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Food Manufacturing & Supply Chain

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October 5th

3:00 pm

Registration

3:30 pm - 4:20 pm WELCOME DAY SPECIAL CONTENT

Panel: The Interconnected Ecosystem of Food Operations: How Are We Protecting Margins in a High-Cost Environment

Hakim R. Savoy

SVP, Chief Supply Chain Officer

C.H. Guenther & Son

Ana Estevez

Vice President, North America Procurement

Mondelez International

Session Details Arrow Icon
  • Creating a cross-functional dialogue between Procurement, Operations, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain to identify where misaligned incentives are currently creating hidden costs and operational friction
  • The “Total Cost” Mindset: Shifting from siloed department budgets to a “Total Cost of Delivery” model—ensuring that a win in one area (like lower ingredient costs) doesn’t result in a loss in another (like plant floor downtime or logistics delays)
  • Doing More with Less: Sharing real-world strategies for maintaining throughput and safety standards during budget rollbacks, focusing on “low-capital” process improvements and better asset utilization
  • Protecting the Plant Floor: Discussing how to shield manufacturing and operations from the volatility of the upstream ecosystem, ensuring that “Sourcing Strategy” stays grounded in the “Reality of Production
4:25 pm - 5:00 pm WELCOME DAY SPECIAL CONTENT

Agile, Resilient, Sustainable, AI-Enabled: Future-Proofing the Food Industry

Session Details Arrow Icon
  • Driving enterprise-wide digital transformation leveraging AI to enable predictive insights, faster decision-making, and competitive advantage
  • Building end-to-end supply chain resilience by anticipating risks, diversifying sourcing, and embedding agility into operations
  • Integrating sustainability as a core business strategy to reduce environmental impact while creating long-term value
  • Fostering organizational agility through modular manufacturing, cross-functional collaboration, and rapid innovation capabilities
  • Aligning strategic initiatives with business outcomes and market dynamics to future-proof growth and operational excellence
5:05 pm - 5:55 pm WELCOME DAY SPECIAL CONTENT

Panel: Empowering People, Enabling Technology: Shaping the Future of Food Manufacturing

Lisa Grenier

Chief Supply Chain Officer

Just Born

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  • Putting people at the center of operational transformation, equipping teams with the skills and tools needed to manage modern, tech-enabled supply chains
  • Adopting a human-plus-machine operating model to address labor gaps, streamline workflows, and manage growing operational complexity
  • Modernizing core manufacturing and supply chain systems to better navigate cost pressures, ingredient volatility, and evolving food safety expectations
  • Building a culture of agility and problem-solving so frontline and planning teams can respond quickly to disruptions and regulatory changes
  • Strengthening cross-functional coordination between manufacturing, supply chain, quality, engineering, and procurement to deliver a more resilient and responsive operation
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Drinks Reception

October 6th

7:30 am - 8:15 am

registration & breakfast

8:15 am - 8:20 am

Opening Remarks and Important Announcements

8:20 am - 8:30 am

Chair’s Welcome Address

8:30 am - 9:05 am KEYNOTE

Fireside Chat: The Resilient Supply Chain - Thriving Through Disruption in Food Manufacturing

Magdi Batato

Former Chief Supply Chain Officer

Nestle

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  • Responding to Constant Disruption: How leaders are building agility into supply chain strategy.
  • Nearshoring vs. Global Sourcing – Making the right trade-offs in uncertain times.
  • AI and the Connected Consumer: How technology and consumer expectations are reshaping operations.
  • Balancing bold action with long-term process discipline to build resilient organizations
9:10 am - 9:45 am KEYNOTE

From Distillery to Distribution: Boost Efficiency, Cut Costs, and Optimize Supply Networks

Marsha McIntosh

President, North American Supply

Diageo

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  • Scaling production while maintaining product quality
  • Aligning manufacturing capacity, inventory, and distribution
  • Improving working capital and supply chain productivity
  • How digital tools and analytics improve operational decisions
9:50 am - 10:25 am Workshops
Stream Four

