Speakers

SEPTEMBER 25-28, 2023 | DALLAS, TEXAS

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

JJ Birden

Seize Your Opportunities

Success is not going to be given to you–you have to go get it!

Businesses have always aimed to get more out of their people, but it is becoming increasingly hard to provide resources, instruction, and encouragement that actually motivate employees to show up and give their best. To truly succeed in today’s extremely competitive business world, organizations need employees who are genuinely motivated to give their best, improve each day, and do whatever it takes to win. Unfortunately, not everyone has this capacity; JJ Birden does, and he can help anyone develop it, too.

Seize Your Opportunities focuses on the individual and what one must do for success as part of a larger group—no matter the odds, and no matter how much hard work it requires.

As a former NFL wide receiver, JJ knows what it takes to reach the highest level of performance and have the capacity to maintain it. Many of the success principles he learned as a professional athlete have helped him thrive in the business world as an entrepreneur and professional speaker. In this presentation, JJ shares his winning principles and strategies and teaches audiences how to maximize and seize the opportunities in their lives.

Success is not going to be given to you. You have to achieve success; and once you have it, you can’t stay at that same level. You have to continue to work to fight mediocrity and complacency. JJ will show you how.

Key Takeaways from Seize Your Opportunity:

  • Finding, defining, and defending your Why
  • How discipline and self-motivation lead to success
  • Achieving your breakthrough through adversity
  • Developing championship focus and resolve
  • How complacency can destroy momentum
  • Avoiding complacency by continuous self-improvement
  • The Joe Montana Effect – what JJ learned playing with one of the greatest athletes of all time
NEXUS

EDUCATION SPEAKERS

Charlotte Atchley

Charlotte Atchley

Editor, Baking & Snack

Charlotte Atchley is the editor of Baking & Snack. She has spent 12 years covering all aspects of the baking industry including formulating, operations, bakery expansions and trends. Ms. Atchley also launched and hosts the magazine’s first podcast, “Since Sliced Bread,” which features in-depth conversations with leaders in the industry. Ms. Atchley has a bachelor’s degree in communication from Southwest Baptist University as well as a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.

Justus Larson

Justus Larson

Senior Director of Operations, United States Bakeries

Justus Larson is the Senior Director of Operations overseeing manufacturing and distribution for United States Bakeries. US Bakeries also known as Franz Bakery began in 1906 and has grown to include multiple Bakeries throughout the Pacific and Intermountain regions. He began his career with Franz in 2001 and has spent most of his time there working in the engineering department at a local and corporate level until assuming his current role in 2022. He has also served on BEMA’s Bakery Industry Forum since 2020. He currently lives outside of Portland, OR with his wife, son and two daughters.

Karen Reed

Karen Reed

Global Director of Marketing and Communications, Kwik Lok

As Kwik Lok’s Global Marketing and Communications Director, Karen Reed supports the oversite of Kwik Lok’s global brand and has also played a key role in the development of Kwik Lok’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program. Karen has been with Kwik Lok for more than five years. During her tenure she has been instrumental in instituting a sustainability planning, governance, and reporting system to hold Kwik Lok accountable for making progress on Kwik Lok’s CSR strategies.

Karl Thorson

Karl Thorson

Global Food Safety and Sanitation Manager; General Mills

Karl received his Bachelors of Science degree in Food Science from the University of Minnesota. His experience includes 27 years with Pillsbury/General Mills in both plant and corporate roles in Quality, Operations, and Sanitation. He has worked with multiple product platforms including cereal, pizza, yogurt, dough products, snacks, pet and other dry, refrigerated and frozen products. His areas of focus include allergen and pathogen control, sanitary design, and sanitation training/education. He chaired the GMA (Grocery Manufacturers Association) Sanitation Working Group for 3 years and currently hosts an annual sanitary design workshop. He also works with BEMA (Bakery Equipment Manufacturers and Allieds), Alliance for Advanced Sanitation, and PMMI (The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies) OpX Leadership Network to help advance food safety through sanitation and sanitary design for the food industry. He has been recognized as the Baking & Snack’s 2016 Operations Executive of the Year and 2016 Sanitarian of the Year by IAFP (International Association of Food Protection).

Kris McCarty

Kris McCarty

Vice President of Sales, Americas; RealWear

Kris bring with her a MS in Strategy and Leadership from Michigan State University, as well as a BS in Electrical and Electronics Engineering. Prior to joining RealWear in 2022, Kris has experienced an impressive career in the energy sector with GE and Eaton.

Marjorie Hellmer

Marjorie Hellmer

President; Cypress Research

Marjorie Hellmer, President & co-founder of Cypress Research, is a research fanatic who uses her great passion to help organizations and industries grow by leveraging data-driven insights. Now in its 23rd year, Cypress Research translates insights into actionable strategies for food manufacturers and the supply chain organizations that support them, conducting quantitative and qualitative research with a focus on trends that drive industries, and benchmarking brand, customer and employee experiences with businesses. She is a skilled and creative research practitioner with expertise in a wide variety of methodologies including survey design and data analysis, focus group facilitation and executive depth-interviewing. Ms. Hellmer holds a Master’s degree in psychology with a specialization in applied research methodology from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. In her free time, Marjorie enjoys scuba diving and is an avid outdoor runner.

Mike LaValle

Mike LaValle

Corporate Account Manager; Intralox

Mike is an alumnus of Louisiana State University. He began his career with Bank One/Chase Bank as a Corporate Account Manager for Business Banking Services. He moved to the baking industry in 2006 with Intralox in New Orleans and currently serves as a Corporate Account Manger in the bakery and snack segment. In 2016, Mike joined the Baking Industry Forum and in June 2022, he was elected to the BEMA Board of Directors. Mike has also been a member of ASB since 2010.

Rasma Zvaners

Vice President of Regulatory and Technical Services, ABA

Rasma is the liaison for ABA’s Food Technical Regulatory Affairs Professionals and Energy and Environmental Professionals Groups. Rasma assists Members with the implementation of food safety regulations and ingredient-specific issues. She also works closely with other ABA staff on nutrition policy issues. Rasma manages ABA’s Energy Star initiative and sustainability work.  Additionally, Rasma is active in several industry groups, including the Biogenic CO2 Coalition, Farm to Market, Grain Chain, and the Listeria Coalition.