Apr 4, 2017
APRIL 4, 2017 – ARLINGTON, VA – Food Marketing Institute (FMI) today announces its keynote lineup for the 2017 Future Leaders eXperience, the organization’s premier professional development conference. FMI aims to inspire the next generation of industry leaders with an epically different approach to its traditional event.
The keynotes will serve as preludes to more in-depth learning environments related to optimizing peak performance; developing productivity; encouraging team building; providing inventive ways to motivate staff; and highlighting strategic storytelling skills. The speaker lineup includes a best-selling author and Pulitzer-prize winning journalist, an Emmy-winning television personality and author, and a national champion storyteller. They will set the tone for a reinvented event format that breaks down traditional learning environments and encourages cross-industry, cross-company and cross-functional collaboration.
“To prepare our future leaders for the rapidly evolving food retail environment, among the goals for the 2017 program was to create a safe environment that invites participants to get out of their comfort zones and stretch their leadership aptitude,” Leslie G. Sarasin, FMI president and CEO, said. “Businesses are required to be more authentic than ever before, and in an industry like ours, where customer service is the differentiator, food industry executives must be prepared and confident to engage with business partners and customers in constructive new ways.”
Sarasin continued, “Our goal is to build strong bonds among participants, bonds that may very well last a lifetime. Our Future Leaders eXperience’s new dynamic design presents an opportunity for participants to network with others across different parts of the industry and even those from their own company. In an industry that employs 3.4 million people, just think of the possibilities for new connections and experiences.”
Carol Abel, vice president of education and program development for FMI, echoed the enthusiasm for the new format, saying, “The Future Leaders eXperience co-chairs and program committee sought to construct a unique learning laboratory with hands-on exercises that companies could not host themselves, where their employees could learn in teams with other professionals across regions and areas of responsibility. We feel our event attendees will be challenged and put into practice their experiences when they return to their respective workplaces.”
For Media:
Future Leaders eXperience speaker photo (Left to Right: Gary Magenta, Chief Change Architect and Senior Vice President of Root Inc.; Charles Duhigg, a Pulitzer-prize winning reporter for The New York Times and the best-selling author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better; Leslie G. Sarasin, FMI president and CEO; Kindra Hall, national champion storyteller; and Steve Harvey, multiple Emmy-award-winner for Outstanding Game Show Host for Family Feud and Outstanding Talk Show Host, and New York Times #1 best selling author for Jump. Click Here to Download Image
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