November/December 2017

The EMEA industrial distribution markets’ competitive landscape is changing quickly. Managers need to look ahead and be able to identify the opportunities and challenges in due time, sometimes within very short timeframes. A constant long term vision should be sustained by fast decisions when opportunities arise. Methods used in the past may not work anymore and in order to keep up with the force of change, an enterprise has to mobilize all its resources. There is where the enthusiasm, energy, and new ideas of young management teams can make a competitive advantage. Proving its commitment to growing the talent of the future and to continuous people development, EPTDA hosts every year since 2010 a special Next Generation (NexGen) event at the Annual Convention, the NexGen seminars. After the successful NexGen Forums & Contests in the past Annual Conventions, that have created a structured community from At these meetings, organised twice a year, once at the EPTDA Annual Convention and once at the association’s Spring Meetings - All Committees’ Days, the EPTDA’s NexGen participants can mingle with the association’s leaders and committee members and get to know about the latest developments in the industry. The next occasion will be at the EPTDA All Committees’ Days meetings in Tenerife, 21-22 March 2018, where we expect EPTDA ‘s NexGen representatives to be present and take part in the NexGen Seminar on ‘Change Management Skills for Emerging Leaders’, presented by Mr. Tom Gale, CEO and Publisher of MDM. HANS HANEGREEFS Executive Vice President of EPTDA EPTDA looks into the future all NexGen Delegates, EPTDA has formed a NexGen Taskforce who is constantly looking into finding new innovative ways to stimulate and develop the future leaders of the PT/MC industry. The main objectives of this orientation are meant to raise awareness about what Next Generation means for the industry and create a structured workgroup, acknowledging their value and contribution. Besides the dedicated NexGen programme held each year at the association’s annual conventions, EPTDA strives to organize thought-provoking Next Generation education programmes every year in March at its All Committees’ Days meetings, based on the actual challenges from the market in order to engage this young audience to the next level. These events organised as a one day workshops are created to advance young managers’ ability to think outside the enterprise’s historical business planning methods to better plan for the future. Besides the opportunity to network with peers, learn innovative management approaches and exchange ideas on how to plan best and prepare for the ongoing disruptive markets and conditions that will shape the next 30 years of their career and business cycles globally. NexGen managers are invited to strengthen their knowledge about key concepts that will enhance their skills and business practices, and thus reaffirming their values and commitment to their company. Involving the Next Generation in the association’s committee work is another way to facilitate the exchange between the generations of managers of top companies in the industry while bringing their own contribution to creating value and challenging the way decisions are made. Last but certainly not least, young managers know the importance of real time communication so EPTDA is eager to make their voices heard. Already active on EPTDA’s social media channels, this experience will be leveraged in the next future to an industry online platform where EPTDA members can use the power of the community to find together innovative solutions to keep decisions upstream and make each challenge a growth opportunity.