A Trio of Innovators Collaborating Together
Dave Norberg (mpd² ‘07), Laura Schreiner (mpd² ‘13), and Emily Zarefsky (mpd² ‘24) share how their educational experience prepared them for career success at chemical manufacturer Stepan Company.
Inside a research and development building at global chemical manufacturer Stepan Company, three colleagues sit at a conference table, discussing the company's portfolio of innovation initiatives.
Despite their different roles and experience, Dave Norberg (mpd² ‘07), Laura Schreiner (mpd² ‘13), and Emily Zarefsky (mpd² ‘24) share a common language – one honed through Northwestern Engineering’s Master of Product Design and Development Management (mpd²) program.
“I just love the development process,” said Schreiner, who has been with Stepan for 31 years.
“Whether it’s developing a new product or developing an employee, that's where this role and the mpd² program really fit well with my personality and what I enjoy doing.”
Stepan is a leading merchant producer of surfactants — key ingredients in consumer products such as laundry detergents, hard surface cleaners, disinfectants, shampoos, and body wash, as well as customized solutions for the agricultural, oilfield, and construction markets. The company is also a supplier of polyurethane polyols used in the thermal insulation market, as well as high purity esters, fats and oils for the pharmaceutical, medical nutrition, and dietary supplement industries.
The development process Schreiner enjoys is the cornerstone of the mpd² program. Its mission is to blend business, design, and product development to fuel innovation. As research and development director for global rigid polyol innovation, Schreiner’s enthusiasm for this blend is palpable.
Norberg, who is director of polymer R&D and has been at Stepan since 1992, shares Schreiner's excitement for innovation.
“When we look at what intrinsically motivates us, it’s that discovery piece of it,” he said. “In a lot of cases, we are not the experts in the situation. We’re that bridge from the commercial side to the R&D side who is able to point in the right direction and enable our team to solve problems.”
That desire to solve problems initially drew Zarefsky to Stepan 13 years ago. She joined the company as a synthetic chemist and has spent the past five years as its innovation portfolio manager.
As she considered mpd², she saw the program would have tangible benefits for both the short and long term.
“The program felt like the parts of an MBA that were relevant and exciting to me, with a heavy focus on innovation and product development management,” Zarefsky said. “The applicability of mpd² to where I envisioned my career going made it feel like a good fit.”
Despite completing the program in three different decades, all three Stepan innovators found the mpd² curriculum adaptable to their needs and the evolving business landscape. When the trio discuss their mpd² experiences, some of the mechanics differ, but the high-level topics that form the foundation of the program have remained largely unchanged.
Each found the program’s focus on strategy translates well into the business world.
“If you don't have the right strategy, you're not going to be successful,” Schreiner said. “All three of us see that in our growth trajectory at Stepan, and it enables us to focus on the things that we can control. That is really important.”
The collaborative nature of the mpd² program prepared the three for the challenges of innovation in a corporate setting. They also benefited from the program's small cohort size and emphasis on team-based projects.
The structure of the mpd² program allowed each students’ background and experiences to come to the forefront on group tasks and in classroom discussions.
"I learned so much about what's going on at other companies and other fields just by engaging with folks outside of my industry," Zarefsky said. "Irrespective of the company or field, there were a lot of similar issues. Hearing from other people that they've experienced the same type of barriers and how they either got through them or not was really helpful."
That experience with diverse teams and perspectives continues to serve the trio well at Stepan, where each collaborates across departments and specialties.
The mindset they developed in the mpd² program also continues to fuel their approach to innovation.
"You really need to think differently," Norberg said. "If it's easy, then probably someone else is already doing it. Think about how you leverage your competencies to actually create something that is more protectable and take some risk. The mpd² program taught us how to do that.”