Altitude Marketing, an integrated marketing agency serving global B2B companies, is looking to inspire the next generation of business leaders by sending CEO Andrew Stanten back to his alma mater, Lehigh University, as an adjunct instructor.
Stanten, who has an MBA from Lehigh and served as the University’s Director of Communications prior to launching Altitude, is teaching Business Communications I at Lehigh’s College of Business and Economics this Fall. The course aims to help business school students develop a foundational knowledge of the principles, practices, and values underlying business communication.
“Over the years, I have learned a lot – and not just in marketing,” said Stanten, who founded Altitude in 2004 and has since grown the agency into an award-winning global B2B marketing firm. “Team building. Communication dynamics. Company culture. Management. Finance. Leadership. Being able to share my real-world experience and expertise, within the context of the curriculum, with this next generation of business leaders, is a great way to pay it forward.”
Altitude, which is headquartered in Emmaus, PA, has for many years utilized Lehigh and other area universities as a talent pool for its popular, launchpad-like, internship program. Indeed, many who have completed the program – which offers a variety of marketing internships from content and sales to digital advertising, graphic design, and social media – have either gone on to work at global brands such as Microsoft, EY, Olympus, Morgan Stanley, and Air Products, or accepted a full-time role at Altitude itself.
The program’s success is among Stanten’s proudest achievements. “One of my greatest satisfactions as CEO of Altitude is seeing former interns achieving things in the business world. Knowing we played a small part in helping launch many successful careers is deeply gratifying.”
In returning to Lehigh, Stanten and Altitude see an opportunity to feed back into the wellspring. “I feel like I’ve come full circle. I earned my MBA from Lehigh just before launching Altitude. Without that experience, knowledge gained and contacts made, I would not be where I am today.
