Catholic Central seniors had the opportunity to hear from Wesley Pytlowany 2014 on Friday, September 18, 2026, as he returned to campus to share lessons from his college experience and career in business.

Pytlowany spoke to students in Mrs. Amanda Loffler’s Accounting and Management Information Systems (MIS) classes, a dual-enrollment course taught in partnership with Northwood University. He also visited campus to take part in a podcast, meet with the Business Club, and attend an alumni gathering before Friday night’s football game.

Now Vice President of Strategy, Corporate Development & Transformation for Michelin North America, Pytlowany leads the company’s long-term regional strategy, corporate development and M&A activities, strategic partnerships, investment decisions and major transformation initiatives across the United States and Canada.

His career has taken him from strategy consulting to The Coca-Cola Company and, most recently, Michelin. Before joining Michelin in November 2025, Pytlowany served as Director of Strategy at Coca-Cola, where he led a team focused on growth, portfolio, and investment decisions across the company’s U.S. business. He began his career at strategy consulting firm Treacy & Company, advising executives and boards across a range of industries.

Pytlowany earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, where he studied Mandarin Chinese and business, before earning his MBA from Michigan State University. He spent nearly seven years living and working in Chicago before moving to Greenville, South Carolina, for his current role with Michelin.

For the seniors in Loffler’s classes, however, the conversation was less about job titles and more about how to approach the years ahead.

Pytlowany spoke about what strategy and business leadership look like in practice, as well as the importance of building credibility, learning to lead people, making difficult decisions, and being willing to move beyond what is comfortable.

He encouraged students to recognize that their careers will not necessarily follow a straight line and that the next four to six years will provide plenty of opportunities to learn, adjust, and take on new challenges.

Pytlowany’s own Catholic Central experience included playing piano at school Masses, participating in the band and serving on band council as a senior. He said those experiences gave him early opportunities to contribute to a community and become comfortable offering something of himself in front of others.

Returning to Catholic Central also gave Pytlowany an opportunity to remind the seniors that the perceptions people have of them today do not define who they will become.

His message was particularly fitting for students on the verge of leaving Catholic Central: approach the next chapter with curiosity, take opportunities to grow, and do not put limits on what you might be capable of becoming.