OVERLAND PARK, KAS. — At this year’s BEMA Summit, being held Feb. 23-24 in Chicago, baking industry members will have the chance to ask a panel of experts about challenges facing companies today at the event’s Breakfast with Bakers session.

On Sunday, Feb. 24 at 8 to 9:30 a.m., Joe Turano, president, Turano Baking Co.; Chad Larson, vice-president of manufacturing, Palermo Villa, Inc.; Tim Ramsey, vice-president of procurement, Hearthside Food Solutions; Brian Dwyer, vice-president of manufacturing operations, Kroger; and Greg Boyd, senior vice-president of supply chain, Flowers Foods, will be taking questions during the event, which will be streamed live on BEMA’s social media channels.

“We are thinking of this as a room full of opportunity for both bakers and BEMA members to explore solutions and new ideas,” said Kerwin Brown, president and chief executive officer of BEMA and session facilitator. “We are also excited to take the conversation outside of the summit via our social channels.”  

Attendees as well as those unable to appear in person are asked to submit questions for the panel through Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, and to include the hashtag #AskABaker2019 with their inquiries. Submissions will be accepted from now until the session ends. The organization will provide a summary of the Q&A on its web site and in a press release.

BEMA said the discussion will be a deep dive into the speakers’ companies and market segments, exploring everything from operational and workforce issues to successes and innovations.

“Bakers will be asked to relate what they are doing to the supplier community,” said Jennifer Prusa, director of meetings, BEMA. “We are inviting questions on topics like factory acceptance testing, ROI, food safety, virtual reality training, workforce issues and more.”

Before the panel begins at 8:30 a.m., attendees also will have a chance to discuss the future of bread and other industry issues at their tables with BEMA members and bakers.

To learn more about BEMA Summit and the Breakfast with Bakers session, click here.