Alumni Professional Award Winner in Chemical Engineering: Steve Lutes
October 21, 2022
By Holly Hinson
This year’s award winner for Chemical Engineering, Steve Lutes, serves as Vice President, Global QA and Food Safety, for Domino’s, the world’s largest pizza company with over 19,200 retail stores in approximately 90 markets.
Prior to Domino’s, Lutes spent 17 years in the Spirits industry in various manufacturing and corporate QA roles, and 12 years with Sonoco, a global packaging company, that supplies packaging for popular brands such as Pringles, Pillsbury, Nestle and many other top CPG brands.
Lutes received a BS in Chemical Engineering from Speed School of Engineering and an MBA from Bellarmine University. Lutes credits Speed School for providing an outstanding technical foundation and giving him his first business opportunity through the Co-op program. “While at Speed School, I learned perseverance, to never give up and see things through to completion,” said Lutes. “I also learned the power of collaboration, setting lofty goals and perhaps most importantly, how to problem solve, which has served me well over the years.”
A horse racing enthusiast, Lutes enjoys spending time with family, and an occasional round of golf. He and his wife, Teresa, raised 5 kids, plus a number of foster children, and recently welcomed their first grandchild, Mia Teresa, to the family.
“Receiving this award leaves me with a warm sense of accomplishment that I will treasure for years to come. I can’t believe how fast the years pass by and am a proud alumni who wants to give back, especially to the younger generation.”
Lutes was unable to attend Speed School’s annual awards dinner at the Brown Hotel on Oct. 21, 2022. Dr. Emmanuel Collins, dean of Speed School, presented him with the award when Lutes was on campus to deliver a seminar to chemical engineering students on Oct. 14.