For some, travel is strictly recreational, ticking destinations off a bucket list. For many, food is merely sustenance. For Jessica Jacobsen, travel and food aren’t just passions, they are her life.
Jacobsen is currently the Vice President of Global Chocolate Technology Platforms for Mondelez International based in Zurich, Switzerland. She has the responsibility of leading teams located all over the globe (including India, Poland, Germany, and England) and looking after well-loved brands like Cadbury Dairy Milk, Toblerone, or Milka. Her role encompasses understanding the science of chocolate, understanding consumers, and creating innovative new products, as well as collaborating with colleagues from many different backgrounds and cultures.
Jacobsen, a 1992 graduate of Fox Valley Lutheran, credits FVL for helping lead her to where she is today.
“I received a Christian education which gave me a solid foundation to grow as a person, use my talents, and navigate in the broader world,” Jacobsen commented. “Thankfully, I chose to study German as my world language—I could not have foreseen how helpful that would be in the future.”
Jacobsen first got the travel bug when she went out west with her grandparents to visit several of the national parks. That passion grew in high school through the Lutheran Vanguard marching band trips she attended. She got to see the Luther Monument and other historical sites in real life when she had her first trip to Germany in 1997. Since then, she has remained curious to learn more about cultures, history, and foods.
Jacobsen started with her company (called Kraft Foods at the time) in Glenview, Illinois in 1999 and was interested in doing work internationally with her passion for travel; however, her first role as product developer had her supporting products for Tombstone, DiGiorno, and Jack’s pizza, traveling to factories in Wisconsin.
After a few years, she transferred to the cheese division and eventually, a limited-term position was available in the Munich, Germany technical center. She had the right qualifications to make the move in 2008 and later decided to stay on, remaining there for another five years. She moved to the East Hanover, New Jersey location in 2015 to help co-lead Ingredient & Nutrition Research before being offered her current role in 2021.
She didn’t know much about Switzerland as a country when she moved there two years ago, but set a personal goal to visit all 80 locations on the “Swiss Grand Tour” within a year.
“I learned a lot by visiting the different corners of the country, mostly on weekends, and managed to get to all of them in nine months,” Jacobsen said.
Thank you, Jessica, for sharing your story!