Lisbeth Echeandia

Class of 2008

A native of Amsterdam, Lisbeth was born on April 23, 1949, and attended high school at Cheltenham in England.

She has been married to Jim since 1979. She is stepmother to Jim’s two adult children, Mary and Richard.

After leaving the advertising and public relations industry, Lisbeth and Jim acquired Confectioner Magazine in 1983, where she served as publisher and editor. When the magazine was sold in 1999, Lisbeth remained with the title until 2001. She then went to work with Jim at American Consulting Corp., their family-owned confectionery consulting service.

In 2005, Lisbeth was asked to return to her role as publisher of Confectioner and Candy Industry magazines, where she served till early 2008.

From 2002 to 2007, Lisbeth was Candy Industry’s official representative on the Kettle Committee and was responsible for organizing the annual Kettle Award Reception and Dinner. As publisher of the magazines, she was involved with all of the major trade associations including the National Confectioners Association, the American Wholesale Marketers Association, the Philadelphia National Candy Show and Retail Confectioners International.

As a partner in ACC, Lisbeth participates in projects across the world that assist companies in strategic planning, growth strategies, product development and marketing. She has also recently taken on the role of vice-president of trade marketing for Frey Enterprises, LLC, working with CPG companies on go-to-market strategies.

Lisbeth offers the following advice to those coming up in the industry: Don’t let the experts tell you it can’t be done, and says her passion for the industry has been the biggest factor in her success.

Out of the office, she is president of the Habitat for Humanity affiliate in Fannin County, TX, and works with local civic organizations to help bring economic development to the area.

Lisbeth also enjoys cooking, gardening, reading and blogging.