2021 BMI Spring Management Conference

The 2021 BMI Spring Management Conference will be virtual. Sessions will take place the first 2 weeks of May. Stay tuned for exact days and times. Recordings will be made available to all registrants. 

Theme: Resilience: Strength in Transformation

12:00 PM EDT on May 3

Update on the Book Industry Supply Chain

Hear from our panelists on the current state of the supply chain. From paper to trucking to overseas, the session will address what manufacturers are seeing now and what they can expect as we move forward.

• Derek Mahlburg, Director, North American Graphic Paper, Fastmarkets RISI
• Adam Page, Smithers
• Alan Karickhoff, Economic Analyst, American Trucking Associations

1:00 PM EDT on May 5

Weathering a Pandemic: How the publishing industry survived COVID 19 and the lessons learned

Two publishers, a bookseller, and an educational publishing expert will discuss how the pandemic affected the trade and education markets for books. They'll talk about how they got through it, the lasting changes they foresee in how they do business, and what all that might mean for book manufacturers.

• Sanj Kharbanda, Director Sales & Marketing at Beacon
• Annie Jones, owner of The Bookshelf in Thomasville, GA
• Johanna Vondeling, President and Publisher, Berrett Koehler Publishing
• Jay Diskey, Diskey Public Affairs and former Executive Director of the AAP education division

9:00 AM EDT on May 6

Networking Coffee Break

1:00 PM EDT on May 7

Industry 4.0 and Cybersecurity

Panelists will discuss the move to Industry 4.0 in Book Manufacturing and how these changes are opening up printers to cybersecurity issues. You'll hear how one printer was affected and how they had to deal with the worst of the worst. 

• Jay Foster, Flex Metrics
• Daniel O'Brien, Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Program Manager and Instructor, Blue Ridge Community College
• Kevin Spall, Former President & CEO at Thomson Shore

1:00 PM EDT on May 10

Sales, Marketing and Networking in Today's Climate

How has 2020 changed the way you sell, market and network? What works? What doesn’t? Panelists will take a look at how this have changed from an operational perspective as well in execution.

• Bill Stinnett, Founder & President, Sales Excellence, Inc.
• Joe Dunham, LBS
• Rick Letchinger, Worzalla

1:00 PM EDT on May 12

Workforce Development and HR in the Time of Covid

What have been some of the lessons learned over the last 12 months when it comes to human resources? From recruiting, to health and safety issues to business continuity plans, panelists will cover these topics as well as others such as environmental, social and governance issues. 

• Adriane Harrison, VP of Human Relations Consulting, PRINTING United Alliance

• Hector Velez, COO, Vector Talent Resources
• Anne Loehr, Center for HCI

4:00 PM EDT on May 13

Networking Happy Hour - Lessons Learned During the Conference