THOMASVILLE, GA — Not every engineer is a leader — nor is every leader an engineer — but the two are not mutually exclusive. Many bakery executives successfully balance this dichotomy and, perhaps, few more masterfully than Brad Cashaw, executive VP and chief supply chain officer for Thomasville, GA-based Flowers Foods.
Engineers are tactical, technical, analytical and efficient. With these skills, Cashaw is leading the company’s digital transformation and supply chain optimization for its numerous brands produced in 46 facilities throughout the US.
A 35-year veteran of CPG manufacturing in food and beverage, Cashaw has covered a lot of ground overseeing complex, matrix-style operations, including Frito-Lay, Kellogg’s, Kraft and Dean Foods. With expertise that ranges from operations, project management and supply chain to quality, sustainability and R&D, Cashaw’s resume reads like a training manual for his role at Flowers.
“I see myself as the steward of our supply chain,” he said. “My breadth of experience across similar, yet unique, industries has prepared me to lead Flowers through the next chapter of our growth.”
Cashaw joined Flowers in 2020 during pandemic-driven industry upheaval that also happened to be a pivotal point for this company known for exponential growth through acquisition. His focus on data as part of Flowers’ digital transformation is not only creating supply chain resiliency, but it’s also leveling the playing field when it comes to the volatility of consumer demand.
Intense and rapid changes are currently hitting the industry, but commercial bakeries are no strangers to keeping up with immediate changes. Long before COVID-19 and the subsequent supply chain disruption, bakers often scrambled to keep up with people’s instant access to information, opinions and even pseudo-science that could change shopping behavior on a dime. Today, tapping into Cashaw’s data expertise allows Flowers to keep pace with consumers.
“We need to be consumer-centric and always thinking about what the end-users want,” Cashaw said. “And we can use data to anticipate their needs. That comes with a strong emphasis on e-commerce, the availability of data and the input of more information and accurate forecasting. Our digital transformation will be key for agility and adaptability in this changing environment, and it’s something everyone should have on their radar.”
“Certainly, today’s environment has affected how we look at that, and some of the past principles remain the same,” Cashaw said. “Technical competence is still key; there’s a lot more automation, and the digital transformation will create a need for us to be better stewards in how we think about, interpret and leverage data to advance our efficiency and improve our operations every day, every week and every year.”
Beyond tactical traits, leaders must also possess those soft skills — commonly known as emotional intelligence (EQ) — including empathy, adaptability and intuition.
For Cashaw, leadership requires servitude above all.
“I take a servant leadership approach to understanding people and building culture,” he said. “I like to build a learning environment so that teams can grow while learning how to be successful. For me, it’s not only an approach to style but also a principle. My goal is to help make the organization better and help those around me rise. My role is to serve and equip people for success, and that allows me to deliver results.”
In the present tense, this team mentality creates efficiencies that are critical to smooth operations in a time of deep disruption from the pandemic, labor shortages and overall supply chain troubles.
“Certainly, today’s environment has affected how we look at that, and some of the past principles remain the same,” Cashaw said. “Technical competence is still key; there’s a lot more automation, and the digital transformation will create a need for us to be better stewards in how we think about, interpret and leverage data to advance our efficiency and improve our operations every day, every week and every year.”
And that’s not only how Cashaw operates; it’s also how he identifies and develops potential leaders within the organization.
By focusing on characteristics such as people skills, project ownership and the ability to prioritize, he can harness that potential to help people and teams deliver quantifiable results.
“The leader or associate who best understands how to collaborate will build alliances and harness that creativity in others,” he said. “And that is critical to our overall success. You have to put a value on that, and in my mind, it’s a premium.”
Throughout the changing bakery environment, and as Flowers leads the industry toward the future, Cashaw is a champion of the strategy to double-down on supply chain resilience with the initiatives the company has in place. That requires bravery on all sides.
Yes, Cashaw took a leap of faith to join a new team at a time when onboarding is still remote. But it also speaks volumes to Flowers’ vision for the future, not only for growth but also in taking a modern approach in a traditional industry.
“Flowers Foods is more than 100 years old, and we’ve survived all the past challenges and successfully grown the business,” Cashaw said. “We have welcomed new brands that delight consumers, and we’re adopting new ways to bring our products to market. That’s how we will last another 100 years.”
With Cashaw’s supply chain leadership, Flowers is certainly up to the test.
Read more about Brad Cashaw in the October | Q4 issue of Commercial Baking.