Conference Faculty
The Store Brands Decisions Innovation & Marketing Summit conference program is presented by the industry's most innovative and successful thought leaders. The following experts presented at the first Summit in July 2011.



Tom Blischok
Global President, Innovation and Strategy, SymphonyIRI Group
Session:
Redefining Health & Wellness with Store Brands

As president of Global Innovation and Strategy for SymphonyIRI Group, Thom Blischok leads the development of SymphonyIRI's value proposition for the company's retail and manufacturer clients and delivers relevant and timely thought leadership to global markets in such areas as shopper centricity, new-wave collaboration, rewiring marketing and merchandising and increasing competitiveness at retail. With more than 40 years of experience in the retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) industries, Blischok leads SymphonyIRI's "think tank" in innovation. He frequently provides commentary on the CPG industry trends for leading publications, including The Wall Street Journal and Business Week, and speaks at more than 100 conferences per year. Blischok previously served as Global Chairman of Coopers & Lybrand Retail & Distribution; President of AT&T Global Consulting; Chairman and CEO of MindMeld, Inc., a market-leading, shopper intelligence company whose client base has included Walmart, Kmart, Food Lion, Target, CVS, Walgreens, Family Dollar, Dollar General, 7-11 as well as a number of international retailers.


Reggie Bradford
CEO, Vitrue
Session:
Using Social Media to Drive Store Brand Value

Reggie Bradford is a veteran technology and management executive, and founder/CEO of Vitrue. Armed with 20+ years of experience in technology, Internet and marketing, Bradford started Vitrue in 2006 to give brands and agencies the easiest, most comprehensive and effective social media publishing and moderation platform available. Vitrue's Social Relationship Management (SRM) Platform makes possible a complete, turnkey solution for managing, measuring and maximizing customer engagement across Facebook, Twitter and other social networks. The platform is currently being used by global brands such as McDonald's, Procter & Gamble and Best Buy, as well as over 75 agencies worldwide. To date, the Vitrue SRM Platform is managing over 370 million fans across 2,000 Page in 40+ countries. Bradford received a BBA in Finance from the University of Georgia and an MBA from Emory University. He serves on numerous advisory and non-profit boards, including Tangent Media, Solo Health and The Brandery. He makes his home in Atlanta, Georgia with wife Holly and their six children.


Ryan Briggs
Director, Private Label Development, Innovation & Strategy, Brands Supervalu
Session:
A Roadmap for Enhanced Collaboration

Ryan Briggs is currently the Director of Product Development for SUPERVALU Private Brands. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Nutrition and Dietetics and was instrumental in the formation of the SUPERVALU Product Development team as well as the design and construction of the 12,000 square foot state-of-the-art Consumer Solution Center in the East View Corporate headquarters. He previously worked as the Director of Product Development and Quality for a privately-held nutraceutical and dietary supplement company based in Chicago. Ryan is married with two kids and enjoys competing in triathlons in his spare time.


Martin S. Cregg
President, ChaseDesign
Session:
Driving Category Performance with Shopper Driven Merchandising

As President of ChaseDesign, Martin works primarily with national and multi-national clients on design strategy and business growth for retail, consumer package goods, electronics, and health care markets. Since joining ChaseDesign in 1981, he has been involved in developing strategy and long-term vision projects for ChaseDesign's clients; and founded 10Red Design, a firm focused solely on shopper-based retail strategy development. His work has included projects in North America, Latin America, Europe, China and Japan. He currently leads strategy development for retail, including shopper-based behavior and category performance in chain retail. Founded in 1958 by David Chase, ChaseDesign developed over the last 50 years into one of the largest design firms in the US. With headquarters in Skaneateles, NY, Chase continues to grow and expand based on leveraging design as a business growth tool. The firm has core disciplines in retail design, product design, packaging, brand and corporate identity. Some of our clients include P&G, Olympus, Johnson & Johnson, Kroger, Kraft, Burt's Bees, Intuit, Sentry, Target, WelchAllyn, Energizer, Wyeth and Nestlé.


Koen de Jong
Founder and CEO, IPLC
Author of the book Private Label Uncovered
Session:
Store Brand Portfolio Management - European Perspective

Koen de Jong (M.Sc. Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam) is Founding Director of IPLC. He successfully held various commercial and general management positions at leading manufacturers of private labels in the United Kingdom, Germany, France and the Netherlands. His employers were, consecutively: Dailycer (breakfast cereals), United Coffee (coffee and tea), Dalli Werke (detergents, household cleaners, personal care) and Lamb Weston (frozen potato products). Koen de Jong is fluent in English, French, German and Dutch (mother tongue) and has an excellent feel for the cultural characteristics of the various countries within Europe. Since 2003, he has been working as a consultant for a large number of manufacturers and retailers in Europe and beyond. As an author he published two books: Private Labels in Europe, trends and challenges for retailers and manufacturers (2007) and Private Label Uncovered, taking retailer brands to the next level (2011).


