Seasoned supply chain, finance leader Beth Correll to deliver annual Gochenour lecture

IMSE alumna Beth Correll will share her professional tips and tricks from her career journey during this Friday's lecture, Turning 5 Simple Skills into a Competitive Advantage.

Beth (Gochenour) Correll, former supply chain and finance leader at The Hershey Company and founder of Step Function Coaching, will deliver the annual Gochenour Lecture in the Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering on Friday, April 4 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. in room 414 of Evansdale Crossing on the Evansdale Campus. 

Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Beth (Gochenour) Correll, former supply chain and finance leader at The Hershey Company and founder of Step Function Coaching, will deliver the annual Gochenour Lecture in the Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering on Friday, April 4, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. in room 414 of Evansdale Crossing on the West Virginia University Evansdale Campus.

A seasoned supply chain and finance leader, Correll built a distinguished 26-year career at The Hershey Company before launching Step Function Coaching, an organization dedicated to helping college students and career transitioners gain confidence to successfully navigate their professional journeys. 
 
After earning her industrial engineering degree at the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, Correll joined Hershey in 1998 and advanced into leadership roles across engineering, procurement, and finance. Across departments she played a pivotal role in driving profitable growth and building high-performing teams while working on brands like Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kit Kat and Twizzlers.

Throughout her career, Correll noticed a pattern: the professionals who advanced the fastest weren’t necessarily the ones with the most technical expertise — they were the ones who knew how to turn transferable skills into superpowers. 

Her lecture, Turning 5 Simple Skills into a Competitive Advantage, challenges students to recognize the value of skills they already have.   

"It's hard to know exactly where you want to be in your career 3-5 years from now," Correll said. "But the skills students are learning at WVU — if they recognize them, refine them, and learn how to apply them strategically — can become their superpowers. With those, they’ll have the flexibility to take on any role that comes their way." 

“There could be no one more passionate and committed than Beth Correll, daughter of Professor Gochenour, to deliver this year’s lecture,” said Ashish Nimbarte, professor and chair of the Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering. “Beth’s extensive corporate experience and recent entrepreneurial venture speak highly of her drive to lead, build high-performing teams, and, most importantly, to drive the organizations to profitable growth – traits of a successful industrial engineer. We are excited to learn from Beth and harness our skills into superpowers.” 

The Donald L. Gochenour Lecture Series is free and open to the public. Established to honor the late Dr. Gochenour, a distinguished professor of industrial engineering at WVU, the series brings accomplished professionals to campus to share their expertise and career journeys. 

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