WASHINGTON, DC – At the American Bakers Association (ABA) 2017 Stronger Together Convention this March in Boca Raton, a discussion on the crucial elements of leadership and guiding an organization in times of crisis will be led by Retired Four-Star Marine Corps General John Allen.
On March 27, Gen. Allen, Former Head of NATO Forces in Afghanistan and former Presidential Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, will take the stage of the Allied Trades of the Baking Industry Leadership Breakfast to address “Strategic Leadership and Crisis Management.” Through powerful stories shared from the conflicts he lived and worked through, Gen. Allen will discuss the most important aspects of leadership, including how earning trust and credibility along with honesty, integrity, and speed in communication are some of the crucial elements.
Citing the need to dominate the information space by controlling the message about their organizations, Gen. Allen will explain to attendees the importance of being faster and more transparent than their competitors. As he leads the audience through the process of making time-sensitive decisions that involve risk, he will address how to manage competing priorities. With harrowing details and nail-biting suspense, Gen. Allen’s tales of leadership in crisis pull from real-world events and will leave attendees on the edge of their seats.
“This year’s convention is intended to explore the many ways in which the baking industry is ‘Stronger Together’ and I believe General Allen is an excellent addition to that conversation with his insights on the importance of providing clear leadership to organizational teams in all circumstances,” said ABA President and CEO Robb MacKie.
Widely hailed as a strategic thinker and a true battlefield leader, Gen. Allen is one of the nation’s foremost experts on the geopolitical relationships between the United States and Asia and the Middle East. When General Petraeus became CIA Director in 2011, Gen. Allen replaced him as the commander of the NATO International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces Afghanistan. There, he led and managed one of the most complex military transitions of the last decade as he oversaw the strategic shift from troop-intensive counterinsurgency operations to the development of Afghan security forces. Gen. Allen spent his early career in Washington, D.C., and became the first Marine Corps officer to be inducted as a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He had field command during missions in the Caribbean and the Balkans and became the first Marine to serve as the Commandant of midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy. He then served as Principal Director of Asian and Pacific Affairs for the Office of the Secretary of Defense before heading to a command position to serve in Iraq. Gen. Allen spent 13 months in the Anbar province, where he led efforts to persuade Sunni tribal leaders to stand against al-Qaeda militants. His success precipitated a shift in the nature of the war in western Iraq. In 2008, Gen. Allen became Deputy Commander of U.S. Central Command. Gen. Allen is currently affiliated with the Brookings Institution, where he is a Co-director of the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence, and is a Senior Fellow at the Merrill Center of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
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About the 2017 Stronger Together Convention:
The premier annual gathering of the baking industry, the 2017 ABA Convention will take place March 26 – March 29 at the Boca Raton Resort & Club in Boca Raton, Fla. This annual event is where top industry leaders participate in business seminars to cement best practices, connect with the latest trends, engage with industry colleagues to share ideas peer-to-peer, and determine the best solutions for baking issues. Find more information at www.americanbakers.org/2017ABAConvention. Follow the convention with #ABAConvention.
About the American Bakers Association:
The American Bakers Association (ABA) is the Washington D.C.-based voice of the wholesale baking industry. Since 1897, ABA has represented the interests of bakers before the U.S. Congress, federal agencies, and international regulatory authorities. ABA advocates on behalf of more than 1,000 baking facilities and baking company suppliers. ABA members produce bread, rolls, crackers, bagels, sweet goods, tortillas and many other wholesome, nutritious, baked products for America’s families. The baking industry generates more than $102 billion in economic activity annually and employs more than 706,000 highly skilled people.
Source: American Bakers Association
