With MDM’s SHIFT Conference coming up on May 13-15th in Denver, we’re rolling out a series of podcasts that feature speakers who will be at the event.
These shorter episodes look to help familiarize our audience with those speakers, preview what they plan to share at SHIFT and why it’s important, and provide some meaningful nuance into their areas of expertise.
You can find all the SHIFT details — including the agenda, registration and hotel info — at MDM.com/SHIFT.
Next up is Dr. Bharani Nagarathnam, who is the Director of Texas A&M University’s Master of Industrial Distribution program and has long served as an educator, researcher and author on talent strategy, talent acquisition, talent management, talent development, talent retention & performance management.
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Bharani is seen in the industry as a guru for young talent recruitment and retention efforts in distribution, with an especially great understanding of what today’s new college graduates and younger generations are looking for and expect when it comes to distribution jobs, and what your company can do to attract these Gen-Zs and Millennials and make them want to stay.
At SHIFT, Bharani will lead the culture track of our roundtable discussions, having attendees discuss, brainstorm and help problem-solve about each other’s talent management challenges and opportunities. Additionally, his “Culture: Understanding Expectations” session on May 14 is ideal for leaders looking to foster an environment where diverse teams can thrive despite consistent change and challenges.
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“I am excited to be part of SHIFT 2025! Great culture has emerged as one of the requirements for attracting and retaining top talent,” Bharani told MDM. “Creating a strong culture is not easy or quick. Culture is built on relationships, fairness, respect and trust. The benchmarking workshop will focus on elements of creating a culture of excellence and innovation to drive profitable growth in distribution. I also look forward to sharing a presentation on the needs, wants and aspirations of next-gen talent and how to become a talent magnet.”
In our latest MDM Podcast, I have Bharani previewing his role at SHIFT and his perspective on a handful of other talent topics.
Listen to the full episode via the audio player above, and you can find all of our past podcasts at mdm.com/podcasts.
Most Recent Episodes
- MDM Podcast: An AI Research Primer Ahead of SHIFT – March 12
- MDM Podcast: How an Industrial Distributor Grows From its Roots – Feb. 26
- MDM Podcast: Voices of NAW’s 2025 Executive Summit – Feb. 5
- MDM Podcast: PT/MC Market Evolution and Product Information Sharing – Jan. 29
- MDM Podcast: Debriefing Our Ferguson & Watsco Case Studies – Jan. 15
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