AMCC 25TH ANNIVERSARY DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI SERIES: CHRIS SHEARER, PENN ST. BEHREND

Chris Shearer made a big impact in his two years on the Penn State Behrend baseball team. As starting catcher his senior year, he led the Lions to their first-ever ECAC Championship and a program-record 35 wins. Shearer was named to the All-AMCC second team, while earning Verizon Academic All-American honors and the Team’s Golden Glove Award for a perfect-fielding percentage in 2002.

A transfer from the University of Pitt-Johnstown, he joined the team in 2000 and made the most of his career with the Lions. During his two seasons, Shearer posted a .382 batting average, 91 hits, 41 RBI, 40 runs and 15 doubles.

From his junior to senior year, he led the team to the largest turnaround in the win column. The Lions went from 18 wins in 2001 to 35 wins in 2002. The 17-win difference was the largest leap in the nation that year. Shearer also took a leap, doubling his hit total (60) and went from an impressive .337 batting average to an even better .411 average.

The 60 hits his senior season was second to Hall of Famer, Jake Boyle. Shearer finished the season ranked 23rd in Division III statistics for the "Toughest to Strikeout" with six on 146 at-bats. He became just the second player in program history to be named to the Verizon/CoSIDA National Academic All-America First Team. Shearer also tied for first for fewest errors and fielding percentage in a single season in 2002, while earning All-Conference honors.

In addition to winning a school-record 35 games, the Lions were crowned the ECAC Division III South Region Tournament for the first time in school history. Playing in 74 games in two seasons, Shearer proved to be a defensive prowess with committing just two errors to tie for first in career fielding percentage (.993), a record that still stands today.

After graduating with a B.S in marketing from Behrend in 2002, Chris attended Louisiana State University and earned his Master of Business Administration in 2004.  Upon graduation Chris moved to Minneapolis, MN and joined General Mills where he spent seven years in various roles at the company’s headquarters in Minneapolis and the company’s largest Pillsbury manufacturing facility in Murfreesboro Tennessee.   Chris joined Mars Petcare (a division of Mars, Inc) in 2009 in Nashville, TN leading the division’s business planning function for some of the largest brands in the company (Pedigree, Cesar, Whiskas, Temptations Cat Treats). In 2014, Mars purchased Iams Pet Food from Proctor & Gamble in a $2.9 billion acquisition and asked Chris to lead the financial integration efforts of this project.  At the conclusion of this project, Chris joined the Mars’ Global Merger and Acquisitions Teams where he worked on several acquisition and divestiture projects of the company including the purchase of the veterinary company Pet Partners (based in Saratoga, NY) in 2016.    Over the last four years, Chris has been the Vice President of Business Development (Mergers and Acquisitions) for BluePearl Veterinary Partners (a wholly owned subsidiary of Mars, Inc).  During this time, Chris has led the acquisition efforts of BluePearl which have seen the company double the number of BluePearl Veterinary Specialty and Emergency hospitals and solidify BluePearl as the largest provider of Veterinary Specialty and Emergency services in the world.

Chris and his wife Melissa have two boys Cole (12) and Chase (9) and reside in Tampa, FL.   Chris has continued to be involved in baseball since his graduation from Behrend, including coaching at University High School in Baton Rouge, LA, the University of St. Thomas (MN), Smyrna High School (TN), and Wayzata High School (MN).  While at University, Smyrna and Wayzata High Schools, Chris coached 17 players that went on to play collegiately, including 8 Division 1 players and 1 Major Leaguer.  Currently he helps coach his son’s youth baseball teams in Tampa.  

The Distinguished Alumni Series is part of the AMCC's 25th anniversary where the conference will be recognizing former AMCC student-athletes who have excelled in their area of study. The Distinguished Alumni Series will run every Thursday throughout the academic year.