PepsiCo’s Nooyi, Campbell’s Morrison to Headline FMI’s Professional Development Event

With workforce development serving as mission critical for the retail food industry, PepsiCo’s Indra Nooyi, Campbell Soup Co.’s Denise Morrison and the Food Marketing Institute’s Leslie Sarasin will be among the featured speakers at FMI’s 2018 Future Leaders eXperience conference.

The event, which will take place May 15-17 at the Omni Louisville Hotel in Louisville, Ky., will serve as a leadership laboratory to “actively engage high-potential employees in honing their leadership and management skills through team-based problem solving and exposure to a broad understanding of the food retail industry,” FMI said.

Morrison and Nooyi will be among the dynamic female business leaders who will help shape the conference agenda. They will share their perspectives on key themes facing future retail food leaders, including better understanding the industry, exploring one’s role in the business, connecting with teams and delivering results.

“We expect nearly 40 food retail and consumer goods companies to bring their most promising team members to learn and network with each other and hear insights from inspirational leaders who have already succeeded in their own journeys,” FMI President and CEO Sarasin said in a statement. The learning-lab-inspired event, she continued, will enable attendees to gain knowledge and inspiration to “lead with purpose and look to each other for guidance and support.”

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As chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, one of the world’s leading food and beverage companies, since 2006, Nooyi has implemented from the outset of her tenure a “performance with purpose” governing philosophy, which underscores the company’s commitment to delivering sustained, top-tier financial results while being responsive to the needs of the world around us. Under Nooyi’s leadership, the company is working to transform its product portfolio to include more nutritious options, curb its environmental impact, and lift up its employees and communities around the world.

Morrison, president and CEO of Campbell Soup Co., is co-chair of this year’s FMI’s 2018 Future Leaders eXperience event with Russell T. Lund III, chairman and CEO of Lunds & Byerlys. Morrison is well-regarded by the food retail industry for her contributions as a business partner in the greater supply chain but is most recently regarded for reshaping Campbell’s portfolio toward the faster-growing spaces of health and well-being and snacking. FMI honored Morrison with the Albers Award in 2014 and commended her at the time for investing “in her staff, her business partners and the betterment of the food chain through holistic contributions and innovative products.”

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Sarasin, meanwhile, will draw upon her personal experience as a leader in food industry associations to place current workforce challenges in a broader historical context. By interviewing a panel of future industry leaders, she will identify the path forward for the marketplace and its emerging workforce needs.