The Bakery Equipment Manufacturers and Allieds (BEMA) Conventions and Programs committee has developed one of the strongest programs ever for its 2013 annual meeting, which will be held June 20-25 at The Broadmoor, a resort in Colorado Springs, Colo. The program includes speakers from Aryzta NA, The Kroger Co., Walmart, Flowers Foods, Pepperidge Farm Inc. and Nestlé among others.
BEMA recently adopted a question-and-answer format for its baker panels that has been well-received. At its annual meeting, BEMA will present two hosted Q&A sessions, the baking executive panel and the international session. Members of the baking executive panel include Irwin Gordon, CEO, Landes Foods; John Likovich, CEO, Sterling Food; and Frank Cole, group manager, Nestlé. 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, Supply Chain, Aryzta NA, focusing on his company’s recent overseas expansion. Sophia Pai, Walmart’s director of quality, private brands, will describe the company’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 ROI for Training.” This presentation builds on BIF’s presentation on building a skilled workforce presented at the Winter Summit in March. BIF members include Robert Benton, Flowers Foods; Dave Hipenbecker, Kroger; Jack Lewis III, Lewis Bakeries Inc.; and Jeffrey Teasdale, Pepperidge Farm.
On Sunday morning, BEMA members and families are invited to hear Doug Nuenke, U.S. president of The Navigators, and his wife, Pam Nuenke, speak on family priorities. Rounding out the business and educational sessions at the annual meeting are committee meetings, which will follow up on work begun at the Winter Summit, and the general membership meeting and updates from sister associations the American Bakers Association (ABA), American Society of Baking (ASB) and the Grain Foods Foundation.
For more details, visit www.bema.org.
