To Market, To Market

A company can spend years — and millions — developing a new product, service or technology. Yet if no one understands how to get the offering to market, both the intellectual elbow grease and financial investment will be all for naught.

Fortunately for those businesses interested in launching new offerings, the College of Management’s Mitzi Montoya has been teaching NC State graduate students how to produce results.

Zelnak Professor of Marketing Innovation

In January 2007, Montoya was named the Zelnak Professor of Marketing Innovation. Steve Zelnak, Chairman and CEO of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc., established the professorship to support the College of Management’s marketing innovation management initiative. As a member of the College’s Board of Advisers, Zelnak has been a strong supporter of the college.

An expert on managing concept-to-market cycles, Montoya’s project-based marketing innovation management class provides hands-on experience with new product development and innovation management for MBA students as well as graduate students from the colleges of textiles and engineering. The course was developed and is taught collaboratively with faculty in the College of Textiles.

The partnership helps to support Montoya’s continued work in the area of innovation management. “The college appreciates Steve’s generous support that made it possible to recognize Mitzi’s significant contributions in the area of innovation management, and to provide additional resources for advancing knowledge and to further develop our course offerings in this field,” says Ira R. Weiss, dean of the NC State College of Management.