Smarter Food Manufacturing with AI: Improve Yield, Quality, and Profitability

Milliken

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  • Leverage AI for predictive insights to optimize production planning, reduce downtime, and improve yield
  • Automate routine operational tasks such as quality checks, inventory monitoring, and scheduling to free up workforce capacity
  • Integrate real-time data across the supply chain to enable faster, more informed decision-making
  • Use AI-driven analytics to enhance quality and compliance while reducing waste and operational risk
  • Empower teams with actionable intelligence to support continuous improvement and drive operational transformation
Stream Five

Strategic Capacity Planning: Positioning Networks for Faster, Flexible Fulfillment

FOODCONNECTED

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  • Align capacity with demand forecasts to ensure the network can respond quickly to market changes
  • Optimize production and distribution networks for speed, flexibility, and cost efficiency
  • Use scenario modeling and analytics to anticipate bottlenecks and plan for disruptions
  • Invest in adaptable processes and technology that allow rapid scaling up or down of operations
  • Enable cross-functional collaboration between supply chain, manufacturing, and commercial teams to improve fulfillment performance
10:30 am - 12:10 pm Pre-Arranged One-To-One Meetings Arrow Icon

These mutually agreed-upon conversations are arranged and facilitated by Executive Platforms staff to ensure attendees have valuable discussions about their top-of-mind questions, challenges, and opportunities.

  • Meeting Slot 1 / Networking (10:35 a.m. – 10:55 a.m.)
  • Meeting Slot 2 / Networking (11:00 a.m. – 11:20 a.m.)
  • Meeting Slot 3 / Networking (11:25 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.)
  • Meeting Slot 4 / Networking (11:50 a.m. – 12:10 p.m.)
12:15 pm - 12:50 pm Case Studies
Stream Four – Manufacturing & Operations

Enterprise Modernization & Digital Transformation: Delivering Measurable ROI

Session Details Arrow Icon
  • Identifying the transformation gap and understanding where existing processes, teams, and systems need improvement
  • Making tough executive decisions on standardization, governance, capital allocation, and accountability
  • Driving transformation by integrating people, process, and technology with leadership capability and operational discipline
  • Achieving rapid, measurable results while maintaining operational stability
  • Sustaining long-term impact through governance, margin improvement, and capital efficiency
Stream Five – Supply Chain

Empowering Technical Independence: Driving Maintenance & Reliability Excellence

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  • Strengthening technical capability through targeted training and job enrichment
  • Building technical independence across maintenance and operations teams
  • Enhancing maintenance planning and embedding Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) principles
  • Driving reliability through advanced analytics and intelligent systems
  • Leveraging technology as a key enabler for consistent, high-quality production
12:50 pm - 1:50 pm THEMED LUNCH DISCUSSIONS

Explore this year’s themed lunch discussions led by industry leaders, where executives engage in focused conversations over a meal, discussing topics they’re passionate about alongside their peers.

Leadership Under Pressure: How Can Leaders Maintain Clarity and Drive Momentum?

Kiran Mann

CEO

Brar's

Shop Floor Excellence: Aligning Maintenance, Operations, and Quality to Reduce Downtime

Réal Bernier

Managing Director, Supply Chain and Operations

Cerelia Bakery

Cross-Functional Wins – When Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Operations & Quality Align

Rebecca Wallick

Sr. Director Sourcing and Policy

HP Hood

Empowered Teams, Safer Plants: Driving Workforce Engagement, Wellbeing and Union Collaboration

Bilal Khalid

Director, Supplier Quality Assurance

PepsiCo

From Data to Decision: Turning Supply Chain Intelligence into Competitive Advantage

1:55 pm - 2:30 pm Case Studies
Stream Four – Manufacturing & Operations

Transformative Engineering: Culture and Emotional Intelligence in CAPEX Project Management

