Jason Stricker’s industry legacy

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Jason Stricker’s industry legacy

15 Jan 2024

Joanie Spencer

Since 2008, Joanie Spencer has covered the retail and wholesale sides of the baking industry.
Serving associations such as the American Society of Baking (ASB) and BEMA, Joanie is also in demand as an industry presenter on bakery operations and trends. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from Rockhurst University and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.

When she’s not running or playing soccer, Joanie spends her time with her husband and 11-year-old son.

KANSAS CITY, MO — It might be hard to think of a time when Jason Stricker wasn’t part of the baking industry. Well, there’s a reason for that.

Long before he was VP of sales and marketing for Kansas City, MO-based Shick Esteve — even before he joined the company as a second-generation Shick Esteve employee — stories circulated in certain circles. They described Stricker, a little boy, spending Saturday afternoons at the office with his dad, David Stricker, hiding under the desk with a coloring book because kids weren’t allowed at the office on the weekends.

As a teenager, Stricker worked part-time and summers in the company’s machine shop and eventually repped Shick Esteve parts for Thompson Hill after he graduated from Baker University in the late ’90s. He found his way back to Shick Esteve in 2007 when he was hired by Aaron Irvin, the company’s director of systems and products.

Stricker had a mind that was insatiably curious and immeasurably retentive. His attention to detail naturally absorbed the engineering protocols around designing food conveyance and ingredient handling, and his propensity for learning new technology had his nose in literature every chance he could get.

That’s a winning combination for a person interested in climbing the corporate ladder. But for Stricker, there was something else. His knowledge, passion, work ethic and competitive nature made for a fast career trajectory, but it also made him a force in the baking industry.

“He went deeper than anybody in a sales role would typically go,” Irvin said. “Jason wanted to know how what he was selling worked and how to troubleshoot it. He’d hang out with the engineers and senior technical staff so he could get that knowledge.”

Stricker built an arsenal of technical knowledge and business savvy that led to partnerships beyond the spaces where Shick Esteve already had an established presence. He grew in his roles as the business evolved. Years later, as Shick Esteve became part of Linxis Group — which was acquired by Hillenbrand in 2022 — Stricker used his thirst for knowledge and standards for excellence to better himself, his customers and even the industry.

Sure, he had a reputation for being a little cocky in his younger days. However, it came from a place of love. His high standards were foundational for bettering his work in an industry he cared deeply about. Over time, Stricker transformed from an absorber of information to the passer of knowledge, emerging as an industry leader.

“Jason became instrumental in the marketing side of the business as much as the sales side, and at the same time, he learned how to mentor people,” said Blake Day, Shick Esteve president and CEO. “It was awesome to watch him mature in his role and develop the emotional intelligence that came with it.”

That said, Stricker loved a good debate. And it wasn’t just his competitive nature or steel trap of a mind; it was a tool he used for continuous improvement. He wasn’t so much obstinate as he was in perpetual pursuit of excellence. It could be said that “do better” was his mantra.

But even when Stricker had the answers, success always required buy-in to ensure the best outcome.

“He always saw himself as part of a team,” Irvin said. “He loved sitting down with a group of people and figuring out how to solve a problem. That’s where he earned a lot of his respect.”

Through the evolution of Shick Esteve and Linxis Group, now part of Coperion Food, Health and Nutrition, Stricker’s team-centric mindset was critical to numerous brand integrations.

“Jason was a big part of growth, not only for the Shick Esteve business but also in integrating all the businesses together,” Day said. “He was instrumental in getting those integration efforts off the ground. Obviously, I wish he could have seen it through, but a big part of where we are today is because of the work Jason put in.”

From equipment and systems to dust mitigation and explosion prevention, Stricker looked at the industry through a holistic lens, educating himself in every aspect of the process that could relate to his work. His ability to understand systems outside the scope of his own work made him not only indispensable but also perhaps something far more important: trusted.

“Rademaker’s relationship with Shick Esteve began when we partnered on a particular project that integrated their raw material handling system into our croissant production line,” recalled Eric Riggle, president of Rademaker USA. “When I started working with Jason, he helped facilitate the business side of things right away, and his expertise of the production line and ability to troubleshoot issues were unmatched. But more than that, Jason was a man of his word. System integrations involve a complicated process, and it requires a lot of trust. So, having a trusted colleague in Jason made a huge difference for our project and the customer.”

Jason Stricker died unexpectedly on Aug. 11, 2023. He is survived by his wife, Jenny; his daughter, Ciara; his son, Cam; his mother, Sandra; many other family members and his beloved “fur babies.” He is also survived by countless customers, co-workers, colleagues and friends, whose lives and careers he not only touched but also impacted deeply.

This story has been adapted from the 2023 Innovations Annual issue of Commercial Baking. Read the full story in the digital edition here.

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