Las Vegas —
The American Bakers Association (ABA) (booth number WL2) will host a conversation on leading companies in an environment of accelerating change at the NextGenBaker Leadership Forum on Tuesday, September 20, at 5:00 p.m. in the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention. . Center, Room 326. Since IBIE 2019, the bakery industry has been forced to change direction rapidly. This conversation with commercial bakery industry executives is designed to provide guidance and perspective to the industry’s up-and-coming leaders.
Attendees will hear from Cordia Harrington, CEO and Founder of Crown Bakery. Puratos North America President Paul Bacs. A. Ryals McMullian, President and CEO of Flowers Foods. And Aspire Bakeries CEO Tyson Yu said: They discuss how they approached attracting and retaining top talent, building and maintaining high-performing teams, and fostering a culture of innovation and community.
“NextGenBaker’s mission is to develop emerging leaders in the baking industry and equip them with the tools to succeed,” said Co-Chair of NextGenBaker and Vice President of Non-Profit Customer Development at Aspire Bakeries. said Lili Economakis. “The insights that this panel of industry leaders brings to the table will definitely help further the goals that NextGenBaker seeks to achieve.”
Topics on building teams, adapting to change, and nurturing culture reflect the major challenges commercial bakers face today. NextGenBaker provides a forum for hearing from industry leaders as the conversation around these challenges continues.
“We have had peer-to-peer virtual roundtables and face-to-face events discussing communicating through change, accelerating change, and the culture needed to attract and retain workers,” the initiative said. , ABA. “But it is very valuable for our emerging leaders to hear directly from these seasoned executives and understand how they are tackling these issues at their companies.”
The Leadership Forum panelists have all guided their companies through the COVID-19 pandemic, recent supply chain issues, and current labor challenges. As Economakis pointed out, the industry will look very different after IBIE 2019.
“I’m going to ask them about how they got into this industry, where they came from and where they are now,” she said. From labor to transportation, nothing is the same, so it will be interesting to hear how it has affected and how it has reoriented.”
Through panel discussions, ABA hopes to send participants home insights and lessons they can immediately put into practice at their companies. NextGenBaker not only aims to create a stronger leader in the baking industry, but also strives to create a stronger bakery company as a result.
Campbell Williams, co-chair of NextGenBaker and co-president of BC Williams Bakery Service and BCW Food Products, said: “They can have a direct impact on business performance. Hearing and learning the panelists’ perspectives on these important issues will be insightful.”
The NextGenBaker Leadership Forum at IBIE 2019 focused on leading a multigenerational workforce. With today’s work challenges, this year’s forum builds on that conversation by exploring the leading teams and cultures that are achieving success.
“Employee conversations are not new and they are not going away,” says Donnelly. “But the conversation is changing when it comes to topics that can be presented to up-and-coming executives: what is changing in terms of the tools they need to lead their teams, technology, How do you give them the ability to manage that new environment? I am confident it can be done.”
Leadership Forum attendees will also have the opportunity to network with bakery industry executives at a cocktail reception before the panel begins. Tickets can be purchased online at www.americanbakers.org/events or at the ABA booth in the West Hall, booth number WL2.