After playing professional baseball for the Oakland Athletics minor league organization, Jeff Bercume rapidly ascended at Laddawn, a packaging manufacturer in Devens, rising to lead sales, marketing, and product management.
He played a pivotal role in doubling the company’s revenue and profit over eight years until its acquisition by Fortune 500 company Berry Global in 2018. Bercume then led the transformation of Laddawn.com into MyBerry.com, overseeing all aspects of rollout and change management for the new customer portal. In its first full year using his redesigned platform, Berry’s flagship product line exceeded profitability targets by 18%.
Since becoming CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Fitchburg and Leominster in April, Bercume has quickly implemented programming including a professional-grade podcasting studio and a fully equipped esports space. He serves as a volunteer baseball coach at Saint John’s High School, where he emphasizes perseverance and equanimity as much as technical skills.
Would you choose to be the oldest sibling, middle sibling, youngest sibling, or an only child? I’d choose to be Laura’s older brother, son of Jeff and Karen. I’m blessed to have strong relationships with my younger sister and my parents.
What should older generations understand about young professionals? Approach youthful ambition with grace. Eagerness is not the same as entitlement, though they’re easy to conflate. Both benefit from coaching and honest, constructive feedback.
What person would you like to meet in the next 40 years? I may not meet every single kid we serve now, but I hope to meet a few later, when they’re transformational leaders shaped by how they were nurtured here. Also, Derek Jeter.
