Mary F. Sammons
President and CEO, Rite Aid Corporation
Mary Sammons knows opportunity when she sees it. She graduated in 1970 with a bachelor’s degree in French from Marylhurst, intending to teach at the high school level. But there were no jobs to be found in her field. So she accepted a position at Fred Meyer as a management trainee in apparel.
Mary’s initiative caught her manager’s attention, and he asked her if she’d be interested in heading a special project for a new cash register system. She gave him an enthusiastic yes right away — and her career at Fred Meyer began in earnest. In 26 years at Fred Meyer, she held positions of increasing responsibility in all areas of operations and merchandising before becoming Chief Executive Office of a $4.3 billion corporation encompassing 137 stores and 25,000 employees in six states.
Mary believes her willingness to take on new assignments and the relationships she built across the entire organization are the keys to her success. Mary credits her Marylhurst education for helping her hone the analytical and strategic skills that have played such a large role in her professional success. “The liberal arts were absolutely perfect for me,” she says. “They exposed me to subjects that caused me to think and question and to have a better sense of what the world is all about.
“There were always high standards and strict requirements at Marylhurst,” she says. “That also taught me to have high expectations of myself.”
Today, she is Chairman, President and CEO of Rite Aid Corporation. “Success also carries responsibilities — to my family, my business, my associates, the community,” she says. “I want to make a positive difference throughout my life.”
Mark R. Jensen
President, Gleukos Inc.
Mark R. Jensen had many options when looking for a university with a Master of Business program, including University of Notre Dame. He chose Marylhurst University because he wanted to further his education in the business world but couldn’t fit the normal daily classroom routine into his schedule. Marylhurst was a perfect match for him because of the structure and format of the classes available.
Online classes allowed flexibility for the demands of his job yet he was able to connect with other students. He also appreciated the dedicated faculty who enforced accountability of regular assignment deadlines and constant communication between students.
After working as a retail product footwear manager for NIKE, Jensen started his own business, Gleukos Inc, in 2003. Being a competitive runner, he had disliked the existing sports drinks that contained a great deal of sugar (sucrose and fructose) that needed to be converted to glucose by the body. His product, in bottled or powdered form, contains liquid glucose, which he says makes the fuel more readily available for the body to use. In 2007, Gleukos’ revenues grew 248% and are projected to quadruple in 2008.
Jensen attributes the beginning stages of his successful business to Marylhurst University. The curriculum and projects created opportunities for access to major businesses in the area. Marylhurst provided the initiative for him to create his own business plan for a product that he truly believed in and follow his dream as an entrepreneur.
Megan Murphy
President, Artocracy.org
Megan Murphy is not a “starving artist.” In fact, her goal is to erase that term one digital piece at a time. The 1992 Marylhurst graduate is the owner of Artocracy.org, an online company created to provide exposure and income for talented artists.
Art need not be expensive, nor do artists need the word “starving” attached to their profession according to Murphy. Her company features talented and sometimes well-known artists and presents their artwork for sale in a high-quality digital format. “Now everybody has the opportunity to buy original, affordable art,” Murphy said.
“Artocracy.org is a grassroots company founded by an artist to help other artists.” Murphy is working to address the disconnect between those who make art, those who enjoy art, and those who can afford to buy art. With a bachelor of fine arts degree from Marylhurst, Murphy credits her success to Marylhurst art faculty teaching her to explore a problem and look at solutions from different points of view.
As a professional artist, Murphy has had exhibitions in Seattle, Portland and New York, participating in numerous group exhibitions. Her work is represented in the collections of Tacoma Art Museum, the Lemelson foundation, the Yale Collection and the Portland Art Museum.
