WASHINGTON — The American Bakers Association (ABA) NextGen Baker Leadership Forum sold out with its largest crowd ever at 78 attendees, exemplifying the baking industry’s priority in investing in the next generation of leadership.

With today’s workforce crunch, Lili Economakis, co-chair of NextGen Baker and division vice president, customer development non-commercial at Aspire Bakeries, Los Angeles, has sensed the demand for leadership programming escalate during her tenure as co-chair. This year’s forum was co-located with the Nexus of Baking and held Sept. 30-Oct. 1. 

“Year over year over the past three years, we’ve started to sell out,” she said. “This year, it sold out in an unprecedented amount of time. There’s obviously a need for it, and companies are willing to invest in it and in their people. There’s value.” 

As Economakis took up the role of co-chair, growing NextGen Baker was her main goal, one she feels she has accomplished as she begins her final year in the position. Much of that growth, she and fellow co-chair Bradley Cain, president of Cain Food Industries, attribute to the programming offered through NextGen Baker as well as the quality networking provided.

By pairing NextGen Baker events with board meetings for both the ABA and the Allied Trades of the Baking Industry (ATBI), attendees to NextGen Baker have the opportunity to meet executives in the industry.

“People are really starting to understand the value it brings and want to be more involved,” Cain said. “More companies are sending more people, sometimes multiple people from one company.”

As companies struggle to find and retain employees, NextGen Baker can also provide a way for companies to show up-and-coming leaders that they are interested in their professional and personal development.

“You want to be able to invest in your people so they stay in the industry or in the company, so NextGen Baker is an investment for the company in the long term for employee retention,” Economakis said. “It’s good for the company; it’s good for the person.”

A common misconception Economakis and Cain would like to dispel is that you don’t have to be a young person to participate in NextGen Baker.

“You can be young in your career and attend NextGen Baker,” Economakis explained. “There isn’t a hard age limit on participation.”