Experiences like that helped me see how differently consumers can think depending on culture, habits, and environment.
What did you learn from working at Kraft Foods?
At Kraft, I worked as a Senior Associate Brand Manager on Kraft Singles and a dinner kit called FreshPrep. One of the most interesting parts of the role was consumer research.
We did in-home ethnographic research where we observed families going through normal meal routines. Instead of simply asking consumers what they wanted, we watched how they actually behaved.
That was valuable because people don’t always explain their habits accurately. Observing them can reveal frustrations or opportunities that they may not think to mention. It reinforced the importance of staying close to the consumer rather than making decisions from inside an office.
You later moved into executive recruiting. Was that a major change?
It was a change, but there was also a lot of overlap. I joined Bloom, Gross & Associates, which was a boutique, all-women recruiting firm focused on consumer packaged goods marketing.
Because I already understood marketing and brand management, I could speak with candidates and companies from a place of experience. Recruiting also required listening carefully, understanding what motivated people, and identifying whether a person and organisation were truly a good fit.
It was also an unusually flexible working arrangement for that time. I worked from home three days a week, went into the Chicago office one day and had Fridays off. That was long before remote and hybrid work became common.
Was stepping away from full-time work difficult after building that career?
It was a major transition. After my third daughter was born, I decided to focus more of my time on raising my children and being involved in my community.
I don’t think success has to look the same during every stage of life. Earlier in my life, I thought a lot about education and professional goals. Today, I define success much more around happiness, contentment and being present for the people who matter to me.
What qualities from your business career have stayed important to you?
I still believe in being strategic, creative, consumer focused and willing to take calculated risks. I also think perseverance matters.
There have been times in my life when I’ve had self-doubt. One idea I’ve returned to since my tennis years is that your mindset has a major influence on what you attempt. My coach taught us the poem “Thinking” by Walter D. Wintle, which focuses on believing that you are capable before expecting yourself to succeed.
I’ve shared that lesson with my daughters as well. Whether you’re working toward a career goal, recovering from disappointment, or simply trying something difficult, you have to permit yourself to believe that progress is possible.
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