Session Details Arrow Icon
  • Creating a strong, aligned culture across cross-functional teams to drive accountability and ownership in CAPEX projects
  • Using emotional intelligence to lead diverse teams, manage conflict, and maintain engagement under pressure
  • Building trust and collaboration across multiple stakeholders to enable faster and more effective decision-making
  • Navigating change, uncertainty, and shifting priorities while keeping teams focused and motivated
  • Balancing technical delivery with people leadership to ensure both project success and long-term capability building
Stream Five – Supply Chain

Driving Large-Scale Operational Transformation: Insights and Lessons Learned

Session Details Arrow Icon
  • Transformation requires alignment at all levels: success depends on executive sponsorship and cross-functional collaboration
  • Leverage real-time data and dashboards to make faster decisions and uncover hidden opportunities
  • Combine technology upgrades with process redesign and employee adoption to drive meaningful impact
  • Celebrate early wins to build confidence, engagement, and credibility across the organization
  • Continuously measure performance and adapt strategies to refine priorities and sustain transformation progress
2:35 pm - 3:10 pm Workshops
Stream Four

Integrated and Sustainable Waste Solutions for Byproducts, Organic Material, and Wastewater in Food Manufacturing

GE VERNOVA

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  • Developing a circular waste strategy that turns byproducts and organic materials into revenue-generating resources
  • Investing in advanced wastewater and resource recovery systems to enhance operational sustainability and resilience
  • Embedding sustainability metrics into production planning to align waste reduction with business and environmental goals
  • Leveraging cross-functional and industry partnerships to scale innovative waste solutions and ensure regulatory alignment
  • Using data-driven insights to prioritize initiatives that maximize environmental impact and operational efficiency
Stream Five

Reshaping Supplier Ecosystems: Diversification, Governance, and Performance Accountability

INFOR

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  • Diversifying the supplier base to mitigate risk, enhance resilience, and support business continuity
  • Implementing robust governance frameworks to ensure compliance, ethical sourcing, and alignment with corporate standards
  • Establishing clear performance metrics and accountability mechanisms to drive supplier excellence and reliability
  • Leveraging technology and data insights to monitor supplier performance, identify risks, and optimize collaboration
  • Fostering strategic partnerships with key suppliers to innovate, co-create value, and strengthen long-term supply chain competitiveness
3:15 pm - 4:25 pm Pre-Arranged One-To-One Meetings Arrow Icon

These mutually agreed-upon conversations are arranged and facilitated by Executive Platforms staff to ensure attendees have valuable discussions about their top-of-mind questions, challenges, and opportunities.

  • Meeting Slot 5 / Networking (3:15 p.m. – 3:35 p.m.)
  • Meeting Slot 6 / Networking (3:40 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.)
  • Meeting Slot 7 / Networking (4:05 p.m. – 4:25 p.m.)
4:30 pm - 5:05 pm Case Studies
Stream Four – Manufacturing & Operations

Manufacturing Reimagined: Roadmaps for Modernizing Legacy Systems and Boosting Performance

Session Details Arrow Icon
  • Defining the transformation vision: enable scalable growth, reduce operational risk, and position the enterprise for long-term competitiveness
  • Setting a strategic, phased roadmap balancing short-term wins with long-term platform modernization
  • Leveraging digital technologies to drive enterprise-wide visibility and agility, supporting faster, informed executive decision-making
  • Ensuring executive alignment and sponsorship to secure resources, prioritize initiatives, and maintain accountability
  • Recognizing and manage transformation barriers—including cultural resistance, legacy technical constraints, and organizational complexity
  • Embedding organizational alignment so people, processes, and technology evolve together to sustain strategic outcomes
Stream Five – Supply Chain

Building a Continuous and Proactive Supply Network Strategy Framework

Session Details Arrow Icon
  • How today’s reactive decision-making in supply networks leads to fragmented design choices, inefficiencies, and long-term structural constraints
  • Where value is lost when organizations respond to growth and disruption without taking a step back to evaluate end-to-end network impact
  • Why most companies struggle to move beyond tactical, time-pressured decisions and how this limits strategic optionality
  • How leading organizations are shifting toward continuous, forward-looking evaluation of supply network scenarios before decisions are forced
  • Practical ways to enable more preemptive, coordinated, and strategic decision-making in supply network planning and expansion decisions
5:10 pm - 5:45 pm KEYNOTE