Kurt Denman
Director, Brand Development | OfficeMax
Session:
Driving Store Brand Innovation

Kurt Denman is a consummate brand geek with a passion for consumer insight and engagement. With a track record in brand strategy and portfolio development, Kurt has helped brands such as Benjamin Moore Paints and Newell Rubbermaid better understand their consumers and the value their brands can deliver. Currently, Kurt is the Director of Brand Development at OfficeMax, a leader in office supplies and services based in Naperville, IL where he focuses on the portfolio of premium private label brands including TUL, DiVOGA and [IN]PLACE.


Matt Egol
Partner, Booz & Company
Session:
World Class Capabilities to Grow Store Brands

Matt Egol is a partner in Booz & Company's Consumer, Media & Digital practice, based in the firm's NY office. Matt has more than 15 years consulting experience, serving clients across the marketing ecosystem, including retailers, marketing services firms, CPG manufacturers, and media companies. As brand marketers and retailers embrace a broader set of opportunities to engage consumers along the full path to purchase, they are building new capabilities to better leverage and integrate content development, applications, and social media into their marketing toolkit. Many of these opportunities require better integration across traditional silos to build new capabilities, from consumer and shopper insights, to advertising and branded entertainment, to promotions and shopper marketing, to digital relationship marketing. Recent client engagements have focused on issues such as helping marketers develop new capabilities to drive sales growth and enhance brand equity, helping retailers better harness investments in digital to build consumer relationships and enhance promotions effectiveness, and helping media companies transform themselves into marketing solutions providers. Matt has led Booz & Company's annual study with the Grocery Manufacturers Association on shopper marketing for each of the past two years. Matt is a frequent speaker on shopper marketing at other industry forums such as the Association of National Advertisers, the In Store Marketing Institute, Google ThinkCPG, and Marketing to Women (M2W).


Joe Ennen
Senior Vice President
Consumer Brands
Safeway
Session:
Special Opening Keynote Presentation

Joe joined Safeway in September of 2009 as Senior Vice President of Consumer Brands. Joe joined us from Frito Lay where his roles included Group Vice President of Innovation and Vice President of the $5 billion dollar core brand portfolio. Prior to Frito Lay Joe was Vice President / General Manager with ConAgra where he ran the Health Choice business for 4 years. Before ConAgra Joe was with Kelloggs for 8 years where he held a series of marketing roles in the US and spent 3 years in the UK where he was the head of Marketing. Joe has a BS in Business from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from the University of Michigan. Joe relocated to Northern California with his wife of 21 years Linda, and their 3 teenage children, Tim, Rachel and Michael. As a wine lover, skier, golfer and general outdoorsman, Joe and his family are enjoying life in Northern California.


John Failla
President and Editorial Director, Store Brands Decisions
Session:
Driving Store Brand Innovation

John Failla’s career includes experience as a CPG Sales Manager, Publisher and Event Producer, including responsibility for launching and managing B2B media brands serving the retailing, CPG, and media markets. Prior to starting Store Brands Decisions in 2009, John spent six years as Group President at Nielsen Business Media where he was responsible for publications, trade shows, and online services. During his tenure at Nielsen, John was recognized for his entrepreneurial leadership. Before entering the tradeshow business, John was President of the Retail Group of VNU Business Media and spent 15 years at Lebhar Friedman. In those roles, John was responsible for managing media brands such as Progressive Grocer, Convenience Store News and Discount Store News. John began his career in Procter & Gamble's sales management program where he learned the fundamentals of consumer products marketing. An authority on retailing and business media brand development, Failla has been a featured speaker at domestic and international conferences on retailing, eretailing and media brand development.


Dan Hill
President, Sensory Logic Inc.
Session:
Store Brands Product Development: How the Eye, Heart and Pocketbook

Dan Hill is a recognized authority on the role of emotions in consumer and employee behavior with over a decade of experience operating his scientific, emotional insights consultancy: Sensory Logic, Inc. One of the company’s unique research tools is facial coding, highlighted in Malcolm Gladwell’s best-seller Blink and serves as the basis for Fox’s prime-time hit “Lie to Me." A frequent speaker at business conferences, Dan’s clients have included Target, Toyota, Reebok, Whirlpool, American Express, Capital One, Hershey, Lego, Nokia, and GlaxoSmithKline. Dan appeared on “The Today Show”, FOX, CNN, and MSNBC regarding his facial coding analysis of the 2008 Presidential Election. Press coverage of Dan and his company include The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Advertising Age, and TIME.com. Dan’s books include Body of Truth: Leveraging What Consumers Can’t or Won’t Say (Beaver’s Pond Press, 2007) and Emotionomics: Leveraging Emotions for Business Success (Kogan Page Publishing, 2009). Dan’s latest book, About Face: Ten Secrets to Emotionally Effective Advertising, was released in October, 2010 (Kogan Page Publishing). Dan received his Ph.D. from Rutgers University following studies at Brown University, Oxford University, and St. Olaf College. Dan and his wife, Karen Bernthal, a clothing designer, live in St. Paul, MN.


