OVERLAND PARK, KAS. — Executives from Flowers Foods, Wal-Mart, Kroger, Pepperidge Farm and Nestle are among the speakers scheduled for the annual meeting of BEMA set for June 20-25 at the Broadmoor resort in Colorado Springs, Colo. The association said the event is shaping up to be one of its largest in terms of presenters.
As part of the annual meeting, BEMA said it will hold two question-and-answer sessions: a baking executive panel and an international session.
Members of the baking executive panel include: Irwin Gordon, chief executive officer of Landes Foods; John Likovich, c.e.o., Sterling Foods; and Frank Cole, group manager, Nestle. The panel will be moderated by Jay Hardy, region vice-president, AB Mauri Fleischmann’s.
The international session will take the form of a casual conversation with Dan Bailey, senior vice-president of supply chain at Aryzta, N.A., focusing on his company’s recent overseas expansion. Sophia Pai, director of quality, private brands, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., will describe Wal-Mart’s culture and operations principles and how its private label plays a role in the company.
The program also includes the Baking Industry Forum (BIF) presenting “The five P’s necessary to improve R.O.I. for training.” The presentation will build on the BIF’s presentation on building a skilled workforce presented at the Winter Summit in March. BIF members include Robert Benton of Flowers Foods, Jeff Dearduff of Aryzta, Dave Hipenbecker of Kroger, Jack Lewis III of Lewis Bakeries, Inc., and Jeffrey Teasdale of Pepperidge Farm, Inc.
On June 23, Doug Nuenke, U.S. president, The Navigators, and his wife, Pam Nuenke, will speak on family priorities. The annual meeting will be rounded out by committee meetings that will follow-up on work begun at BEMA’s Winter Summit in March, and the general membership meeting and updates from sister associations the American Bakers Association, the American Society of Baking and the Grain Foods Foundation.