Strategic Risk Mapping: Identifying Critical Vulnerabilities in Global Supply Chains

Venkatesan Santhirahasan

Global SVP, Digital Platforms, Software & Product Engineering

PepsiCo

Session Details Arrow Icon
  • Provide enterprise-wide visibility of supply chain risks to inform strategic decision-making and investment priorities
  • Identify critical dependencies and single points of failure that could disrupt operations or impact customer commitments
  • Integrate geopolitical, regulatory, and environmental risk factors into long-term supply chain planning
  • Use scenario modeling and advanced analytics to anticipate disruptions and proactively mitigate business impact
  • Align risk management strategies with corporate objectives to enhance resilience, agility, and competitive advantage
5:45 pm - 5:50 pm

Chair’s Closing Remarks

5:50 pm

Drinks Reception

October 7th

8:00 am - 8:45 am

registration & breakfast

8:10 am - 8:45 am breakfast workshops
Stream Two

The COO Playbook: Leading High-Performance Operations with Resilience and Agility

Executive to be Announced

KERR CONSULTING

Session Details Arrow Icon
  • Building resilient operations by anticipating disruptions and embedding flexibility into processes and supply chains
  • Aligning cross-functional teams around clear priorities to drive consistent execution and operational excellence
  • Leveraging data-driven insights to make proactive decisions, optimize performance, and accelerate continuous improvement
  • Fostering a culture of agility, empowering teams to adapt quickly while maintaining safety, quality, and efficiency
  • Integrating long-term strategic planning with day-to-day operational management to balance growth, risk, and performance
8:50 am - 9:00 am

Chair’s Opening Remarks

9:00 am - 9:35 am KEYNOTE

Using Integrated Supply Chain Intelligence to Improve Agility, Forecasting, and Execution

Craig Weiss

SVP & Chief Product Supply Officer

Conagra Brands

Session Details Arrow Icon
  • Integrate end-to-end supply chain data to gain real-time visibility and actionable insights across demand, supply, and inventory
  • Enhance forecasting accuracy by leveraging advanced analytics, AI, and scenario modeling to anticipate market shifts and demand variability
  • Improve operational agility by identifying risks, bottlenecks, and opportunities for rapid course correction
  • Align execution with strategic priorities through cross-functional collaboration and data-driven decision-making
  • Monitor KPIs and supply chain performance continuously to drive efficiency, resilience, and customer satisfaction
9:40 am - 10:15 am Case Studies
Stream Four – Manufacturing & Operations

Transforming Manufacturing Excellence into a Workforce Retention Strategy

Session Details Arrow Icon
  • How manufacturing excellence programs are being used as structured systems to build shopfloor capability and improve daily operational performance
  • Developing practical, on-the-job skills such as problem-solving, equipment understanding, and process ownership to increase employee effectiveness
  • Embedding continuous learning directly into manufacturing operations so employees can grow while working on the line
  • Creating a culture where shopfloor employees are actively involved in identifying issues and driving improvements, not just executing tasks
  • Linking capability development with clear career progression pathways to improve engagement, retention, and long-term workforce stability
Stream Five – Supply Chain

Evolving into a Unified, Standardized Global Operating Model

Session Details Arrow Icon
  • Operating across multiple countries with differing processes, systems, and tool variations creating complexity and inconsistency
  • Driving a shift toward a single global operating model with standardized processes, technology, and governance
  • Aligning and scaling best practices to establish one consistent way of working across the network
  • Reducing operational complexity and cost while improving customer experience and execution speed
  • Managing the transformation journey, building the future state while continuing to deliver day-to-day operations
  • Exploring the role of technology and AI in enabling standardization, integration, and smarter decision-making
10:20 am - 11:15 am Pre-Arranged One-To-One Meetings Arrow Icon

These mutually agreed-upon conversations are arranged and facilitated by Executive Platforms staff to ensure attendees have valuable discussions about their top-of-mind questions, challenges, and opportunities.

