Winston Samuels '83

Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Maxx Performance

I was raised on a farm in Jamaica and was a very gregarious child, always looking for an opportunity to excel. I had a tough choice — to focus on pursuing track competitively or pursue studying at an advanced level. With the help of some great sages, I decided to focus on studying.

In my role as a director at Monsanto, I was involved in driving innovation across several platforms, participated in bringing new products to market, and lived and worked in several areas of the world. The experience I gained by living and working abroad shaped who I am today. My intention with my family-owned company, Maxx Performance, is to drive innovation across the human and animal industry, with a particular focus on immune health and delivery systems.

The work project/initiative I'm most excited about...
Using technology to improve immune health and to decrease the use of medicated feed additives in animals.

How Virginia Tech equipped me for the "real world"...
The learnings they provided me. The ability to stand up in front of other students and professors to present seminars prepared me for the encounters I have had in life. Virginia Tech gave me my "wings".

The inspiration for Maxx Performance came from...
Ah, riding the waves. The ability to not accept things as they are. The ability to not want to be comfortable. The ability to not be content with the status quo. The ability to break barriers. The ability to believe and to put into action that there has to be a better way.

My best advice for fellow entrepreneurs...
Do not accept the status quo. If it is not broken; break it!

My hidden talent...
I love to coach ice hockey!

The skill I use most as a CEO...
Project management. The ability to work backward.

Fondest Virginia Tech memory...
Meeting Marilyn, my wife. I met her there at a dance!!

I find the most joy in my work when...
I am thinking. When I am thinking about what's next. Thinking about what is around the corner.

Best part of being a Virginia Tech alum...
The ability to give back to what was given to me. Being able to contribute resources that allow students to study abroad.

If I had a superpower, it would be...
Getting everyone around me to live abroad for sometime.