A current business executive and a retired industry leader, both Bowling Green State
University alumni, will be the speakers for the university’s 278th graduation exercises.Jeffrey
Boutelle, president and CEO of Beech-Nut Nutrition baby food company, will address graduates at the
Friday ceremony, while Robert Clasen, a cable industry pioneer, will speak at the Saturday commencement.
Friday’s ceremonies begin at 7 p.m., Saturday’s at 10 a.m., both in the Stroh Center.Of the 1,042
diplomas to be awarded, 27 are doctoral degrees, 164 are master’s degrees, 73 are associate degrees and
768 are bachelor’s degrees. Among the undergraduates, 158 will be graduating with honors, signifying
grade point averages of at least 3.5.BGSU graduates represent a diversity of backgrounds and ages. A
quarter are students of color and 58 percent are women. Sixty international students representing 19
countries will graduate. Graduates range in age from 18 to 66.Boutelle, who earned his bachelor’s degree
in business administration from BGSU in 1985, is president and CEO of Beech-Nut Nutrition baby food
company. A native of Bowling Green, he is the son of Clif Boutelle, BGSU’s former longtime director of
public relations. Jeffrey Boutelle began his career as an accountant with KPMG Peat Marwick in
Cincinnati. After earning his MBA from Duke University, he worked with Procter and Gamble in marketing
and innovation, and was part of the global team that brought new varieties of disposable diapers to
market. He then moved to Stouffer’s, Nestlé USA’s largest brand, as marketing director and later vice
president of marketing, where he grew Stouffer’s sales from $800 million to more than $1 billion behind
a strategy of innovation and a focus on balanced nutrition.Boutelle spent two years as senior vice
president of University Hospitals of Cleveland before joining Abbott Nutrition in Columbus as general
manager of the U.S. Pediatric business, which includes Abbott Nutrition’s flagship brand Similac, as
well as PediaSure and Pedialyte. Under his leadership, Similac achieved the No. 1 position in the infant
formula category. Boutelle’s next assignment with Abbott was in London, where he served two years as
vice president of Europe, Middle East and Africa for pediatric and adult nutrition. He left Abbott
Nutrition in 2012 to join Beech-Nut Nutrition.Clasen, who was named one of BGSU’s 100 Most Prominent
Alumni in 2010, received an undergraduate degree in 1966 and a master’s degree in 1969 in counseling
psychology, working for a time as director of student services at BGSU Firelands. He then spent his
40-year career as a media and entertainment executive until his retirement in 2010. Clasen served in a
variety of senior positions in the cable television, telecommunications, and new-media industries, last
as chairman and CEO of Starz, LLC, overseeing the country’s largest provider of premium movie channels
available on cable, satellite, telecom and Internet platforms under the Starz and Encore brands, a
television production and distribution company, animation studios, a home video company, and an
independent movie studio, Overture Films.In the cable television industry, Clasen’s positions included
president of Comcast Cable Communications, one of the country’s largest cable television companies.
Under his direction, Comcast grew fivefold in just six years, becoming the third largest provider. He
also served as divisional president for McCaw Cellular Communications (now AT&T) and was
responsible for the development of the company’s cellular telephone properties in the Southwest. His
international experience includes serving as president of Comcast’s International Division, in London,
as well as president and CEO of ComStream Corp., an international provider of digital transmission
solutions for voice, data, imaging, audio and video applications for satellite and terrestrial broadband
systems.Now living in Denver, he is chairman of the Colorado Creative Industries Council, a member of
the Denver Film Society Capital Campaign, and an Executive in Residence at the Daniels College of
Business at the University of Denver.