By Denise Williams | WFBSC Exchange
In fitting style for Las Vegas, a city known for its tantalizing selection of buffets, the 2026 WFBSC Global Executive Congress will serve up a smorgasbord of its own this fall at the Mandalay Bay Casino and Hotel. Hosted by BSCAI’s Contracting Success Conference, the event features a hearty sampling of speakers and sessions, with options for every appetite.
Tucked in amid the shop talk — bidding and estimating updates, financial and administrative models, technology advancements, sales and marketing, training and recruitment, and more — attendees will be
treated to a 30-minute pick-me-up from Jeff Kenton, Vice President and General Manager, North America, Institutional Solutions for Diversey Inc. The feel-good message, billed as an “inspiring keynote,” is meant to showcase the contributions of a labor force that is seldom celebrated and often overlooked, despite being tasked with responsibilities that are fundamentally important to the health, safety, and cleanliness of every society. The purpose, influence, and impact of cleaning and facility management teams may fall under the radar of many of those who benefit from their services, Kenton acknowledges; however, these effects are indisputable.
In his session, the audience will enjoy a series of compelling narratives that speak to the above themes. The anecdotes will weave in personal details plucked from Kenton’s own experiences, including as a nurse’s aide, and draw on what he has learned from the people who have inspired him over more than 30 years in the specialty chemicals and distribution industries. “Collectively, they taught me that leadership is not about status,” he says. “It’s about service.”
Individually, the stories he plans to share will capture individual examples of these principles in play, plus touch on the additional value of future/innovation. Together, he hopes, they will drive home a unified, overarching point. “I want to remind attendees that their value is not measured by how often someone thanks them,” Kenton elaborates. “Their value is measured by the impact they have on people, organizations, and communities every single day.”
The importance of what they do, no matter how infrequently it is vocalized, is the takeaway that he hopes all meeting-goers will leave the session with, especially owner-operators and their leadership teams. From working exhaustingly long hours, to solving problems that most people were not even aware of, to doing what might sometimes feel like a thankless job, to being remembered for the occasional error while daily accomplishments are forgotten — if noticed at all — Kenton believes his talk will resonate with the crowd gathered for this joint WFBSC-BSCAI annual event. “I think they’ll recognize themselves in these stories,” he says and, therefore, open themselves up to his message: What you do matters.
Don’t miss Supplier Innovation Session: An Inspiring Keynote on Purpose, Influence, and Impact on Wednesday, November 18, 11:15 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. PST at the Congress of the World Federation, hosted by BSCAI, in Las Vegas.