IBIE 2022 09 19 - 10

IBIE MONDAY
NEXTGENBAKER OFFERS INSIGHTS FROM
SENIOR LEADERS IN BAKING INDUSTRY
2022 Leadership Forum promises insights into
how leaders can build teams through change.
THE AMERICAN BAKERS Association
(ABA) (Booth No. WL2) will host a
conversation on leading companies
in an environment of accelerated
change during its NextGenBaker
Leadership Forum on Tuesday, Sept.
20, at 5 p.m. in the West Hall of the
Las Vegas Convention Center, Room
326. The baking industry was forced
to pivot quickly since IBIE 2019, and
this conversation with executives
in the commercial baking industry
aims to provide guidance and perspective
to up-and-coming leaders
in the industry.
Attendees will hear
from Cordia Harrington,
chief executive officer and
founder, Crown Bakeries;
Paul Bakus, president, North
America, Puratos; A. Ryals
McMullian, president and
CEO, Flowers Foods; and
Tyson Yu, CEO, Aspire
Bakeries. They will discuss
how they have approached
attracting and retaining top
talent, building and maintaining
high-performance
teams, and encouraging a
culture of innovation and
community.
" The mission of NextGenBaker
is to develop
the rising leaders in the
baking industry and give
them the tools to succeed, "
said Lili Economakis, cochair
of NextGenBaker and
division vice
customer
president,
development
non-commercial, Aspire
Bakeries. " The insights this
panel of industry leaders will
bring to the table will definitely
help foster the goals
of what NextGenBaker is
trying to achieve. "
The topics around
building teams, adapting to
change and fostering culture reflect
the major challenges commercial
bakers face today. NextGenBaker
offers a forum to hear from leaders
10 | September 19, 2022
in the industry as the conversations
around these challenges continue.
" We've had these discussions in
peer-to-peer virtual roundtables and
in-person events about communicating
through change, the acceleration
of change and the culture required
to attract and retain workers, " said
Christina Donnelly, director, industry
relations and strategic initiatives,
ABA. " But it is so valuable for our
rising leaders to hear directly from
these accomplished executives and
understand how they're addressing
these issues in their own
companies. "
The panelists for the
Leadership Forum have
all guided their companies
through the COVID-19 pandemic,
recent supply chain
issues and the current
labor challenges. As Ms.
Economakis pointed out,
the industry looks completely
differently since IBIE
2019.
" We'll hear about how
they came into the industry,
where they came from
and where they are today, "
she said. " It's a different environment
since when they
started in the industry.
Nothing is the same from
supply chain to labor to
transportation, so it will be
interesting to hear how that
affects them and the way
they've pivoted. "
Through the panel
discussion, ABA hopes to
send attendees home with
insights and lessons they can
put into practice at their
companies immediately.
Not only does NextGenBaker
aim to create stronger
leaders in the baking
industry, but it also strives to
create stronger baking companies
as a result.
" All of the topics we'll be discussing
are central to the overall
health of a company and team performance, "
said Campbell Williams,
co-chair of NextGenBaker and copresident,
B.C. Williams Bakery Service
and BCW Food Products. " They
can directly impact business performance.
It will be insightful to hear
and learn from the panelists' perspectives
on these critical issues. "
At IBIE 2019, the NextGenBaker
Leadership Forum focused on leading
multi-generational workforces.
With today's labor challenges, this
year's forum will build on that conversation
by exploring leading successful
teams and culture.
" The workforce conversation
isn't new, and it's not going away, "
Ms. Donnelly said. " But the conversation
is shifting in terms of the
topics we can bring forth for rising
executives: the tools they need to
lead their teams, what's changing in
terms of technology and the company
culture expectations of the workforce.
How do we equip them with
the ability to manage that new environment?
I'm confident this conversation
will provide them with new
insights on these topics that they can
take back to their companies. "
Attendees of the Leadership
Forum will also have the opportunity
to network with fellow baking
industry executives at a cocktail
reception before the panel begins.
Tickets may be purchased online at
www.americanbakers.org/events or
at the ABA booth in the West Hall,
Booth No. WL2. *
- Charlotte Atchley, Baking & Snack
The NextGenBaker Leadership Forum will feature insights from a panel of baking industry executives: (From
top) Paul Bakus, Puratos; Cordia Harrington, Crown Bakeries; A. Ryals McMullian, Flowers Foods; and
Tyson Yu, Aspire Bakeries. The panel will be moderated by NextGenBaker Co-chairs Lili Economakis, Aspire
Bakeries, and Campbell Williams, B.C. Williams Bakery Service.
ABA Board Officers
PRESIDENT & CEO
Robb MacKie
American Bakers Association
BOARD CHAIR
Cordia Harrington
CEO
Crown Bakeries
FIRST VICE CHAIR
William Quigg
President
Richmond Baking
SECOND VICE CHAIR
Joe Turano
President
Turano Baking Co.
TREASURER
Brian LeComte
President & CEO
Gold Medal Bakery
IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR
Bradley K. Alexander
COO
Flowers Foods
CORPORATE SECRETARY
Lee Sanders, CAE
Senior Vice President, Government Relations &
Public Affairs
American Bakers Association
BEMA Executive Committee
PRESIDENT & CEO
Kerwin Brown, CAE
Bakery Equipment Manufactures & Allieds (BEMA)
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
Jim Warren
Vice President, Exact Mixing Division
Reading Bakery Systems
FIRST VICE CHAIRMAN
Patrice Painchaud
Vice President of Sales & Marketing
Rexfab, Inc.
SECOND VICE CHAIRMAN
Clay Miller
President
Burford Corp
THIRD VICE CHAIRMAN
Jay Hardy
National Sales Director
J&K Ingredients
IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMAN
Tim Cook
CEO
Linxis Group
RBA Officers
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Bernadette Shanahan-Haas
Retail Bakers of America
PRESIDENT
Scott Calvert
The Cake Plate
VICE PRESIDENT
Brian Pansari
La Bonbonniere
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
Patti Stobaugh
PattiCakes Bakery
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IBIE 2022 09 19

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