No one works harder than Kevin Stevens, customer and business lead and vice president of engineering, Klosterman Baking Co., Cincinnati. During his 40-year career in the industry, he has worked on every aspect of bakery production, making him a true expert in the field. His dedication to both mentorship and the industry has led him to build a network so strong that if he doesn’t have the answer, he likely knows someone who does. It’s Stevens’ expertise, experience, customer- and people-first leadership style, and his engagement in the wider baking industry that has led Baking & Snack to name him 2023’s Operations Executive of the Year. 

“He is a true subject matter expert in the industry, and it is huge shoes to fill for anyone coming in because he has 40 years of experience,” said Dale Easdon, chief executive officer of Klosterman Baking Co. “He still has the same passion today as he had on his first day. He’s dedicated his life to the baking industry.”

Stevens’ commitment to the baking industry comes from two of his loves: people and hard work. 

“It also doesn’t hurt that I love bread,” he said, laughing. “But I have definitely stayed around for the people. I have built so many strong partnerships and relationships throughout the industry, and I truly have a passion for the people: our suppliers, associates and customers.” 

Anyone who works in the baking industry knows the job requires long hours and is physically and mentally difficult work. Stevens, however, doesn’t shy away from a challenge. 

“I want to always strive to be better than yesterday: personally, professionally and as a company,” he said. “I want to help others; I like to see our company, the industry, customers and individuals succeed, and I enjoy helping those around me.” 

As Stevens retires at the end of this year, his legacy is marked by care for his customers, employees and continuous improvement, whether in bakery operations or his own personal and professional development. 

Like so many in the baking industry, Stevens got his start by way of family. When his brother Mike returned to the United States from his service in the Vietnam War, he went to work at Portland, Ore.-based Franz Bakeries (also known as United States Bakery). Kevin Stevens followed him upon graduating high school, and in 1976, he was in sanitation at the company’s bakery in Gresham, Ore. Despite being employed by the same baking company, Kevin and Mike Stevens never actually worked in the same facility, but Mike Stevens already had 10 years of experience in baking that he passed onto his younger brother.

“My brother and my father are two of the hardest working guys I knew,” Stevens said. “It was a dedication to the industry and hard work. I watched him move from working in shipping to running the shipping department to running a plant for United States Bakery.” 

Another mentor, Wally Wallace, taught Stevens the ins and outs of equipment and engineering. Wallace and Stevens worked together at Franz in those first years of Stevens’ career in sanitation. 

“Wally was a true mechanic,” Stevens said. “He was the real deal. He could fix almost anything. He taught me a lot about engineering, baking equipment, and he was an excellent leader to emulate. I worked many years with him and am still grateful for his influence.”

When Stevens left Franz, he moved into a baker position at Fred Meyers, a hypermarket company based in Portland, Ore., that owned its own commercial bakeries. Stevens built his career at Fred Meyers, moving from baker to supervisor, production manager and finally plant manager. While at Fred Meyers, Stevens reunited with Wallace, this time in a position of leadership as plant manager and Wallace running the engineering department. 

It was at Fred Meyers where Stevens gained the bulk of his bakery education, working in so many different aspects of the business. It was here that his hands-on approach served him well. 

“I’ve done all the jobs,” he said. “I was hands-on in shipping and production, I learned about formulation, and that grew to include all machining and the process of bakery.”

After 20 years with Fred Meyers, Stevens took a break from the bakery but not the industry, spending five years as the West Coast sales manager for Rademaker USA. But a career opportunity in Cincinnati for his wife led Stevens to reach out to Chip Klosterman, president of Klosterman Baking Co. at the time, about a possible job. On Jan. 4, 2010, Stevens was back in the bakery with Klosterman Baking Co. 

Stevens brought a wealth of experience running bakery operations, but at Klosterman, he began to learn new skills working more closely with customers. In his new role, Stevens worked closely with members of the Klosterman family at the top executive level. He described Ken Klosterman, who had retired as CEO of Klosterman when Stevens joined, as a great man, and former Klosterman President Ross Anderson as a friend and mentor whose feedback he values still. 

“But I learned a lot from Chip Klosterman [Ken Klosterman’s son] in the day-to-day,” Stevens said. “I didn’t work with a lot of customers prior to coming to Klosterman, and I learned a lot about the quick service restaurant business that I wasn’t deeply involved with prior to coming to Klosterman.” 

The Klosterman family exercised a customer-focused way of doing business that was aligned with Stevens’ own philosophies. Much of Klosterman Baking’s decision-making comes down to customer-first. 

“Customer-first really made a difference for us,” he said. “We still to this day put a high focus on customer-first and have close relationships with all of our customers.”

This article is an excerpt from the December 2023 issue of Baking & Snack. To read the entire feature on Operations Executive of the Year, click here.