| Joel Bishop Vice President & General Manager, Coca-Cola Freestyle Coca-Cola North America Joel has over 20 years of professional experience, 18 of which have been in a variety of roles within the Coca-Cola Company. He began his Coca-Cola career as a Territory Sales Manager for Coca-Cola Fountain, selling the Coca-Cola Fountain value proposition to local customers in the California’s Central Valley. During the subsequent 15 years, Joel has experienced roles of increasing responsibility across multiple functions and geographies at Coca-Cola. Included in his experiences are roles in Sales, Shopper Marketing, Business Insights and Strategy, Commercial Strategy and Development, Transformational Design, Trade Economics, Category Revenue Growth Management, and National Retail Planning and Revenue Growth Leadership. Currently, Joel is the VP and GM of Coca-Cola Freestyle. In this role he is responsible for over-seeing every aspect of one of Coca-Cola’s most significant innovation investments, Coca-Cola Freestyle. Coca-Cola Freestyle is 7 year business that is starting to realize significant growth by engaging consumers in a high quality, personalized beverage experience proven to drive customer growth and improved Coca-Cola brand perceptions. Prior to Coke he was the Vice President of Exclusive Sports Marketing in Boca Raton, FL. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and he received his MBA from Michigan State University. Joel currently resides in Atlanta with his wife, Michelle and two daughters Lillian (11) and Kate (8). | |
| Barrie Carmel VP Sales, Pricing, Operator Segment Strategy Reinhart FoodService Barrie’s new sales role has oversight responsibility for building Go-to-Market strategies for all of Reinhart’s Street and Hybrid divisions with a primary focus on growing Reinhart’s independent street business. She continues to manage contract/chain pricing and margin as well as customer segment pricing strategy. She began her career at Reinhart in 2011 as Vice President – Merchandising. In her current role, Barrie supports Reinhart’s pursuit and development of strategic foodservice initiatives, particularly in the areas of big data analytics to deliver insights for Category Management, Marketing and Sales. Prior to joining Reinhart, Barrie has held key roles in marketing and category management with top foodservice, CPG and retail companies, including Rich Products Corp., Ahold-USA and Daymon Associates. Barrie has an MBA from Case Western Reserve University and received a BS in Management from Case. | |
| Mark DiDomenico Director, Business Development Datassential Mark DiDomenico has been following trends in the Foodservice Industry for 25 years. He started his career with The NPD Group, analyzing restaurant traffic trends and foodservice manufacturer shipments. From there, he transitioned to the manufacturer side, providing insights guidance for the foodservice divisions of Kellogg USA and Sara Lee. In 2011, Mark transitioned back to the supplier side, joining Datassential, another leading insights provider for the foodservice industry. As Director, Business Development, Mark is leveraging his significant experience helping foodservice operators and manufacturers develop critical insights for their strategy, sales, marketing and new product development efforts, across all menu categories. Mark has presented insights and trends at conferences and meetings for several organizations, including International Foodservice Manufacturers Association, The Research Chefs Association, Hillphoenix’s Supermarket Sense, the National Coffee Association and CSP Information Group (FARE and Foodservice Directory Magazines). Mark holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. | |
| Jim Dudlicek Editor-in-Chief Progressive Grocer Jim Dudlicek is editor-in-chief of Progressive Grocer. Jim leads daily operations of the magazine; spearheads key features including many of PG’s signature Store of the Month spotlights, for which he visits supermarkets across the country; and further contributes to the brand’s print and digital properties. An active tweeter at trade events (@jimdudlicek), Jim has been a presenter at industry conferences and shows, and he moderates many of PG’s frequent webcasts and panel discussions. Before joining PG in April 2010, Jim served as chief editor of both Dairy Field and Dairy Foods magazines, covering the dairy processing industry. Prior to becoming a trade journalist, Jim worked for eight years at several Chicago-area non-daily newspapers as a reporter and editor. He graduated from Marquette University in 1994 with a bachelor of arts degree in journalism. When he’s not writing about the food industry or eating its bounty, Jim enjoys travel, listening to jazz, playing the piano, model trains, fine cigars and spending time with his wife and daughter, with whom he lives in Chicago’s northwest suburbs | |
