From Cold Calls to the C-Sweet: Tony Jacobs’ Path to CEO of Bazooka Candy Brands

On summer weekends in Oxford, Maryland, a familiar ritual unfolds for Tony Jacobs (MBA ’96): a dock full of friends, a University of Virginia flag waving in the breeze and a group chat that, somehow, has stayed active for more than 30 years.

What began at the UVA Darden School of Business as late-night case prep and shared uncertainty has evolved into something far more enduring.

“It’s amazing how close we still are,” Jacobs said. “Those people became my core friends — my best friends — for life.”

That sense of connection, forged in one of the more intense learning environments in business education, didn’t just shape Jacobs’ personal life. It became the foundation for how he navigates uncertainty, builds teams and leads today as CEO of Bazooka Candy Brands.

Jacobs uses the foundation from Darden in how he leads today as CEO of Bazooka Candy Brands.

Jacobs didn’t set out to lead a candy company — or any company, for that matter. As a political science student at George Washington University, his sights were set on politics, inspired in part by family ties in Washington, D.C. His early career followed that path, landing him at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. But a promotion into a marketing role — one he admits he didn’t fully understand at the time — shifted everything.

“I didn’t even know what marketing was,” he said. “But I loved it, understanding consumers and shaping things to meet their needs.”

That discovery sparked a pivot. Jacobs realized that to break into consumer-packaged goods, he needed more than instinct. He needed fluency across the full spectrum of business. Darden’s general management approach and case method offered exactly that.

It was, in many ways, a trial by fire.

“You’re thrown into situations where you don’t know what you’re doing,” he recalled. “At first, that’s scary.”

Without a formal business background, Jacobs found himself grappling with unfamiliar concepts alongside classmates who often had years of experience. But the structure of the program — learning through discussion, debate and teamwork — forced him to adapt quickly.

Over time, what once felt like discomfort became confidence.

“You get used to it,” he said. “Another case, another challenge. You figure it out with your team, that’s exactly what the business world is like.”

Ironically, the lessons that stayed with him most weren’t from marketing courses. It was accounting, finance and operations — disciplines he hadn’t initially expected to value — that ultimately sharpened his skills.

“Understanding how all the pieces of a business fit together — from the P&L to supply chain and manufacturing — made me a better marketer,” Jacobs said. “And later, it made me a better CEO.”

Jacobs leads Bazooka Candy Brands by setting direction and empowering his team, not micromanaging.

That broader perspective would shape the decisions that defined his career. After landing his first post-Darden role at Lifesavers, then part of Nabisco, Jacobs entered the consumer goods industry he had once only imagined. From there, he built his career not by chasing the most visible opportunities, but by pursuing the ones that offered the greatest room to grow.

At Unilever, for example, many colleagues competed to work on flagship brands with large budgets and high visibility. Jacobs chose a different path, stepping into a brand management role for a lesser-known detergent.

“Nobody cared about it,” he said. “Which meant I could really make an impact.”

Freed from the constraints that often accompany high-profile brands, Jacobs was able to take risks, repositioning the product and experimenting in ways that might not have been possible elsewhere.

The move paid off, accelerating his development and visibility within the organization. It also reinforced a philosophy he would return to again and again: the fastest way to grow is to go where the opportunity to lead is the greatest, not necessarily where the spotlight shines brightest.

“You get to the big job faster by proving yourself in those roles,” he said.

Of course, not every risk worked out. Jacobs is candid about reality, and intentional about sharing it. In guest lectures at Darden, he walks students through both successes and failures, including product launches that never found their footing such as a new confectionery item called “Crunchkins.”

“I ask everybody, do you think that was a success or a failure? I always say, ‘well, have you seen a Crunchkin around recently?’” he laughed. “The answer is no. It was a total failure.”

What matters, he emphasizes, is how quickly teams recognize what isn’t working, extract the lessons and move forward without assigning blame. For Jacobs, failure isn’t a setback to be hidden; it’s a necessary part of building something meaningful.

The National Confectionery Sales Association presented Jacobs with the 2025 Kettle Award for his outstanding contribution to the confectionery industry.

“If you want to drive the business, if you want to beat the competition, you have to take risks,” he said. “And when you do that, you will fail sometimes.”

Today, that mindset carries through in how he leads Bazooka. His role, as he sees it, is not to have all the answers, but to set direction — grounded in consumer insight, cultural trends and organizational capability — and empower his team to execute.

“It’s about creating a vision, getting great people, and supporting them,” he said. “Not micromanaging.”

That philosophy becomes especially important when balancing the long-term health of the brand with the short-term pressures of the business. Jacobs relies on his team to manage day-to-day execution, stepping in only when a moment is truly critical, such as a major product launch with tight timelines and high stakes. In those instances, his presence isn’t about control, but about accelerating decisions and aligning the right people.

Underpinning it all is a leadership principle he distills into a simple acronym: DBAJ — Don’t Be a Jerk.

“It sounds basic,” he said. “But it matters.”

For Jacobs, leadership is as much about how you treat people as it is about strategy. Building trust and ensuring that every employee feels valued are not soft skills, they are essential to performance. It’s an approach shaped not only by experience, but also by the relationships that first took root in Charlottesville decades ago.

Outside of work, those same priorities remain front and center. His home in Maryland has become a gathering place for friends and family, a steady rotation of visitors reflecting the importance he places on staying connected. Time on the water, staying active and engaging with his community provide balance to the demands of leading a global business.

That balance, he notes, is only possible because of the team around him.

It also reflects how his definition of success has evolved. Early in his career, success meant excelling individually, proving himself in each role.

Today, it’s measured more broadly: in the strength of the organization, the culture he helps shape and the opportunities created for others.

“I want to build something where people feel supported and excited to be there,” he said. “That’s just as important as the business results.”

Looking back, Jacobs recognizes how much of that perspective traces back to his time at Darden, and how much he has grown since those early, uncertain days.

Jacobs (left) with Darden friends in 1996 one week before graduation.

“If I could go back, I’d tell myself to relax,” he said. “Speak up more. You belong there.”

It’s advice rooted in experience, but also in the enduring confidence that comes from knowing that the relationships — and the lessons — built during those two years don’t fade.

They show up years later. On docks in Maryland, in boardrooms and in the quiet certainty that whatever challenge comes next, you’ll figure it out. Together.