14th Annual Next Generation Success in Leadership Conference

Depends on who you ask. Everyone is overwhelmed with news, but all we really want to know is what it means for our industry, company and work. 

Join Beer Business Daily’s Jenn Litz-Kirk as she offers a fast, honest read on where we stand — for the folks who’ll still be here when today’s headlines are yesterday’s news. Don’t miss this valuable session from an expert who knows how to connect all the pieces to illuminate the path ahead.

Join longtime industry consultant Wes Verno for a look at what happens when the distribution math doesn’t add up…and what you can do to set the equation right.

World-renowned body language expert Mark Bowden will share how to command the room, build trust and grow together through stronger communication.

Bowden shares practical techniques grounded in neuroscience to help you communicate with confidence and credibility. Whether you’re leading distribution teams, strengthening supplier relationships or driving growth in your market, you’ll walk away with strategies you can put to work immediately.

Succession Planning: Identifying Talent, Developing Leaders

LJ Del Papa and Emily Murello, Del Papa Distributing Co.

In this session, we’ll share how we approach succession planning and the process we’ve built to identify talent and develop future leaders before positions become available. We’ll cover what succession planning is (and isn’t), how we use the 9-box and talent calibration meetings, and how mentoring and special projects have helped us grow leaders from within. We’ll also share real examples of employees who have moved through our succession planning process, lessons we’ve learned along the way, and how the process has helped us identify potential, develop our people, and avoid being caught off guard when someone leaves or a new opportunity opens up. Our goal is to provide a practical, real-world look at what’s worked for us, what we’ve learned, and ideas that distributors of any size can take back and create their own succession planning efforts.

Modern Beer Marketing

The game has changed…or has it? We’ll examine ways to amplify your brands, from the tried and true to the bold and new.

Warehouse Automation Preparedness

Dave Christman, NBWA

As more distributors have begun considering automation solutions for their warehouses the Beer Industry Electronic Commerce Coalition (BIECC) has created an Automation Readiness Checklist for distributors to utilize. This interactive tool is meant to help distributors do a self-assessment where they identify what problems they are looking to solve with automation followed by a tool that helps them navigate the various automation solution providers and what questions distributors should ask of them. Join this session to hear from a panel of solution providers and distributors who will walk through this newly-released tool and share their own experiences with warehouse automation.

Can’t We All Just Get Along? Governance and Retention in the Multi-Generational Family Business

Steve Faulkner and Ryan Lake, JP Morgan

Steve Faulkner and Ryan Lake explore the distinct challenges facing multigenerational family businesses, from establishing sound governance structures to retaining and engaging successive generations of family talent. Drawing on the enduring example of the McIlhenny family, makers of Tabasco Sauce across six generations, Steven and Ryan share practical insights on how successful family enterprises manage ownership transitions, align family and business interests and implement the governance frameworks essential to long-term continuity.

One issue on everyone’s mind is what happens after the midterm elections in November. Shifts in Congress and state governments could impact how businesses operate. NBWA’s lobbyists Craig Purser and Laurie Knight will share their analysis during a “barside chat” at the Next Gen Conference, happening the week after the election.

This candid conversation goes deep into what you care about: What the election results mean for you, your business, and the beer industry as a whole. You’ll have the opportunity to ask these two political pros direct questions so that you can see the path ahead more clearly.

The beer industry spends plenty of time thinking about its next generation of consumers. But what about its oldest? As America ages, consumers over 60 represent a growing share of the population, with substantial wealth, purchasing power, and leisure time. This demographic shift has the potential to reshape the alcohol beverage market. Is the beer industry ready?

The next generation of beer and beverage distributors will need to build upon the foundation of the past work that has built distributor values. This panel will examine the items that drive positive valuation and the issues on the horizon that could impact the value of your businesses.

• Chris Steuterman, Senior Vice President, UMB
•  Randy Jozwiakowski, Managing Director, Paragon Beverage Advisors
•  Keith Hochheiser, Hochheiser & Akmal
• Moderator:  Paul Pisano, NBWA

A panel of next-gen distributor leaders led by Budd Dunn (VxP Technologies) shares how they’re using AI in their operations today. You’ll hear what’s saving time, what’s changing how reps and managers work, and what turned out to be hype. Expect real examples, honest lessons, and ideas you can take home and try Monday morning.

