William Smithburg was a very successful man; he graduated from DePaul University with a BS in economics and marketing. He held a high position at Quaker Oat’s as CEO in 1981. He later attend Northwestern’s business school to farther his career and received his MBA, two years later was named chairman of Quaker Oat's. Smithburg went on to make some good and bad business decisions that almost costed him his job. Smithburg made a good decision when he purchased Stokely-Van Camp for their Gatorade sports drink for $90 million. Gatorade took off in sales for its benefits to replenish lost salts and fluids for athletes. Gatorade went on to be a billion-dollar brand, making Smithburg a hero within his company. Smithburg had done his homework and was