| Stephanie Gamble VP Brand Development Zaxby’s Stephanie Gamble is the Vice President of Brand Development for Zaxby’s Franchising LLC in Athens, Georgia. She leads the Menu Innovation department; a team responsible for product innovation, continuous improvement, nutrition and ingredients. This team provides technical expertise in product innovation to drive traffic, enhance guest experience, and improve the quality and convenience of the menu products provided to the consumer. With nearly twenty years of food industry experience, Stephanie has performed wide-ranging roles within the Zaxby’s organization; from cashier/cook, store manager, corporate trainer, operations development to her current area of menu innovation. Stephanie earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of Georgia in her native Athens, GA. She is currently serving as the board chair of the Northeast Georgia chapter of the American Red Cross and is an enthusiastic Georgia Bulldawg fan. | |
| LeAnne Garouttee Partner Kinetic12 LeAnne brings over 25 years of marketing and communications expertise within the foodservice industry. LeAnne managed and directed the food division of Noble Communications, the foodservice industries largest marketing agency. LeAnne has created go-to-market strategies, marketing and sales plans, brand architecture models, brand positioning, innovation pipelines and advertising and promotional programs for many of the top 100 food companies, including Tyson Foods, the J.M. Smucker Company, Heinz, Kraft, M&M Mars, Ventura Foods and many more. LeAnne has also been instrumental in helping start-up companies launch in foodservice such as Handy Crab and Plugra European Butter. In addition to marketing and communication, LeAnne led a team of chefs and food scientists that created new products and menu ideas for the top 100 foodservice chain accounts | |
| Chuck Goldberg Director of Sales, Non Commercial Waypoint With over 26 years of food broker knowledge and experience, Chuck is an instrumental part of the National Account/Non Commercial leadership team for Waypoint. Prior to joining the Waypoint team Chuck was the Vice President of Sales and then President of a legacy Midwest broker. Chuck is a graduate of the University of Illinois and is a certified CPA. In his spare time he enjoys spending time with his family, traveling and doing community work. | |
| Tim Hand Partner Kinetic12 Tim brings expertise in strategic planning, marketing, market research and category management, P&L management, innovation and Foodservice. For the last 6 years Tim has consulted and led engagements with a variety of B2B and B2C clients to tackle a broad range of strategy, portfolio, innovation and research challenges - from developing insight libraries and business strategies, to training on strategic planning and marketing, to building long range innovation pipelines. Tim’s experience crosses multiple channels including Foodservice, Retail, C-store, Club and Vending. Tim has more than 25 years’ experience in marketing and strategy. He worked at Kraft Foods for 17 years across a number of categories and brands. He managed the Canadian Kraft Foodservice business and was also head of strategy and business development for the $2B North American Foodservice division. Tim has an MBA from McMaster University in Ontario, and a Bachelor of Commerce degree in marketing. | |
| Jack Li Builder Datassential Jack Li spearheads Datassential's custom insights and new products initiatives. Jack has led hundreds of research studies for foodservice manufacturers and distributors across a broad array of topics. Jack holds an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA and is a 2003 recipient of the IFMA Sparkplug award. | |
| Will Riley VP Brand Management Zaxby’s Will Riley is the Vice President of Brand Management for Zaxby’s Franchising LLC. In this role, he leads the strategy and development of all brand marketing, digital marketing, advertising, public relations, social media and field marketing. Prior to joining the Brand Management team at Zaxby’s, he earned his MBA from the University of Georgia and spent many years in marketing leadership roles at Aflac, Newell and The Home Depot. Will is originally from South Carolina where he first started with the Zaxby’s brand in 1995 as a cashier at one of the Greenville, SC locations. | |
| Dennie Sandefer Sr. Director of Purchasing Zaxby’s Dennie Sandefer joined Zaxby’s Franchising, LLC in February 2010 and is currently the Senior Director of Purchasing. With over 30 years in the industry, she and her team are responsible for managing and facilitating the relationship between the brand, the distributors and the suppliers as well as finding innovative solutions to supply chain issues. She began her career in Quality Assurance before moving into the supply chain sector and has previously held positions with Church’s Chicken, Bojangles’ Chicken & Biscuits, Popeye’s and Lee’s Famous Recipe. Dennie was the first female to graduate with degree in Poultry Science from Mississippi State University and has developed the ability to hypnotize a chicken! Dennie and her husband Mike, live in Statham, GA with their two dogs and enjoy traveling and gardening in their spare time. | |
