Susan Gaud, Ph.D.
Susan Mabrey Gaud recently retired as Director of External Technology at Kraft Foods Global. Dr. Gaud?s responsibilities had included the development and execution of a strategy for accessing and leveraging external resources, managing the budget for external research, and facilitation of the contract and payment process. She also had an interest in intellectual asset management and worked closely with the patent lawyers. Dr. Gaud grew up in Boston, MA and received a B.A. degree in chemistry from Connecticut College (New London, CT). She joined Kraft in Glenview, IL in 1978 after receiving a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Northwestern University and spending several years as a Research Associate at Yale. A few years after joining Kraft, she received an MBA in Finance from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management. Her background at Kraft included research in dairy and soy proteins, starch structure-function relationships, lipid chemistry, and fat replacement technology. Dr. Gaud also managed a broad range of research departments from Physical Chemistry to Food Science to Ingredient Technology, Biotechnology and Analytical Chemistry and was responsible for a number of strategic programs. Dr. Gaud is an active member of several professional societies and is currently chair-elect of The Industrial Research Institute. She continues a close association with Northwestern Chemistry and Kellogg School of Management.
