Dr. Volpe was born and raised near Boston, Massachusetts. After finishing his Ph.D., he spent four years working as an economist at the USDA Economic Research Service in Washington DC. While there he researched a variety of topics, including food price formation, competitiveness in the food industry, and the healthiness of grocery purchases in the U.S. Ricky was also responsible for forecasting retail food price inflation at the national level.
Now at Cal Poly, Ricky teaches courses on food retail and supply chain management, transportation and logistics, and data analysis. He also maintains an active research agenda using a variety of large scanner data sets to study issues related to market structure, firm performance, food prices, consumers’ food choices, and health outcomes. He also works closely with industry leaders in food retailing, wholesaling, and distribution to facilitate collaboration on public-private partnerships, student internships, and scholarships.
Cal Poly’s Agribusiness Department produces future leaders in agribusiness and beyond. Upon graduation, students have the interpersonal, communication, critical thinking, problem-solving and applied business skills that are required for successful careers with regional, national and international agribusiness industries, the firms and organizations that support those industries, and in multiple pursuits outside of those industries.
How to Hire and Retain Generation Z
Using their background in agricultural economics and business, a team of Agribusiness students from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo will moderate a discussion about hiring and retention strategies for retailers, wholesalers, and food manufacturers. The goal of this session is to provide companies with a fresh perspective and ideas on appealing to Generation Z in an increasingly competitive market. Students will draw on evidence and statistics, as well as their own personal experiences and career ambitions, to generate conversation and to help attendees understand how to market to recent college graduates.