Kevin Hunt
Co-CEO and Co-President, Ralcorp Holdings
Session:
A Roadmap for Enhanced Collaboration

Kevin Hunt holds the titles of Co-Chief Executive Officer and Co-President of Ralcorp Holdings which is a leader in several food categories. Its Post line of breakfast cereals includes Honey Bunches of Oats which has the second highest pound share in the ready-to-eat cereal category. Its Ralston Foods division is the nation’s largest supplier of high quality private label cereal. Its Carriage House group is the nation’s largest supplier of store brand preserves and jellies, peanut butter, table syrups and dressings. Ralcorp’s Snack businesses, each an industry leader in its category, include Bremner Food Group, Inc., Nutcracker Brands, Inc., Medallion Foods, Inc., and Linette Quality Chocolates. Mr. Hunt holds a BA from Dartmouth College and a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University.


Katherine Lenhoff
VP Process and Technology, Innovation & Strategy, Brands, Loblaw
Session:
Driving Store Brand Innovation

As Vice President of Process and Technology, Innovation & Strategy, Brands, Katherine Lenhoff is responsible for defining and implementing standard business processes across Loblaw Brands, Marketing, Food Safety, QA/RA, Store Concept, and Indirect Procurement. She identifies and implements technology to support processes and strategic direction. Katherine joined Loblaw Companies Limited in 1984. She has held positions with IT, Corporate Development, and Loblaw Brands. She is bilingual, with over 6 years experience in a predominantly French language business environment, Provigo, Quebec. She has a Masters of Business Administration, from Rotman School of Business, University of Toronto.


Kim Lymn
Senior Manager of Packaging, Target Corporation
Session:
The Global Packaging Project

Kim Lymn is senior manager of packaging at Target where she is working to create a best in class retailer packaging development team. Kim has been at Target for 5 years and has over 25 years of packaging development experience. Prior to Target Kim was the director of packaging development at General Mills and the associate director of packaging at Kraft. She has focused on guest centric packaging development and building strong partnerships with packaging suppliers throughout her career. Kim and her teams have delivered key packaging innovations to the market including the first Parmesan cheese package in PET, reclosable shredded cheese packaging, Gogurt yogurt in a tube and an innovative package for Archer Farms cereal at Target. Kim has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Dairy Science and a Master of Science in Packaging Engineering from Michigan State University.



John B. Mahaffie
Co-founder and Principal, Leading Futurists LLC
Session:
The Future Consumer Workshop

John is a futurist who speaks, writes, and consults with organizations on how to understand and succeed as our society and our world change. John has been a speaker and consultant on the future since 1987.

He has authored over 3 dozen futures studies for corporations, government agencies, and nonprofit groups. He is an author and speaker on the aging workforce, aging societies globally, work and worklife, the future of science and technology, global economic change, the environment, transportation and infrastructure, health and medicine, telecommunications, and other futures topics. John has also co-led comprehensive multi-sponsor explorations of the future of multiple topics, including trends shaping work and worklife, lifestyles in the 21st century, and consumer product packaging.

John co-authored 2025: Scenarios of U.S. and Global Society Reshaped by Science and Technology (Oakhill, 1997) with Joe Coates and Andy Hines. Other books include From Scan to Plan: Integrating Trends into the Strategy Making Process (ASAE 2003), Future Work (Jossey Bass, 1990), Managing Your Future as an Association (ASAE, 1994), and The Future of the Apartment Industry (NMHC, 1995). John is a co-founder and past Board Chair of the Association of Professional Futurists. He authors a blog on foresight, www.foresightculture.com. John trained as an archaeologist, but honed his futures skills by working with business, government, and association executives to find successful futures for their organizations.



Maurice Markey
Vice President, Proprietary Brands Sam’s Clubs
Walmart Stores, Inc.
Session:
Driving Store Brand Innovation

Maurice Markey is Vice President, Private Brands at Sam’s Club. Sam’s Club is a division of Walmart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer with sales in excess of $400 billion. Maurice is responsible for leading the strategic development and growth of Sam’s Club’s Proprietary private brands; to include Member’s Mark® and Bakers and Chef® and the recently launched Artisan Fresh®, Daily Chef® and Simply Right®. In this capacity, Maurice leads brand management, product development and quality activities for the multi- billion dollar portfolio of Proprietary Brands that span approximately 50 categories.

Prior to Sam’s Club, Maurice spent fifteen years with Kraft Foods. He held positions of leadership in Marketing / General Management, Strategy and New Products in the U.S. and Asia. Maurice’s accomplishments have been recognized in Crain’s Chicago Business 40 under 40 top business professionals, Brandweek, the American Marketing Association, AdWeek and Diversity MBA magazine’s Top 100 under 50 Diverse Executives and Emerging Leaders. Prior to joining Kraft, Maurice worked in the Automotive and Pharmaceutical Industries with Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and Eli Lilly, in the areas of Engineering and Manufacturing Operations.

Mr. