In his current role as vice president for global marketing at Skyline Exhibits, Althoff enjoys providing leadership to one of the largest trade show and event companies in North America. His ability to adapt his skills for a variety of business situations has allowed him to thrive at the company. Skyline is well known in the trade world — serving 60% of Fortune 500s and 70% of Fortune 100s, as well as startups and small to midsize businesses with everything from banner stands and table throws to full custom exhibits for trade shows and events.

Althoff and his wife Jane Davidson Althoff ’80 met at IC as students. Jane has also led a successful career, earning her CPA on the first sitting. While building their careers and raising three daughters, the couple has remained extremely loyal to their alma mater.

This passion for Illinois College, paired with his love of the business world, inspired Althoff to expand his partnership to IC by collaborating on several strategic projects with students of Dr. John Drea ’80, professor of business administration, who may one day follow a similar career path. 

Instilling the ability to adapt academic skills to the professional world in today’s students is a big part of what motivates Dr. Drea to bring the real world into his classroom. His classes have worked with sports teams like the Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals and the Indiana Pacers, local businesses like Bound to Stay Bound Books and global leaders such as Fastenal. They have also partnered with various groups at the College to answer institutional questions and propose research- based solutions.

While there are some challenges in bringing together company leaders at Skyline, working from their Minneapolis-based headquarters, with IC students in Jacksonville, Althoff says that technology has made the process work well. He believes the benefits of working with students from his alma mater far outweigh any difficulties.

“The groups bring diverse thought and viewpoints to our company,” Althoff said. “It was fun to see moments when students experienced ‘flashes of brilliance’ as they would discover new things and share them with us. It is my hope that they gained some valuable insights into how business is run as part of the project.”

Althoff recalls that many of the projects working with IC students have positively impacted the company, but he says his favorite took place during the fall of 2018. His team partnered with IC students to evaluate a new area of business his company was considering. Althoff was impressed with the level of research and analysis IC students brought to the project while not taking away from the company’s existing resources.

“The Illinois College team brought a fresh perspective and introduced new aspects of the decision we hadn’t considered,” he said. “It was very helpful as we just didn’t have the hands and feet to dig deeper. We are moving forward into the new area soon.”

Drea says these outcomes, where businesses are able to actually use the results of student projects to implement real change and growth, are part of what makes the projects so meaningful for students. Because of the benefits, Drea has made them a large part of his senior capstone course. He says many of the students consider these projects a highlight of their IC education.

“There’s a seriousness to the work — it’s not just about the grade. It’s a need to do the work well because others are depending on you,” he said. “One of the points of emphasis is that clients are actually depending on the results of these projects. They need to make decisions, and they are holding off making those decisions to see what the students come up with.”

Caption: Jon '80 and Jane Davidson Althoff '80 at IC Homecoming in 1990 with twin daughters, Allison (left) and Stephanie (right), now both 30. Jennifer, 25, was not yet born.