  • Meeting Slot 8 / Networking (10:25 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.)
  • Meeting Slot 9 / Networking (10:50 a.m. – 11:10 a.m.)
11:20 am - 11:55 am Workshops
Stream Four

Implementing Modular Manufacturing in Food Plants: From Concept to Deployment

Session Details Arrow Icon
  • Designing flexible, scalable modules that can be quickly deployed, reconfigured, or expanded to meet changing demand
  • Standardizing processes, equipment, and interfaces to simplify integration across multiple plant areas
  • Leveraging data and digital tools to monitor module performance, optimize throughput, and ensure quality
  • Planning phased deployment with cross-functional alignment to minimize disruption and ensure smooth adoption
  • Incorporating sustainability and efficiency considerations in module design to reduce energy, water, and waste footprint
Stream Five

Harnessing AI to Revolutionize and Future-Proof Global Planning, Forecasting, and Workforce Capability

Session Details Arrow Icon
  • Integrating AI to drive forecasting accuracy, scenario analytics, and proactive service planning, to anticipate disruptions and improve customer support
  • Treating the initiative as a business process project, engaging end users early, and aligning regional regulatory needs within a global framework
  • Linking unconstrained demand, customer volatility, and supply chain performance across multiple ERP systems to improve agility
  • Managing large-scale change without fatigue by applying ADKAR to guide awareness, desire, knowledge, and ability while maintaining continuity
  • Future-proofing the workforce for a Human + AI partnership by building statistical literacy, developing super users, and preparing teams to work effectively with AI driven tools
12:00 pm - 12:35 pm PANEL

Panel: Orchestrating Multi-Year Change: Executive Tactics That Deliver Measurable Results

Stephanie O’Brien

Vice President of Business Supply Chain and Planning

Nestle USA

Session Details Arrow Icon
  • Driving alignment across leadership to unify vision, priorities, and decision-making over multi-year initiatives
  • Sequencing and pacing transformation efforts to balance short-term performance with long-term strategic goals
  • Embedding data-driven oversight and agile feedback loops to course-correct quickly and maintain momentum
  • Capturing and institutionalizing lessons learned to scale successes and avoid repeating mistakes
  • Building governance structures that engage stakeholders, manage resistance, and ensure consistent execution
  • Leveraging technology and process standardization to accelerate transformation and increase efficiency
  • Aligning transformation initiatives with business outcomes and KPIs while fostering accountability and change adoption across the organization
  • Encouraging innovation and experimentation while maintaining operational discipline
12:45 pm - 1:45 pm THEMED LUNCH DISCUSSIONS

Explore this year’s themed lunch discussions led by industry leaders, where executives engage in focused conversations over a meal, discussing topics they’re passionate about alongside their peers.

Applying Lean & Agile on the Floor: Real Steps to Improve Quality, Cost, and Speed

Adapting Food Production Strategies in Response to Evolving Global Tariffs and Trade Policy Changes

Forecasting the Future: Demand Planning in Food Manufacturing

Cloud-Enabled Supply Chains: Breaking Silos, Boosting Efficiency

1:50 pm - 3:20 pm Practitioner-Led Workshops
STREAM 1

From Outbreak to Verdict: A Live Mock Trial on Foodborne Illness Liability

Session Details Arrow Icon
  • Step inside a courtroom simulation where a foodborne illness outbreak becomes a civil liability case – and you play an active role in how it unfolds
  • Hear food industry defense lawyers argue why a manufacturer should not be found negligent, and gain insight into the legal strategies used to protect, or challenge, your programs
  • See how real decisions made in food safety, quality, manufacturing, and supply chain hold up under cross-examination
  • Learn what documentation, protocols, and controls are most critical when a case goes to court
  • Deliberate as a juror alongside fellow senior food industry leaders and cast your vote

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