Chairman's Message: There’s No Better Place to Figure Out Disruption
Featuring speakers that truly lived transformation, this year’s FEDA conference brings together the programs and peer conversations our industry needs to turn today’s pressures into tomorrow’s advantages.
By Marc Tell
CEO, Sam Tell Companies
Chairman, FEDA
Leaders in the foodservice equipment and supplies industry are used to facing pressure. Every day brings tight project deadlines, new customer requests, and strategic decisions that we must execute to exceed operator expectations and grow our business. But in the current environment, we’re increasingly encountering headwinds coming from entirely new directions. The combination of high inflation, tariffs, and freight fluctuations is driving unprecedented cost volatility while advancements in technology and operational systems are reshaping how we do business faster than anyone could have anticipated.
It’s clear we’re at a critical juncture where the companies that use this moment of disruption to innovate will become models for our industry in the years ahead. At this year’s FEDA conference, we’re fortunate to have as our special guest speaker someone who, during a similar inflection point, was at the center of transforming their own industry: Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. As the designer of the Apple II computer and a major contributor to the tech giant’s enduring culture of innovation and people-first design, Wozniak did not merely witness a technological revolution; he sparked it. His insights into how companies can lead through seismic market shifts will be invaluable as we contemplate our own strategies for staying ahead of change.
While Wozniak will help us understand where our industry is headed, keynote speaker Verne Harnish will help us figure out how to get there. His Scaling Up methodology is already familiar to many growth-minded executives, and his appearance at the FEDA conference is an opportunity to learn how to apply that thinking to our industry. Where last year’s keynote, Jim Collins, gave us the disciplined framework we need to think like great companies, Harnish adds the practical execution that helps us run like one. His presentation will cover how executives can set the right priorities, assign clear ownership, and develop routines so that excellence becomes instinctive.
As Wozniak’s and Harnish’s sessions will show, the FEDA conference is not reacting to disruption — it is helping us plan for it and emerge stronger. But as we consider next steps, the program also makes clear that transformation cannot happen in isolation. From the State of the Industry presentations to the Tech Talks discussion on how less-than-truckload carriers are using technology to better respond to distributor and manufacturer pain points, this year’s theme is alignment. That focus reflects the ongoing work of the FEDA Future of Distribution Council, which is connecting channel partners to address persistent industry challenges, including the need for greater supply chain transparency.
Attending these sessions will give us a shared baseline and vocabulary for all the other interactions that happen at the conference. Whether it’s at the bar, on the golf tee, or during the Industry Roundtables, the conference gives us limitless ways to connect with each other and have conversations about the most pressing parts of our businesses. This is the one event during the year when having these strategic discussions is the entire point. There are no equipment demonstrations, no office distractions — just time to talk with peers who are facing the same questions as you.
Between the speaker lineup and the industry-driven program, we’ll leave Park City with more to think about — and more to act on — than we arrived with. Come ready to listen but be just as ready to engage. The conversations you have outside the sessions may matter just as much as the sessions themselves.