Hear about the latest solutions from Ohanafy, VIP and Encompass.

ENCOMPASS
Scale the business, not the headcount.

The next generation of distribution leaders are inheriting bigger books of business with the same size teams. Headcount isn’t the lever you can pull anymore, so the practice has to shift: pair your system of record with a system of work. This session covers how to spot which routine work is consuming your best people, the account update nobody logged, the reconciliation redone multiple times, the knowledge that walks out the door when someone retires, and how to hand that work to Encompass Cowork instead. You’ll see how 100+ out of the box skills for finance, sales, and operations get your team unstuck, how Cowork absorbs legacy knowledge your business never wrote down, and how to build your own skills for the parts of your operation nobody else covers. Come see it run on live distributor data.

OHANAFY
Leading the Next Era of Beverage Distribution

The distributors that win the next decade will operate with more data, tighter margins and smarter tools than any previous generation. This session examines how the leader’s job is changing as AI handles more daily work, and what remains uniquely human: judgment, relationships and the calls that drive the business. You’ll leave with a clear view of the industry’s direction and how to lead through it.

VIP
Built for What’s Next: VIP, Encompass, and the Future of Beverage Technology

Emerging leaders in distribution are facing real business pressure: tighter margins, more SKUs, and rising costs. At the same time, technology is evolving faster than it ever has. The question for this generation of leaders is not just how to fix the inefficiencies of the everyday, but how to rethink the way work gets done so those fixes become real gains for the organization.

Bringing VIP and Encompass together means the combined companies bring decades of industry data, deep operational expertise, and thousands of distributor relationships to solve these challenges with you. VIP will share an early look at what we’re building to support your next stage of growth.

We’ll cover:

• AI that completes work alongside your teams
• Revenue management that plans, models, and executes while saving margin
• Agentic ERP that’s designed for beverage from the start

With the combined teams and technology, we’re building solutions so you can adapt to the evolving needs of today’s business without adding complexity. And you’ll leave with a clear picture of how VIP plans to invest, innovate, and partner with the next generation of distribution leaders.

Every presentation is an opportunity to connect, influence, and lead. In Speak with Impact, JB Ryan, Senior Director of Chain Sales for Molson Coors Beverage Company’s West Region, shows the next generation of leaders how to turn everyday presentations into moments that move people.

Seven Keys to Present With Impact
Drawing on more than 25 years of experience in education, journalism, and corporate America — and thousands of presentations — JB will give Next Gen attendees practical tools they can use immediately to communicate with greater confidence, clarity, and connection. You’ll learn how to:

• Strengthen your presence
• Use your voice and body intentionally
• Connect with your audience
• Bring your message to life

All helping you deliver information people will remember, positioning your team and company for success.

The headlines say younger consumers are drinking less. The busiest college bars in the country tell a more complicated story. Ben Tannenbaum of LineLeap moderates a candid conversation with a leading college bar operator about what legal-drinking-age consumers are ordering, where they’re spending their nights and what actually moves them, from RTDs and shots to the line out the door. The places serving tomorrow’s core consumers today have a lot to teach the rest of the industry.

From huge shifts in the wholesale tier to major developments impacting the policy environment, 2026 has given NBWA’s team plenty to work on. In this live podcast with Craig Purser (NBWA) and Jen Hauke (Draftline Technologies), you’ll get a look at the year’s biggest stories, and what to expect in 2027.

With the dust barely settled from the election, Laurie Knight (NBWA) will give a legislative preview for the rest of the year and beyond.

Find your conference friends or make some new ones, and chow down before flying home.

Pack your most Instagram-ready fits for a night of SoCal good times. The lawn of the Hard Rock Hotel San Diego will be packed with games, music and food, all in the style of a Southern California music festival.

While you jam out with friends new and old, you’ll team up to share the evening’s joy by building Musical Care Kits. These will help local children in need bring their own music to life.

It’s back… live band karaoke! Find the Hall to your Oates and sing your heart out on stage backed by a full band.

While you’re waiting to belt out tunes, try your hand at games and enjoy cold beer and delicious food at Moonshine Flats, San Diego’s premier destination for dynamic nightlife and live entertainment.