Get to know: Stephanie Schultz

Marketing director, Bernatello’s Foods

After a nearly 13-year career with Festival Foods in a variety of roles including director of health & wellness and director of marketing & communications, Stephanie Schultz took a few years for discovery — exploring roles in manufacturing, association work and small business.

But the food industry has always been central to the Butternut, Wisconsin native, and for the past year Schultz has been working as the marketing director for Kaukauna-headquartered Bernatello’s Foods, one of the nation’s largest frozen pizza producers.

“Getting back to the manufacturing side, I love it. It’s awesome for me personally to get back into the food space,” says the registered dietitian. “I love food.”

For a food lover, Bernatello’s is a great place to be — the company has a pizza portfolio including brands such as Brew Pub Lotzza Motzza, Bellatoria, Roma and Orv’s.

“A lot of people know it for Lotzza Motzza, but Brew Pub the brand is growing incredibly fast. It’s one of the reasons I was brought on,” says Schultz, who gets to work on everything from innovation and R&D to marketing and brand development.

Headquartered within what Schultz refers to as the Midwest “Pizza Belt,” Bernatello’s has been traditionally a regional pizza company, but the team is working to reach more consumers nationwide. Last year, Bernatello’s rolled out eight new items — four Bellatoria dessert pizzas and four Brew Pub crustless pizza bowls.

“Every year we are working on something new,” Schultz says. “From inception to launch, that cycle takes about 18 months.”

Schultz, who currently serves as president of The Women’s Fund of the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation, is proud of Bernatello’s philanthropic work. Last fall, in what Schultz calls a “full-circle moment,” Bernatello’s partnered with Festival Foods in a promotion that raised more than $51,000 for Rawhide Youth Services.

“There’s just so much good that happens in this industry,” she says, “because at the end of the day our goal is to feed people.”

— Amelia Compton Wolff

Beyond the hammer

Last September, Tundraland founder and former CEO Brian Gottlieb released a book to help business leaders rethink their responsibilities as managers, their team’s potential and the value of an aligned company culture. In “Beyond the Hammer: A Fresh Approach to Leadership, Culture, and Building High-Performance Teams,” Gottlieb outlines five foundational pillars of leadership and how leaders can implement them in their businesses. “Having started, scaled and eventually sold several successful businesses in the home services industry, and employed nearly one thousand individuals, I’m all too familiar with the complexity and importance of creating high-performing teams,” Gottlieb said. “Alignment doesn’t simply make a difference, but it’s the difference-maker.” Learn more at briangottlieb.com/book.

1 million mark

For the first time in the history of the Appleton International Airport, inbound and outbound travelers have reached the 1 million mark in a single calendar year. Expansion of existing routes, nonstop flights and new routes contributed to the historic growth for 2024. For example, American Airlines added flights resulting in 58% more available seats in 2024. “This is a mark every team member and every one of our airline partners is proud of,” said Airport Director Abe Weber. “Our investments to make the Appleton Airport the faster, easier and more convenient option are resonating with the community. And airlines notice.” Official numbers will be calculated early this year, but airport officials predict overall passenger growth in 2024 was 12% higher than 2023.

Catching rays

Manitowoc Public Utilities has rolled out a first-of-its-kind project in Wisconsin — a community solar program that allows electric customers, home owners or renters to purchase solar energy with no upfront investment, unlike traditional rooftop solar installs. The Manitowoc Solar Garden, located off Hecker Road at an old gravel pit site, is a 1,500-kilowatt community solar generation facility that went live and began producing energy in December. City officials say participants, of which there are currently about 200, will receive credits toward their energy bills. On average, federal data suggests cost savings would be about $9 a month for a typical home.