2025

Kenny Edwards has been a leader in food, beverage, and consumer goods technology since 2000, with expertise in new product development, food safety and quality, manufacturing management, and regulatory affairs. Since 2024, he has served as the research and development director for General Mills’ Natural & Organic Business Unit and director of Packaging Development for Meals, Baking, and North American Foodservice.

Previously, Kenny led the R&D group for General Mills’ $1.2 billion US Snacks Bars Business Unit, overseeing brands like Nature Valley, Fiber One, Lärabar, and emerging brands, where he focused on accelerating innovation pipeline health and his team consistently launched the largest new items in US snack bar aisles. Prior to that role, he led R&D, product safety, regulatory, and external affairs for General Mills Canada, splitting his time between the global technical center in Minneapolis and the Canada head office in Toronto. His early career at General Mills included roles in quality engineering, operations and quality management cross multiple US plants as well as research and development on dairy foods.
Over the last twenty years he has contributed to beloved brands such as Yoplait, Pillsbury, Nature Valley, Progresso, Betty Crocker, Old El Paso, and more.

Outside of work, Kenny is passionate about food and nutrition access in communities of color, community engagement, and empowering others to solve problems that matter. In the Twin Cities, he served as board chair of Youth Farm, a non-profit using food and urban agriculture to empower young people, and as the chair of the 2023 Twin Cities MLK Holiday Breakfast, through which he helped raise over $400k in scholarships for local students of color in partnership with the United Negro College Fund.

As an undergraduate, Kenny served as Student Union Vice President and was active in the Association of Black Students, the National Society of Black Engineers, and the Student Admissions Committee. After graduation, Kenny volunteered with the Alumni and Parent Admissions Program and the Eliot Society Committee in Minneapolis.

Kenneth earned a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from WashU in 2004. 

A leader in digital transformation and data science, Krista Gietl has dedicated her career to harnessing the power of analytics to drive business impact. As the Director of Data Science & Analytics at MilliporeSigma, she leads a globally distributed, multidisciplinary team of analysts, data scientists, and data engineers in shaping the company’s digital strategy. By leveraging advanced analytics, machine learning, and data-driven insights, Krista plays a pivotal role in enhancing the customer experience, driving revenue growth, and optimizing operational efficiency for one of the world’s largest life science companies.

Throughout her career, Krista has built a reputation as a strategic and results-driven leader. Prior to her current role, she held various leadership positions in analytics and data science, sparking innovation in digital marketing, pricing, supply chains, and customer experience. She has led high-impact projects, including the development of predictive models for customer churn, automation of sales processes, and the implementation of data-driven decision-making frameworks that have significantly influenced business strategy.

As a student at WashU, Krista was engaged in the academic community, serving as a tutor for a variety of popular courses and as the head teaching assistant for “quantitative physiology” in her senior year. She was also a member of the Society of Women Engineers, the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, and in the Biomedical Engineering Honor Society.

Krista’s commitment to the engineering and analytics community extends beyond her professional responsibilities. She mentors future engineers through the Women & Engineering Center initiative and has served in leadership roles on the McKelvey Engineering Eliot Society Committee and the WashU Alumni Board of Governors. A passionate advocate for data literacy and strategic decision-making, she continues to influence the industry by fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing among analytics professionals. She and her husband, Zach, are Eliot Society Benefactor members and sponsor an undergraduate scholarship.

Krista earned a bachelor of science degree in biomedical engineering in 2013 and a master of science degree in systems science and mathematics in 2014, both from WashU.