Silbermann urges more leadership roles for women
Silbermann urges more leadership roles for women
Women are good for business, and in fact, research shows that the more women a company has in leadership position the better it does.
That was one of the major themes addressed by Produce Marketing Association President and CEO Bryan Silberman during his annual "State of the Industry" address at the PMA Fresh Summit, currently being held in New Orleans. During his presentation, Silbermann used subject experts to talk on some of his key points. Speaking to the woman issue was Elisa van Dam, senior director of executive education and corporate outreach for Simmons School of Management. It was that group that helped design and run the highly successful Women's Leadership Conference that PMA sponsored earlier this year.
Silbermann said women are playing an increasingly important role in the world of business and produce companies should embrace this change as a way to improve their bottom line. He invited van Dam to the stage who gave a forceful, point-by-point argument as to why women are good for business. Using research, studies and anecdotes she said it has been shown that Fortune 500 companies with the most women in leadership do perform better financially, in terms of stock market price. She added that in the produce industry a special case can be made for the inclusion of more women leaders because "women buy more produce."
Silbermann used the same format to urge the industry to embrace change with regard to marketing their products as well as selling to the foodservice industry. On the latter point he called Dawn Sweeney, president and CEO of he National Restaurant Association to the stage. Sweeney relayed that the inclusion of fresh produce on menus is a very fast growing trend as it addresses many initiatives that are driving sales in that sector, including healthier, more nutritious dishes as well as an increase in the use of locally-grown products.
With regard to marketing, Silbermann used Jeff Dunn, CEO of Bolthouse Farms, who joined him on stage, as well as Sam Kass, senior policy advisor on nutrition for First Lady Michele Obama. The three of them discussed ideas to make fresh produce more exciting and win the marketing battle against other snack item, especially as it elates to kids.
The session was held on Friday, which was the opening day of the three-day event. There were also several workshops held that day while Saturday and Sunday were devoted to the ever-growing expo where hundreds of companies displayed their newest product to the close to 20,000 attendees.
