Baking & Snack - June 2009 - 31

LEADERSHIP AWARDS

Strengthening
the Family Business
Stuart Rosen, vice-president, Highland Baking, can trace his baking
roots back several generations, but
it's not the bread that gets him out
of bed in the morning; it's the opportunity to be a part of the family business. Mr. Rosen likened his
involvement with the family bakery
as the occasion to "come home."
With the bakery as a home away
from home, Mr. Rosen spent many
hours there visiting his father Jim
and later working alongside him.

"In a family business and in a bakery
even when the work is
hard, you know that
the fruits of your
labor are going to
the people you care
about," Mr. Rosen said.

With encouragement from his
father, Mr. Rosen assumed tasks
within the bakery such as installing
its first computer system at the age
of 19. These projects solidified Mr.
Rosen's niche as a valuable member of the family business. While
earning his undergraduate degree
in management, Mr. Rosen sought
out experiences and management
opportunities that would ultimately prepare him to handle the
financial and business aspects of
Highland Baking.
"In a family business and in a
bakery even when the work is hard,
you know that the fruits of your
labor are going to the people you
care about," Mr. Rosen said. "Here,

BAKING & SNACK / June 2009

the highs are very high and the
lows are low."
FULL CIRCLE. With many family
businesses, it's difficult to separate
where the family ends and the business begins. Philosophies passed
down by multiple generations of the
Rosen family have taught that customers ultimately determine what
will happen to any business. The family also applies this long-term view
to the baking industry as a whole.
"The future of the industry depends
on what happens to its customers,"
Mr. Rosen said. "It's not just in our
industry's control. Ultimately, it's up
to our customers to determine the
future of the industry, so we must do
our best to meet what the customer
is going to require in the future."
The long-term approach also
holds advantages for Highland Baking's employees. The Rosen family
prides itself as an organization that
places little emphasis on titles. Employees within the bakery are known
for jumping in where they are needed to accomplish the job the best
way possible. Underscoring the team
atmosphere, Mr. Rosen said that
although blood relatives comprise a
small ratio of Highland Baking's employees, he relies on the managerial
staff as much as, if not more than, he
relies on actual family. "Other than
having different blood, I consider
them family," he said.
Mr. Rosen pointed out that
family-owned businesses have the
advantage of focusing on long-term
rewards. Highland Baking chooses
its staff and suppliers carefully, to
make the company successful both
now and in the future, as opposed
to a short-term approach that fo-

Stuart Rosen, vice-president
Highland Baking, Inc., Northbrook, IL

cuses on quarterly gains and stock
returns. "We make decisions that
have effects one, five and even 20
years down the road," Mr. Rosen
said. "We see people as a longterm commitment, something that
deserves to be invested in, and the
people who stay build a family."
Many employees come to work
for Highland Baking based on wordof-mouth recommendations from
friends or family, and the Rosen
family likes that. The family approach has also proven successful in
an industry that struggles to attract
a younger generation. "Family can
give a different selling tag to a job in
the baking industry," Mr. Rosen said.
"The combination of a strong industry and a strong family business
hopefully appeals to a part of the
workforce who looks to make baking
their long-term career."
Highland Baking continues to experience growth as it expands within
its newest plant. Mr. Rosen has witnessed the company increase from a
staff of less than 100 to more than 400
employees presently. The growth has
been built on the family's approach
to running the company like a team,
which Mr. Rosen jokingly described
as a "benevolent monarchy where
my father gets the tie-breaking vote."
Company wide, Mr. Rosen and
his father encourage upper-level
management to cultivate a righthand man approach so there is always someone who can substitute in
the case of an emergency or staffing
change. Mr. Rosen admitted he is still
working on his delegation skills.
The right-hand-man concept is
designed to prepare the bakery for
the future, making the business more
valuable because the bakery is train-

Baking & Snack - June 2009

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