Northampton Community College held its 41st annual Hal Shaffer Memorial Executive-in-Residence program recently, featuring Robert (Rob) Albert, CEO of B. Braun of America.

The Executive-in-Residence program is made possible by an endowment established by Cecile and Jack Shaffer in memory of their late son, Hal.

President of NCC, David A. Ruth, Ph.D., opened the fireside chat by welcoming the executive and highlighting the significance of the event. “This event has brought us some of the Lehigh Valley’s most successful business leaders. This truly is a flagship event for the College each year. Today, we’re honored to host Rob Albert, CEO of B. Braun of America. Rob also is a member of our Foundation Board, so he has long been a supporter of NCC and our students,” Ruth said. He also noted that Albert invited interested students to take a tour of B. Braun’s Allentown facility.

This is an exciting year for the program, as NCC’s Center for Career Development launched the Hal Shaffer Memorial Executive-in-Residence Leadership Certificate. This professional development opportunity allowed students to strengthen their leadership skills, build career readiness, and connect directly with industry executives.

Today, B. Braun is a global leader in the manufacturing of medical supplies, focusing on improving clinical outcomes and developing solutions for medical care. Its North American operations began in 1979, and soon after, Albert began his career with the company.

The biggest lesson he’s learned is how important collaboration is. “We need teamwork. We need people supporting us, and we need to support the people around us in order to get things done and done well.”

He compared this to Formula 1 racing. “There are two race cars on every Formula 1 team, and for each team, there are about 1,000 team members from the pit crew to the planning. These teams create success around them by trusting each other to do their jobs efficiently. And, trust is a big part of any job as well. Knowing that your team members are going to get their job done allows you to stay focused on what you have do.”

At the end of the program, a $1,000 scholarship was presented to first-year marketing student, Kaitlyn Zile, in Rob Albert’s name. NCC’s Alumni Association committed to endowing the Executive in Residence Scholarship Fund to be presented annually in the name of that year’s Executive-in-Residence.

When a student asked Albert what his definition of success is, he said, “Success goes beyond my career. It’s having a loving wife and family to go home to, but professionally, as long as what you’re doing makes you happy, you don’t need to worry about your title. As long as when you wake up Monday morning, you want to go to work, that’s success. That’s what matters.”

Whatever your definition of success is, Albert recommended always learning something new. “I was fortunate enough to learn a lot all in one company, but I made sure to step outside my comfort zone to find what I really enjoyed.”

To read more about Albert’s journey, visit northampton.edu/news/

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