Next Generation Conference

November 10-12, 2025 | Kansas City, MO

The only event designed specifically for emerging leaders in beer & beverage distribution is heading to the capital of BBQ. Why is Next Gen a must-attend for your company’s high performers?

🧢 Attendees check brand hats at the door to help each other find solutions to everyday challenges

🧑‍🎓 Our incisive and timely program challenges your team to imagine new ways to win in an evolving market

🗣️ Next Gen leadership training is the real deal, helping your team build tangible skills that pay immediate dividends.

Invest in your company’s future while giving your team tools to WIN NOW — send them to Next Gen 2025.

 

EXPLORE THIS YEAR’S ACTION-PACKED AGENDA

Registration

Registration for the event includes all conference programming and receptions.

Prices

Regular Registration Fee: $895

Only distributor members may attend the conference.

Register Now

Cancellation and Refund Policy:

All cancellations and requests for refunds must be made in writing. Telephone requests cannot be honored. Please email gmoery@nbwa.org for cancellation requests. A 100% refund will be made on registration cancellations received in writing by November 1, 2025. No refunds will be made for registration fees after November 1, 2025. 

Hotel Accommodations

Luxury Kansas City Hotel | Loews Kansas City Hotel

Loews Kansas City Hotel
1515 Wyandotte St. | Kansas City, MO 64108

Rate: $235+taxes per night single/double occupancy

Although the deadline to secure the discounted room rate was October 20, the NBWA team is still happy to assist with your reservation — just email info@nbwa.org for support.

Book Your Hotel Room

Schedule

To learn more about individual sessions, click here to view our agenda page.

3:45 – 5:00 p.m. Registration Desk — Sponsored by Descartes
6:00 – 8:30 p.m. Welcome Reception — Sponsored by BevCap
7:00 – 5:30 p.m. Registration Desk — Sponsored by Descartes
7:00 – 8:00 a.m. Breakfast — Sponsored by Molson Coors
8:00 – 10:50 a.m. General Session
8:30 a.m. Craig Purser Industry Update
9:00 a.m. How a 7th Generation Bottler Reimagined the Family Business (Brandon Muhl, Paul Pisano)
9:30 a.m. Hemp-Derived THC Beverages: One Year Later (Paul Pisano, Dave Christman)
9:50 a.m. Love Is Just Damn Good Business (Steve Farber)
10:50 a.m. Sponsor Break — Sponsored by Pabst & Rehrig Pacific Company
11:10 a.m. Legacy and Liquidity (Brian Hoogendoorn, Elle Oberdick,)
11:10 a.m. Storytelling With Data (Austin Bristow)
12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Lunch — Sponsored by Molson Coors
12:00 – 3:30 p.m. (Two Session Windows) Limiting Ineffective Distribution (Shawn Knoche)
12:00 – 3:30 p.m. (Two Session Windows) Conducting Warehouse Tours, Building Grassroots Relationships (Linda Auglis)
12:00 – 3:30 p.m. (Two Session Windows) Evolving Training Culture (Benjamin Cunningham)
12:00 – 3:30 p.m. (Two Session Windows) Beyond Revenue (Logan Edwards)
12:00 – 3:30 p.m. (Two Session Windows) Seal the Deal: Tools for Winning Your Sales Calls (Tyler Denny)
12:00 – 3:30 p.m. (Two Session Windows) Build a Cybersecurity Defense (Zach Tempone)
3:30 p.m. Sponsor Break — Sponsored by Pabst & Rehrig Pacific Company
3:50 p.m. Future-Proofing Beer Distribution (Lester Jones, Wes Verno)
5:05 – 5:45 p.m. How Data And Discipline Are Redefining the On Premise (Jen Hauke, Scott Bissonette)
5:05 – 5:45 p.m. Authentic Leadership Meets Intelligent Operations (Dan Carter, Scott Corte)
5:05 – 5:45 p.m. AI That Ensures the Right Decision, In Real Time, Every Time (Nick Rellas)
7:00 – 10:00 p.m. Evening Event — Sponsored by ARCO Beverage Group
8:00 – 8:30 a.m. Breakfast — Sponsored by Sierra Nevada
8:30 a.m. – 10:05 a.m. General Session
8:40 a.m. Politics and Policy (Laurie Knight)
9:15 a.m. One Generation, Two Times the Knowledge (David and Jason Steinman)
10:05 a.m. Sponsor Break — Sponsored by Pabst & Rehrig Pacific Company
10:20 a.m. AI In Action (Matt Loidolt, Lee Pearson)
10:20 a.m. Elevating Distributor Social Media
11:20 a.m. Laces Out: Driving Winning Strategies (Kendall Gammon)
12:05 p.m. Beer First: Trends, Opportunities & Activations (Kim McKinnish, Lester Jones)
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Lunch — Sponsored by Sierra Nevada
2:00 p.m. Departures

Speakers

Steve Farber

Best-Selling Author of The Radical Leap and a Sought-After Leadership Coach

Huffington Post has named Steve Farber as the #1 Business Speaker to See. Listed as one of Inc.’s global Top 50 Leadership and Management Experts, Farber is a Leadership Pioneer, Strategist, Keynote Speaker and Bestselling Author on Extreme Leadership. His expertise is in creating organizational cultures where leadership is not just an opportunity and obligation for those in authority, but for everyone at all levels.

