FEATURE

ASC 2022 Executive Leadership Conference Preview

The Adhesive and Sealant Council has planned an informative and timely program that addresses issues foremost on the minds of industry executives at its upcoming Executive Leadership Conference.

Designed for senior-level industry executives, the Adhesive and Sealant Council’s Executive Leadership Conference will take place November 1-3, 2022, at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California. With a theme that focuses on the future, the annual event will address the most pressing issues the adhesives and sealants industry currently faces.

Speaking about the upcoming conference, ASC President Bill Allmond said, “There is a lot on the minds of our industry’s executives and senior leaders. I can’t remember a time when our industry and global manufacturing has had so many different challenges to manage simultaneously. The purpose of the executive leadership conference, and particularly this year, is to feature discussions that help our industry’s leadership look to the future while also not ignoring what is going on in the present. Many of the topics that we will feature at the conference will focus on how to address those big challenges.”

Among the presentations included in this year’s conference is “Stranger Things in Supply Chain,” by Christian MacIver, global vice president of supply chain, Ingevity. The pandemic created an upside-down world across the global supply chain, which has made supply chain a household word. The tenants of the past, such as “lean” and “just in time” are ineffective in this new world. Resiliency and creativity are imperative to battling the onslaught of challenges in today’s upside-down world. Looking ahead, the supply chain has the opportunity to transform into a value delivery tool for business. Digitalization and automation will be key in making this happen.

Dr. Bill Conerly, economic consultant, Conerly Consulting LLC, will present “The Economic Outlook.” Conerly will present his economic forecast with an emphasis on the issues of greatest importance to the adhesive and sealant industry, including interest rates, labor availability, and international trade. He will offer specific techniques for managing business in an uncertain economic environment.

Glen Hiemstra, founder of Futurist LLC, will share his experience in learning from the future in an on-stage interactive conversation, “Lessons from the Future for Leaders.” Anticipating the long-range future, on a time horizon that exceeds that of our standard strategic planning, can be a very powerful executive leadership tool for shaping the future. This program will share basic principles of long-range futuring and how they can be integrated into strategic planning. Hiemstra will explore powerful trends and drivers of change and tease out some key implications for industry and enterprises.

The pandemic has turbocharged the shift to digital and massive sales channel/market transformations. Today, customers want to control their buying experience, including problem-solving content and the choice to buy directly from the factory. Industrial product marketers have significant opportunity to leverage digital, but it is difficult to transition traditional market strategies to more digital-centric, customer-focused approaches. “The Digital Tightrope: Supply Chain to Value Creation,” presented by Thomas Gale, the CEO of Modern Distribution Management, will explore the challenges and solutions to serving end-user customers digitally across highly fragmented markets, while preserving critical channel partnerships. Gale will share MDM benchmarking research on customer digital buying preferences, examples of successful manufacturer-direct and channel-support strategies, and ideas for building the digital-first value chain of the future.

Attendees will also enjoy motivational speaker Aaron Thomas, who will speak on “Opportunities and Platforms: Overcoming Adversity.” Thomas will explore how being true to what you believe can be tested when presented with adversity. He will challenge participants to look at their lives, their families, and their jobs to see if they are maximizing all the opportunities presented to them.

George Misko, senior partner at Keller & Heckman, will present “The Pillars of Sustainability for a Corporate Enterprise.” In this presentation, he will explore the meaning of sustainability from traditional, legal, and public perspectives, taking into account corporations’ responsibilities to product stewardship, economic stewardship, and corporate stewardship.

For more information about the 2022 Executive Leadership Conference, listen to a recent edition of the Bonding with ASI podcast. In the podcast, Bill Allmond discusses more details of the conference, including networking events and some exciting activities the ASC has planned for attendees. Access the podcast here.