After earning a bachelor’s degree with dual majors in public communications and management and then an M.B.A. degree from the Whitman School, Deyo was recruited on campus by Procter and Gamble. He has been establishing innovative brands and growing profitable companies ever since. “I’ve been fortunate to work on ‘fun’ products,” he said. Prominent among them is Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, a Nestle subsidiary where Deyo led innovation and research and development efforts. Other endeavors include toys, sporting goods, and children’s publishing. An e-commerce pioneer, he was president of Reel.com Inc. in 1998 and sold the video/DVD company for more than $100 million less than two years later.

     Deyo doesn’t hesitate to credit his SU education for preparing him for a successful career. He cites his summer abroad in London as an important learning and personal development experience, and believes he gained invaluable hands-on business experience as general manager of Campus Conveniences Inc., a student enterprise serving the SU campus with a variety of goods and services, including a travel agency, record store, and appliance rentals. “In terms of providing a professional foundation and helping me to mature as an individual, I certainly got a tremendous amount of value out of my time at Syracuse,” he said. “I view supporting the University as the right thing to do, so students can enjoy these same benefits today.”