Executive Leadership Development Program at Cornell University Schedule

Monday, March 20, 2023

11:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Virtual Kick-Off: The Challenge of Leadership Today, FIRO-B and Leading Teams and TKI, Jonathan Vehar

The challenge of leadership today is to effectively guide and motivate individuals and teams in a rapidly changing and increasingly complex world. Leaders must be able to navigate a wide range of challenges, including globalization, technological advancement, diversity and inclusion, and environmental and social responsibility. They must also be able to adapt to new situations and think creatively to solve problems and seize opportunities. In addition, leaders must be able to effectively communicate and collaborate with others, both within their organizations and externally, to build and maintain relationships and achieve common goals. Overall, the challenge of leadership today is to navigate these and other challenges while still effectively leading and inspiring others to achieve success.

Sunday, March 26, 2023

4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Statler Hotel Check-In

6:00 PM - 8:30 PM

Orientation and Dinner

Monday, March 27, 2023

7:00 AM - 8:00 AM

Breakfast available in Conference Foyer

8:00 AM - 9:45 AM

Program Welcome

Daniel Hooker and Miguel Gomez

Engaged Storytelling

Professor Bruce Levitt

Engaged storytelling (public narrative) is an effort to tell a story that involves the head AND the heart AND moves people to use their hands and feet in action. Public narrative is the art of translating values into action through stories. From stories, we learn how to manage ourselves, and how to face difficult choices, unfamiliar situations, and uncertain outcomes, because each of us is the protagonist in our own life story, facing everyday challenges, authoring our own choices, and learning from the outcomes. Stories communicate our values through the language of the heart, our emotions. And it is what we feel – our hopes, our cares, our obligations – not simply what we know that can inspire us with the courage to act.

9:45 AM - 10:00 AM

Break

10:00 AM - 11:15 AM

IFPA Global Insights, Setting the Stage

Introduction by Professor Miguel Gomez
Gina Jones and Rachel Blake, IFPA

11:15 AM - 12:30 PM

From soup to nuts: Climate change is changing everything we eat

Professor Michael Hoffman

Professor and author of the book Our Changing Menu explore how climate change is impacting everything we grow and what we put on the dinner table.

12:30 PM - 1:30 PM

Lunch

1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

The Global Scope of the US Fresh Produce Industry

Professor Miguel Gomez

Our industry is evolving at a rapid pace. Miguel Gómez will talk about the global reach of the produce industry, and its implications for the U.S. produce sector. If you are working for a wholesaler in El Paso, Texas, or a supermarket in the Midwest, if you are a fresh produce manager or a broker even if you do domestic work, the industry is just becoming more and more global every year and it will affect the way you operate. Miguel will discuss the drivers and trends of the international trade of fruits and vegetables. He will examine the interdependence of the U.S. produce industry with global partners, both in exports and imports, and address other factors affecting U.S. produce trade including emerging technologies, trade agreements, tariffs on imports and exports, and other policies affecting global produce supply chains. He will also discuss the global impact of Controlled Environment Agriculture, why sustainability is key for resilient global supply chains, and emerging business models targeting the base of the pyramid.

3:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Break

3:30 PM - 5:30 PM

Leadership Presence: Making the Connection

Professor David Feldshuh

Anyone who wants to become more effective in connecting with others through increased ease and presence when speaking in public or private. Learn by doing to refine your public speaking skills and build confidence in your presence. By sharing videos of yourself presenting and receiving constructive feedback from fellow students and experts, you'll practice analyzing your performance, repeating, and refining your work in exercises and acting techniques specially designed by Cornell Theatre Professor David Feldshuh.

6:00 PM

Dinner

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

7:00 AM - 8:00 AM

Breakfast available in Conference Foyer

8:00 AM - 10:00 AM

Leadership

Professor Allan Filipowicz

Strong leaders are self-confident. They know and are comfortable with themselves and have an appropriate understanding of their knowledge and skills. Strong leaders' confidence and character inspire others to follow the leaders and to reach beyond themselves. In this session, you will work to develop the three character dimensions of courage, humility, and compassion.

Leaders are responsible for encouraging the highest possible performance from their employees.  Most leaders recognize that motivation is a key driver of high performance. Few leaders are skilled at choosing the right combination of approaches and tools to motivate all of their people. This session provides a learning experience that builds on the important premise that not all individuals are motivated by the same things, and some might be demotivated by the same conditions or incentives that motivate others.

10:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Break

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Leadership (Continued)

Professor Allan Filipowicz

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Lunch

1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Wegmans Produce Strategy

Martha Hilton, VP of Produce and Floral, Wegmans Food Markets

Martha Hilton, VP of Produce and Floral at Wegmans Markets and IFPA Foundation Chair will share her view on the fresh produce and floral industry, evolving consumer and strategy at Wegmans Food Markets.

3:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Break

3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Strategies for Growth

Professor Pedro Perez

The acceleration of economic and competitive dynamics and the likelihood of macro-shocks such as information technology, pandemics, and climate change require us to think as entrepreneurs. Students will engage in an exercise in ideation and teamwork to understand how to bring new business ideas to reality. We will explore entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship, compare them to management, and induce techniques and processes to apply entrepreneurial approaches in business management.

6:00 PM

Dinner

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

7:00 AM - 8:00 AM

Breakfast available in Conference Foyer

8:00 AM - 10:00 AM

Strategic Sleep for Top Performance

Dr. Ana Krieger

This is an interactive session on identifying strategies to enhance sleep and optimize performance regularly.

10:00 AM - 10:30 PM

Break

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Cornell Greenhouse Tour

Professor Neil Mattson

1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Lunch

1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Case Study Sage V Foods & Element Farms

Professor Neil Mattson

The past few years have seen substantial increases in investment in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) greenhouses and vertical farms. Even before COVID-19 producers and retailers have been interested in CEA to meet the demand for year-round, consistent quality fruits and vegetables. External factors such as climate change, food safety recalls, and COVID-19 had amplified demand for CEA as part of a more resilient food system. This session will cover trends in CEA production including research on the costs of production of CEA vs. field grown, technology trends that represent opportunities for CEA, and new crops of interest.

3:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Break

3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Executive Panel

Professor Miguel Gomez

Professor Gomez moderates a candid discussion of corporate vision, management philosophies, and critical industry issues with an invited panel of leading industry senior executives.

5:30 PM

Dinner

Thursday, March 30, 2023

7:00 AM - 8:00 AM

Breakfast available in Conference Foyer

8:00 AM - 9:30 AM

Management Team Leadership

Professor Steve Sauer

Participants apply business skills, Leadership, Teamwork, and strategic finance into practice via a business simulation and see the results immediately. The simulation software adds a new perspective to traditional classroom teaching and provides real-world experience in a no-risk environment. The best way to learn is by doing, and at PI Experiential Learning we use sophisticated business simulations coupled with analytical tools and world-class delivery to train leaders and managers at all levels.

10:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Break

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Management Team Leadership (Continued)

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Lunch

1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Management Team Leadership & Authentic Leadership

Professor Steve Sauer

Authentic leadership involves leading with a sense of purpose and meaning and being willing to take risks and make difficult decisions to achieve the greater good. It also involves being open to feedback and self-improvement and being willing to admit mistakes and learn from them. During this session, participants will explore their values which may involve standing up for what they believe in and making tough decisions that are consistent with their tenets to inspire trust and credibility, and enhanced performance.

3:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Break

3:30 PM - 5:30 PM

Management Team Leadership (Continued)

6:00 PM

Closing dinner

Friday, March 31, 2023

7:00 AM - 8:00 AM

Breakfast available in Conference Foyer

8:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Leading and connecting with others, VUCA Leadership Case Study

Kyle Vowinkel, FBI (retired) US Army

In this session, participants explore topics on building rapport, demonstrating empathy, and active listening skills. The session will include exercises for leaders to practice connecting with stakeholders, from clients to team members, and superiors.

VUCA is an acronym that stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. It is a term used to describe the unpredictable and rapidly changing nature of the business environment, particularly in the context of globalization, technological advancement, and political and economic instability. In this case study discussion participants/leaders will learn how to recognize and navigate the challenges and opportunities presented in an exceedingly difficult VUCA scenario.

10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

Break and Hotel Check-Out

11:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Forecast for the Future of Fresh Produce

Professor Miguel Gomez

In a provocative and interactive session, participants create their consensus forecast for the future of the industry, and, in turn, develop strategies that will enable their firms to cope with and prepare for the future.

12:30 PM - 1:00 PM

Closing and Certificate Ceremony

1:00 PM

Program Concludes, Box Lunch available