Former Vice President of the Tom Peters Company, Steve is the President of Extreme Leadership, Inc, and the founder of The Extreme Leadership Institute, organizations devoted to the cultivation and development of Extreme Leaders around the world. His accessible, deeply inspirational, and eminently practical Radical LEAP framework is widely used across the business, non-profit and education spectrum. Farber has been credited with redefining leadership in deeply personal yet practical terms and re-energizing thousands of people to make a significant difference in their businesses, lives, and the world around them.

Steve is the author of the new book Love is Just Damn Good Business. His third book, Greater Than Yourself, was a Wall Street Journal® and USA Today® bestseller. His second book, The Radical Edge, was hailed as “a playbook for harnessing the power of the human spirit.” And his first book, The Radical Leap, is already considered a classic in the leadership field. It received Fast Company Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Award and was recently named one of the 100 Best Business Books of All Time. His column, The Extreme Leadership Chronicles, runs frequently on Inc.com.

Steve has worked with Johns Hopkins, Cisco, Intel, TriNet, Hyatt and hundreds of other organizations large and small. He has spoken to or worked with virtually every industry there is–from the tech sector to financial services, manufacturing, health care, hospitality, entertainment, public education, retail, and government.

Branden Muhl

CEO of Mahaska

As CEO of Mahaska, Branden Muhl drives overall vision and strategy for the company. He is a fifth generation family owner of Mahaska (seventh generation overall), continuing more than a century of heritage in formulating, manufacturing, marketing, distributing, and most recently retailing food and beverage products. Muhl continues to expound upon business development efforts at Mahaska by building an independently owned brand portfolio, engaging in territorial expansion, entering the alcoholic beverage category, and the retail channel.

Prior to his current roles, Muhl spent eight years on Wall Street as an equity portfolio manager where he focused on consumer & healthcare equities. He continues his investment activities by way of B Group Capital, a long-short equity investment company that specializes in healthcare subsectors such as biotechnology, genetic sequencing, and molecular diagnostics as well as consumer sub sectors like Location-Based Entertainment (LBE), hospitality, and retail.

Currently, Muhl is involved in management of diverse business interests, serves on multiple Boards of Directors, and is involved in a number of organizations across various industries. These businesses and organizations include: B Group Capital, Greystone Hotel Miami, Independent Bottler’s Association (IBA), JOMAST, Museum of Ice Cream, and YPO (Dallas Chapter).

Muhl holds a Bachelor’s degree from The University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business where he graduated Summa Cum Laude

David Steinman

Vice President of Beer Marketer's Insights

David Steinman joined Beer Marketer’s INSIGHTS September 2013 and represents the 3rd generation at the company along with his brother Jason. David worked for years as Senior Editor of Craft Brew News and Senior Editor across all Beer Marketer’s INSIGHTS publications before he was appointed VP/Executive Editor in 2022.

Prior to BMI, David worked for two years as Marketing Coordinator at Long Trail/Otter Creek Brewing Company in Vermont. He graduated from the University of Vermont with a major in Business and a minor in Music. In his spare time, David is an avid guitar player and snowboarder.

Jason Steinman

Senior Editor/Director of Business Development of Beer Marketer's Insights

Jason Steinman joined BMI in March 2020 (no joke) and serves as a Senior Editor and the Director of Business Development at Beer Marketer’s Insights. In this role, he contributes to the editorial content of multiple publications while spearheading growth initiatives to help expand BMI’s reach and impact.

Before joining BMI, Jason honed his skills in brand marketing at PepsiCo North America Beverages for three years.

Jason graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. He currently lives in New York City with his wife, Cam, and their Aussiedoodle Ziggy.

Austin Bristow

Owner of Elevated BI

Austin Bristow helps beverage distributors make sense of their data and turn it into clear, actionable insights. With over 15 years in the industry—including more than a decade with Fairlife and the Coca-Cola system—he understands the challenges wholesalers face with reporting, operations, and staying efficient. Through his independent consultancy, Elevated BI, Austin helps distributors automate reporting, simplify data, and give teams the tools they need to make smarter, faster decisions. He’s also a TEDx speaker and experienced trainer who’s passionate about making data approachable for leaders at every level.

Past Conference Highlights

Over the two-day conference, attendees heard from NBWA leadership, inspirational business experts, industry veterans and their Next Gen peers – all while competing with one another for exciting prizes in the “Next Gen Games.”

“Connecting with other emerging leaders across the country is an important way to build lasting relationships that will help guide the beer distribution industry into the future,” said NBWA Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Kim McKinnish. “As we write beer’s next chapter, conference attendees will play an important role in ensuring the beer and beverage distribution industry continues to adapt while also championing the policies and practices that have made this great industry what it is today.”

Join NBWA’s Next Generation Group

NBWA’s Next Generation Group brings together emerging leaders in the beer distribution industry. The group focuses on learning more about the beer business, getting more involved with the association and networking with other distributors from all areas of the country representing all brands. All NBWA distributor members, regardless of age, job title or relation to ownership, are eligible to join.

To be added to the email list to receive newsletters, member communications and information about upcoming events, click the button below!

Next Gen Sponsorship

Want to get your brand in front of the distribution leaders of today and tomorrow? Learn how to get involved by clicking the links below.

Next Gen Sponsorship Opportunities