PMA Readies for FIT Leadership Symposium in January

Senior produce executives have the opportunity to improve their global, corporate and personal enrichment strategies by attending the 2011 Produce Marketing Association Foundation for Industry Talent ( PMA FIT) Leadership Symposium, scheduled for Jan. 19 through Jan. 21 in partnership with Cornell University at the Omni Dallas Park West in Dallas.

As in past years, the educational program of the annual 2½ day-event features four top leadership speakers who will encourage collaboration and challenge attendees on strategy and innovation:

• Former CEO and Travelocity founder Terry Jones will discuss business innovation as a path to growth. The creator of a corporate culture of innovation in which new ideas were celebrated, mistakes became fast-learning loops, and employees discovered that anyone could innovate, Jones will reveal the steps he employed to nurture new ideas and expound on such critical elements as the optimal organizational structure and team composition.
• Tom Stewart, a thought leader on global management issues and a noted business management thinker, will show that today’s market winners stand apart from the pack based on strategic investment in intellectual capital to transform their organizations. Stewart will share the four pillars of what he calls the “Global Knowledge Economy.”
• Dr. Charles Prather, an innovation consultant, will provide lessons on experience, innovation, problem solving and skill building. He’ll additionally talk about ways to think “out of the box” more effectively by employing the KAI Innovation and Adaptation Assessment, which creates an awareness of how people prefer to use their creativity styles to solve problems. The results can be used to create strategies resulting in greater organizational output with more effective teamwork and higher job satisfaction.
• Mark King, CEO of TaylorMade Adidas Golf, will give real-life lessons in leadership. Although highly successful at running sales forces, he quickly found, on assuming the role of president and CEO role at the company, that his background in sales didn’t fully prepare him for the daily battles of helming a global business in a challenging market. His first-hand experiences will educate attendees on how to get their people to excel beyond expectations.

Although space is still available for the upcoming symposium, it’s limited to foster an intimate, personal learning and networking environment. Top executives throughout the global fresh produce industry may apply by Dec. 31 by visiting the 2011 PMA FIT Leadership Symposium website at www.pma.com/leadership/2011.

Founded in 2006 by the Newark, Del.-based Produce Marketing Association, which represents nearly 3,000 companies from every segment of the global produce and floral supply chain, PMA FIT is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) corporation offering produce companies unique programs to attract, develop and retain talented people.