Distinguished Alumni Award: Dimitrios Smyrnios

 

By Tamara Linse
 
When Dimitrios Smyrnios was in his mid-20s, he made a simple but defining commitment: “I am going to have a positive impact on people’s lives.” 

Decades later, that standard still guides how he measures success, not by titles or financial outcomes, but by the people he’s helped along the way. 

Born in Greece and raised in Cheyenne, Smyrnios learned early what it meant to start from scratch, adapt quickly, and outwork expectations. After graduating from the University of Wyoming in 1986, he didn’t step into a corner office. He stepped onto a delivery route. 

Driving a Frito-Lay truck, he stocked store shelves one stop at a time. 

“I’m proud of starting on the truck selling potato chips,” he says with a smile. “There are people who said to me, ‘You went to college and now you’re delivering potato chips.’ But that turned out to be pretty good.” 

It did more than turn out well. It built momentum.

 

Over the next three decades, Smyrnios steadily built his career across some of the most respected companies in the food industry. He spent eight years at Frito-Lay in progressively senior roles across sales, marketing and operations. He then joined Nestlé Waters North America, where he took on increasing responsibility over more than two decades, ultimately serving in senior executive leadership roles across both the home and office division and the retail division. He later served as president of Nestlé Dreyer’s Ice Cream, rounding out a career at Nestlé defined by breadth, scale and strong performance. 

By the time he was named CEO of The Schwan’s Company in 2013, Smyrnios had developed a reputation as a disciplined, results-driven leader who could operate complex businesses and build strong, aligned teams that could execute. 

What followed was a decade of transformation. Under his leadership, Schwan’s delivered strong, profitable growth and set itself apart from the competition, driven by a relentless focus on execution and an unwavering commitment to quality, safety, service and investment in its people. 

The company achieved record revenue, market share and profit for multiple years running, becoming one of the fastest-growing food companies in North America. During that time, Schwan’s was acquired by the South Korean conglomerate CJ CheilJedang, expanding its global reach and positioning the business for its next chapter of growth. 

But for Smyrnios, the defining moments were never just about financial performance. They were about people. 

He has long believed that great organizations are built by teams that trust each other, challenge each other, and deeply care about the work they are doing and the people they serve. 

“What I love is leading people,” Smyrnios says. “Now that I’m retired, it’s the only thing I miss. I miss that camaraderie, to go into a room and celebrate or debate or improve, all the dialogue that goes with business.” 

That belief was tested in 2020, when the pandemic disrupted both the consumer packaged goods and foodservice sectors. With restaurants and schools shut down, Schwan’s faced significant uncertainty. Smyrnios made a clear and immediate decision: the company would not lay off employees. 

Instead, the organization found savings elsewhere and continued to support frontline workers, preserving jobs and helping keep the food supply moving during a time when grocery shelves were running empty. 

That decision reflected a leadership philosophy he has lived by throughout his career. 

“Lead yourself first,” he says. “If you say it, do it. Once your words and your actions match, you are leading yourself. And then, only then, you have the privilege, the right, to lead others.” 

Today, Smyrnios brings that same mindset back to the University of Wyoming. In classrooms and conversations, he encourages students to think beyond grades and credentials. 

He often describes three purposes of college. The first is education: learn the material and earn the grades to graduate with a degree. The second is personal growth: understanding who you are and what you stand for. The third is asking yourself what you truly love as a profession. 

“Find what you love,” he says. “Spend time doing it, become great, become wanted, and the market sets the price. You will make money. Your life is a lot more fulfilling when you spend time doing what you love and what you’re going to be great at.” 

 

He pairs that advice with something equally important. 

“Work hard. Be consistent. That’s table stakes,” he says. “But don’t lose sight of what really matters. Stay close to your family. Take the time to enjoy the journey. If you’re not having some fun along the way, you’re doing it wrong.” 

 

His connection to UW has deepened in recent years. After reconnecting with the College of Business and seeing the impact of faculty like Assistant Professor Molly Burchett, Smyrnios established the Smyrnios Family Faculty Fellowship in Sales Leadership. 

“I didn’t know exactly how to give back, but I knew I wanted to give back,” he says. “Molly has had a huge impact on a lot of future leaders of America.” 

For Smyrnios, supporting education of our future leaders and having a positive impact with people with a food insecurity is his personal mission. 

“I believe a fundamental need is the ability to have food in your stomach,” he says. “If you’ve ever been hungry, it’s hard to focus on what the professor’s saying or anything else” 

Even in retirement, he remains focused on what lies ahead. 

“The future is substantially more exciting and interesting,” he says. “You’ve got to live looking forward.” 

He describes himself as a “half-full kind of person,” confident that the next generation of UW students will have a positive impact on the world in meaningful and lasting ways. 

Dimitrios is honored to receive the Distinguished Alumni Award, but true to form, he reflects on it with humility and pride. 

“I have a huge amount of respect for all the people before me who have been honored,” he says. “I’m humbly very appreciative of this award and I’m proud to be a Poke.”