Don Schultz passed away in June. I studied under him at Northwestern University.
Since being a student at NU, I maintained contact as a mentor and advisor until his illness in the last few years really prevented this from continuing.
He was one of the world’s leading experts in marketing and communications.
He was often called the Father of Integrated Marketing. In fact, he appears to have invented the field.
If the phrase Superstar Professor could be applied to anyone, it was him.
Don was extensively published and in great demand as a speaker, teacher and consultant around the world. He was particularly popular in China.
Don was an expert presenter, even a ‘showman’. He could capture an audience with his Oklahoma accent and presence. He will be missed.
My career is not in marketing. But the analytical skills I learned from and the other professors at Northwestern was invaluable in finance and alternative investments analysis. The analytical techniques he taught was for use in marketing but were adaptable for other purposes.
Here’s just one example. Early in my career, I worked for Kraft running the strategy for the Research and Development effort (Technology Center they called it). I worked with engineers and scientists from many extremely varied disciplines, everything from software to manufacturing to chemistry to food science to packaging. This was in developing the research and implementation strategies for each of these areas. The analytical techniques Don and his colleagues taught helped give me the ability to do this.
Here is what Northwestern has to say about him:
