PPC is a leading investment firm that specializes in partnering with family-, founder-, and management-owned companies in the manufactured products and services sectors. An investor in middle-market companies since 2002, PPC also invests in its people. It considers the leadership development of high-potential employees as an important part of its philosophy of building better businesses for the long term.
As PPC expanded its family of companies, now 20 companies, leaders recognized the need for a structured approach to leadership development. Rather than relying solely on external hiring or one-off training, PPC wanted a consistent, high-quality program that would:
PPC partnered with the top-ranked Kelley School of Business to create PPC University in 2021, offering a customized series of condensed, graduate-level online courses focused on key business functions and industry trends.
Key features include:
Course topics include artificial intelligence; financial strategy; commercial strategy and marketing; leadership and culture; people management; operational excellence; value creation through business analytics; foundations of mergers, acquisitions, and integration; project management; supply chain management; effective negotiations; and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.
“We’ve had direct interaction in developing all the curriculum to make sure it’s very bespoke to people within the PPC family.”
Michael NelsonManaging Partner and Head of Investing at PPC
Watch PPC leaders discuss how they collaborated with Kelley to create a more structured approach to investing in high-potential talent.
Description of the video:
1 00:00:05.205 --> 00:00:07.925 PPC University emanated from an idea
2 00:00:07.925 --> 00:00:10.405 that we all had about continuing to invest
3 00:00:10.505 --> 00:00:12.165 behind the high-potential people
4 00:00:12.715 --> 00:00:14.685 that are in our family of companies.
5 00:00:14.945 --> 00:00:17.245 Say all the time that we build better businesses.
6 00:00:17.665 --> 00:00:19.525 And I think when you say that people think
7 00:00:19.525 --> 00:00:21.765 of capital equipment or locations
8 00:00:21.985 --> 00:00:24.645 or markets. It's really people; we're starting
9 00:00:24.645 --> 00:00:25.805 with the foundation of people.
10 00:00:26.245 --> 00:00:29.445 PPC University is a leading example of
11 00:00:29.505 --> 00:00:31.005 how we really focus on building
12 00:00:31.055 --> 00:00:32.605 great companies for the long term.
13 00:00:32.745 --> 00:00:35.725 And we were fortunate to partner with Indiana Kelley School
14 00:00:35.725 --> 00:00:39.005 of Business in developing a series of programs
15 00:00:39.635 --> 00:00:43.285 that really are designed to to round out the skill set of
16 00:00:43.945 --> 00:00:45.325 our high-potential talent.
17 00:00:45.845 --> 00:00:47.725
I love hearing from folks
18 00:00:47.725 --> 00:00:49.165 that have either been in the course
19 00:00:49.305 --> 00:00:52.485 or are in a course currently come to me
20 00:00:52.485 --> 00:00:54.725 and say, Hey, I'm able to use what I'm learning
21 00:00:55.475 --> 00:00:56.685 immediately. Each of
22 00:00:56.725 --> 00:00:58.085 the 12 courses that we offer
23 00:00:58.225 --> 00:01:00.525 are gonna share a lot of similar characteristics.
24 00:01:01.035 --> 00:01:03.285 Each one is gonna be between six to eight weeks,
25 00:01:03.625 --> 00:01:05.725 but most importantly, it's gonna have a maximum
26 00:01:05.825 --> 00:01:07.685 of 30 students within each course.
27 00:01:08.125 --> 00:01:10.525 I think what's nice about PPCU is that it creates
28 00:01:10.525 --> 00:01:11.525 that space for learning
29 00:01:11.525 --> 00:01:14.485 and collaboration across the family of companies,
30 00:01:14.565 --> 00:01:17.245 across industries, and creates connections
31 00:01:17.305 --> 00:01:18.525 and meaningful relationships.
32 00:01:19.215 --> 00:01:20.405 We're really proud
33 00:01:20.625 --> 00:01:21.845 and humbled by the fact
34 00:01:21.845 --> 00:01:25.485 that we've now enrolled our thousandth student at PPCU,
35 00:01:25.665 --> 00:01:27.205 and it wouldn't be possible, first
36 00:01:27.225 --> 00:01:30.605 and foremost, without our incredible partnership that we have
37 00:01:30.605 --> 00:01:33.645 with the staff at Indiana Kelley School of Business.
38 00:01:34.265 --> 00:01:35.685 The team was super engaged.
39 00:01:35.795 --> 00:01:38.365 They walked us through their history and their success
40 00:01:38.465 --> 00:01:39.845 and what the program would look like
41 00:01:39.845 --> 00:01:40.925 and what we could expect,
42 00:01:41.545 --> 00:01:44.325 and we've had really direct interaction in developing all
43 00:01:44.325 --> 00:01:46.605 the curriculum to make sure it's very bespoke
44 00:01:46.705 --> 00:01:48.685 to people within the Pritzker family. I'd
45 00:01:48.685 --> 00:01:51.805 also like to thank the leaders of our businesses
46 00:01:52.025 --> 00:01:54.285 who nominate these high-potential students.
47 00:01:54.755 --> 00:01:57.045 Without them, this program wouldn't continue
48 00:01:57.065 --> 00:01:58.245 to grow the way it is.
49 00:01:58.865 --> 00:02:01.085 And then of course, and most importantly, I'd like
50 00:02:01.085 --> 00:02:03.565 to thank the students who invest their own time
51 00:02:03.625 --> 00:02:06.765 and energy to attend the program and get the most out of it.
With more than 1,000 participants, PPCU contributes to the growth of PPC’s leadership pipeline. A significant investment, it’s recognized internally as a cornerstone of PPC’s people-first strategy. Additional benefits include:
“PPCU equipped me with relevant tools and insights I could apply right away. Collaboration with speakers and classmates has been invaluable to my career development.”
Laura Servin Moreno; C.H. Guenther, Senior ManagerQuality and Food Safety Capability and Continuous Improvement
PPCU continues to grow and evolve, adding new cohorts and courses as leadership challenges change. With Kelley as a partner, PPC ensures its people have the skills, confidence, and perspective needed to lead in an increasingly complex business landscape.
The Kelley School of Business partners with organizations like PPC to create custom business education programs designed for impact. Whether it’s scaling a program across thousands of employees or shaping a targeted initiative for a specific leadership tier, Kelley Executive Education partners with organizations to build leadership pipelines that last. We’ve excelled at this for more than 40 years, delivering programs that are always tailored, never off the shelf.
Whether you’re upskilling your team, addressing specific business challenges, or preparing your future leaders, we help you create and design custom courses that deliver a measurable impact.