| Jeff Schroeder Managing Partner Kinetic12 Jeff offers more than 25 years of sales, marketing and strategy, senior leadership and C-level experience with top CPG, Financial Services and Consulting companies, including Procter & Gamble, Pepperidge Farms, American Express, Equifax and The Partnering Group.At P&G, Jeff led the customer execution plans for the launch of iconic brands such as Pampers and Luvs.At The Partnering Group, he led the creation, development and execution of industry best practices initiatives, including the Full Plate™ Foodservice Category Management platform.Most recently, Jeff held the position of Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer for Bluefin Payment Systems, a financial technology company focused on data encryption and cyber security. | |
| Jim Shiffler North American Director of Grocery & Bakery Gordon Food Service Jim serves as North American Director of Grocery & Bakery. He began his career as a chef and restaurant manager. He joined Gordon Food Service in 1985 as a sales representative and has held various merchandising and leadership roles in Center of the Plate and most recently Grocery & Bakery. | |
| Warren Solochek President, Foodservice The NPD Group Warren joined NPD’s Foodservice group in 2003. His responsibilities include overseeing relationships with all existing CREST® clients, both operators and manufacturers. His role at NPD gives him a great deal of insight into today’s Foodservice industry issues and trends, and helps him anticipate the issues the industry will face in the future. Prior to coming to NPD, Warren spent five years running client service and product development at Concept Shopping, Inc. (CSI). CSI was a consumer promotion company that utilizes retailer loyalty card data to target individualized promotions. | |
| Chris Stainton Vice President, Supply Chain Unidine Chris leads Unidine’s supply chain team. He has an extensive background in contract foodservice purchasing in healthcare, school, B & I, sport and entertainment markets. With over 20 years’ experience in food, paper, distribution, supplies, equipment and services purchasing, Chris brings a solutions based mindset to deliver the right product at the right cost and time. Prior to joining Unidine, Chris led purchasing teams at one of the largest Group Purchasing Organizations in the United States, where he executed supply strategies for over 14,000 facilities. Chris holds a Masters of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and International Business from Florida International University in Miami, Florida. | |
| Thomas Talbert VP, Culinary Research & Development CSSI A ten-year veteran of CSSI, Thomas leads the culinary team of 15 chefs and dietitians in foodservice development. He’s a graduate of Johnson & Wales University (Bachelor of Science in Culinary Nutrition) and the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s dietetics program. Helping food manufacturers increase sales in the foodservice industry is Thomas’ major focus at CSSI. His depth of knowledge is firmly grounded in experience as a chef and registered dietitian—presenting new culinary concepts and menu trends that have driven innovation at many of the top restaurant chains. Coupled with his expertise in product development, sales support and marketing strategy, he has helped clients achieve foodservice success in the U.S., South America, Asia and the Caribbean. | |
| Jim Taylor SVP Product Development & Innovation Arby's Jim Taylor serves as the Senior Vice President of Product Development and Innovation for Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc. In this role, Jim leads all food R&D, new promotion development and core menu innovation. Since joining Arby’s in 2013, Jim has been a key contributor to the Brand’s reinvigoration by leading the successful development and launch of over 20 core menu and promotion initiatives. This innovation helped propel Arby’s to record sales in 2015 and helped drive same-store sales growth that significantly outpaced the industry. One of the most successful launches has been the new Sliders platform, which sold over 120MM sandwiches in its first nine months and won a 2015 MenuMasters award. Jim has a long history of success in building brands and businesses through marketing and innovation. He spent 15 years in Brand Management at Procter & Gamble, working on iconic Brands such as Crest, Gillette and Old Spice. Prior to joining Arby’s, Jim spent four years at Darden Restaurants working on Red Lobster and Olive Garden. | |
| David West Senior Director - Category Assortment & Strategy Sysco David West, Senior Director of Category Management at Sysco, is a dynamic food industry professional with nearly 25 years of experience across traditional grocery and foodservice. Dave’s working experience is unique as he’s served in a number of different roles while working for companies including Kellogg, Daymon Worldwide, Kmart, The Arbor Strategy Group, Campbell Soup, Kraft and now Sysco. Although his experience spans across a variety of roles and companies, his expertise resides in market research, insights, strategy, sales planning, category management, and innovation. Dave has a bachelor degree in Food Marketing from Western Michigan University and an MBA from Wayne State University. When Dave isn’t working, he enjoys spending time with his family and participating in the classic car hobby. | |
