Baking & Snack - December 2022 - 22

OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR
" WE'RE IN THE PEOPLE BUSINESS,
AND WITHOUT THE PEOPLE AND THE
CUSTOMER, WE DON'T EXIST. WE
CAN NEVER FORGET THAT. "
Mike Porter, New Horizons Baking Co.
ficult, and we had a lot of quick change. "
The responsibility Mr. Porter felt for the 50 new employees
at Coalescence and his team at NHBC and its
other subsidiaries was instilled in him by his mentor,
Mr. Brown, and it helped him recognize and address
fears the change brought.
" We had to be very conscientious, and what that
looked like was transparency and building trust, " he said.
" That doesn't come overnight. That will be ongoing, but I
couldn't be prouder of the team that's over there and how
they've embraced us and how we've embraced them. "
No lack of support
Mr. Porter is a natural-born people person. He loves to
talk to people, and he cares about them. But mentors
throughout his career sharpened that love into true leadership
skills that still guide him to this day. One of the
most significant is Mr. Brown, a 2022 inductee into the
American Society of Baking Hall of Fame. Mr. Porter
cited Mr. Brown's integrity as one of his most shining
characteristics, and it impacted not only Mr. Porter's
professional life but also his personal life. Mr. Porter
came to see Mr. Brown as a father figure.
" The Tim Brown you see in a meeting is the same Tim
Brown you see on the golf course or at his home, " Mr.
Porter said. " He showed me what a good businessman
is, what a good father is and what a Christian man is,
and he didn't sit me down and have mentor meetings.
He lives it by example. "
A philosophy of servant leadership, empowering
people to be the best version of themselves, and caring
for the customer were Mr. Brown's foundation, and it's a
legacy Mr. Porter aims to continue.
" We're in the people business and without the people
and the customer, we don't exist, " Mr. Porter said. " We
can never forget that. "
Cut from a similar cloth is Russ Bundy, owner of
Bundy Baking Solutions, who has also had a major influence
on Mr. Porter's outlook and approach to leadership
and business. Mr. Porter admires the care Mr. Bundy
shows people, regardless of their status.
" Russ had a party at his house, and it was full of people, "
Mr. Porter remembered. " And I was a plant manager
at the time, and when he talked to me, I felt like I
was somebody. Tim Brown always made me feel like I
was somebody. It wasn't the fancy champagne he served
at his party, it was all the people who showed up and the
way he treated all of us. "
Others he credits his success to include John
As president and COO, Mike Porter has seen NHBC through its first acquisition and the
opening of a new bakery in Toledo, Ohio, both during the coronavirus pandemic.
22 Baking & Snack December 2022 / www.bakingbusiness.com
Widman, retired senior vice president of operations of
NHBC, who helped Mr. Porter make connections in
the industry. Mr. Porter described Bob Creighton, former
vice president of sales for NHBC, as a phenomenal
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