Podcast

Bridging Industry and Academia: Matt Daum on the Future of Packaging

In this episode of Beyond Packaging, co-hosts Laura Foti and Matthew Wright sit down with Matt Daum, Dean and Associate Provost for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan State University (MSU), to discuss the ins and outs of how academia and industry work together.

Posted on 
July 15, 2025
Laura Foti
Chief Customer Officer, Specright

In this episode of Beyond Packaging, co-hosts Laura Foti and Matthew Wright sit down with Matt Daum, Dean and Associate Provost for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan State University (MSU), and former Director of MSU’s School of Packaging.

With over 25 years of industry experience, Matt shares key lessons from his career, including the importance of cross-functional collaboration and learning from failure. He discusses how academia and industry work together to prepare students for real-world packaging challenges, and highlights how emerging trends such as AI and sustainability-driven innovation guide the next generation workforce.

Beyond Packaging is presented by Specright, the leader in Specification Management.

Feel free to connect with Laura Foti and Matthew Wright on LinkedIn

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About 

Laura Foti

Laura is the Chief Customer Officer at Specright, where she leads teams across professional services, customer success, and support to ensure customers thrive. 

She also co-hosts the “Beyond Packaging Podcast,” with Matthew Wright, where they discuss industry trends, interview leading innovators, and discuss the history of different types of packaging.

Prior to Specright, she led advertising and analytics at GE Digital, GE’s Industrial Internet software business. Before that, she was a consultant at Deloitte Digital working in enterprise digital transformation. Laura was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for marketing and advertising and Brand Innovators 40 Under 40 and 100 Women to Watch lists. She graduated from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

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