

WHAT IS NEXUS?
The primary pillars of NEXUS focus on connecting bakers and suppliers, educating attendees and creating opportunities for industry collaboration, including NextGenBaker Leadership Forum. This event offers something for every member of your team, including executive leadership, business development, R&D human resources, and operations.

WHAT MAKES NEXUS DIFFERENT?
NEXUS is all about collaboration and being the solution to many of your business and professional development needs. NEXUS has something for everyone from your team from executive leadership and business development to R&D, sales, human resources, and operations.
A top differentiator of NEXUS is the personal connections it will provide. NEXUS will engage bakers and suppliers in team-to-team meetings called Spark Sessions. Spark Sessions are a secure, private meeting space where members of your team can collaborate with decision-making team members from other companies. Where everyone is together, providing information, discussing opportunities, and sharing experiences about the latest products, innovations, and services that could advance your company. Spark Sessions are where the business of baking gets done.
NEXUS will also provide time and space for your team to meet together sharing the ideas from multiple contributors in the creation of new innovations. We’ve tried to think of everything, so the NEXUS schedule has time built in to nurture current relationships, review projects, and discuss the needs from both sides of the industry.

SPARK SESSIONS
Spark sessions provide opportunities for team-to-team meetings for bakers and suppliers. During pre-scheduled 45-minute Spark sessions throughout NEXUS, bakers will host suppliers in dedicated conference rooms – which come equipped with audio-visual equipment and refreshments nearby.
The organizers of NEXUS will develop a bespoke meeting program, based on pre-event confidential questionnaires completed by individual baker and supplier teams. NEXUS organizers will maintain the pre-event questionnaires in confidence; responses will not be shared with any other participants. The questionnaires will ask bakers to outline projects that need attention now, sometime in the future, or even the-sky’s-the-limit brainstorming. Each Spark session will pair one baker company with one supplier company to review challenges, discuss solutions and best practices, and identify opportunities for today and the future. All Spark session registrants can request specific meetings with others who signed up to ‘spark’, and NEXUS will also help facilitate some out-of-the-blue introductions.
We invite you to join us at “Business After Hours” an exclusive, invite only event on Wednesday evening for our Spark session company attendees only! You’ve been in meetings and made great connections, now take some time to network and celebrate the week together.

EDUCATION SESSIONS
Analysts and experts will provide insight and education on a variety of current, relevant topics for the baking industry through both formal and interactive presentations.
A primary goal of the educational sessions is for attendees to leave with tangible take-aways that they can immediately apply in the workplace.
Thought-leadership is important to advance the baking industry as a whole, and will be a keynote focus of the Education Sessions.
Choose from four focus areas of education to improve your skillset alongside attendees with similar interests. Sessions focused on workforce, sanitation, automation, and business trends will rotate throughout NEXUS for multiple opportunities to attend. Each class will be 45 minutes and led by professionals from both inside and outside of the baking industry. Speaker names and individual sessions will be announced soon.
INDUSTRY COLLABORATION
By definition, NEXUS is the central and most important point or place, and the possibilities for industry collaboration might just be why! BEMA and ABA are partnering to create an future-focused space for your company’s growth, both in people development and business development. The opportunities throughout the week for networking, collaboration and “sparks” are countless.
In addition to NEXUS programming and education sessions, ABA’s NextGenBaker Leadership Forum is on the agenda. By signing up for the NextGenBaker Leadership Forum when you register for NEXUS, you will get to experience curated programming for the industry’s rising leaders. Additionally, a keynote address presented by the NextGenBaker Leadership Forum, will be a highlight of the Wednesday networking luncheon which all NEXUS registered guests are invited to attend.
NEXUS is working closely with ATBI (Allied Trades of the Baking Industry) to provide yet another networking opportunity you won’t want to miss. Stay tuned for more details!
The corporate meeting program is designed for collaboration – internal company time to prepare for the week and/or reflect on the time at NEXUS. These meeting spaces are limited and will be available for use at an additional charge for 1-hour increments. You’re bringing your team, might as well plan to gather as a company right there on site to maximize your business strategy, share what you have learned and download on all great connections have you made.

WHY SHOULD I ATTEND?
NEXUS provides four days to foster important connections, to stay informed of industry happenings, and to advance the professional development of every member of your team. You and your team will benefit from the many opportunities to network and collaborate with others in the industry. NEXUS offers your team a format designed to strengthen existing relationships between bakers and suppliers and create new ones. NEXUS is the pinnacle of the future of the baking industry.

NEXUS DAILY AGENDAS

WHO SHOULD I BRING?
Bring your whole team –your leaders, your up-and-comers, your contributors, and definitely your team members that are new to the baking industry. NEXUS offers something for everyone.
Can’t leave the shop unattended? Consider bringing representatives from different areas of your company.
If you’re a baker, consider bringing members of your team from these areas:
PAULA, OPERATIONS MANAGER
You want solutions for your bakeries that work, and no one knows what actually works better than your operations team.
JACK, SALES DIRECTOR
Sales and business development will benefit both from meeting your suppliers and potential suppliers as well as the education and networking opportunities at NEXUS.
SARAH, HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER
Learning about industry topics and collaborating with other human resources leaders can help your HR department gain ideas and tactics to continue improving the workforce and workplace within the industry.
PETER, RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT ENGINEER
Discovering cutting-edge technologies and how they will affect the baking industry of tomorrow can help push your innovation and product development teams in new directions.
If you’re a supplier, consider sending these team members to NEXUS:
JAMES, INNOVATION LEAD
Get a peek at the future through education sessions and enjoy plenty of time to discuss the future of the baking industry with like-minded professionals.
JANET, OPERATIONS MANAGER
Industry experts will educate attendees about industry trends and provide insights into consumer behavior that may open up new areas to explore. Networking and collaboration opportunities can improve your R&D knowledge base.
DMITRI, SALES MANAGER
Connect your salespeople with bakers who have decision-making power in a format that provides the time and space for meaningful conversations that are at the heart of business development.
LAUREN, HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER
Engage with other HR professionals to understand the hiring picture for the industry while gaining key insights into relevant HR topics.

UNIQUE NETWORKING EVENTS

NEXUS FAQ

Have Questions? Contact Us!

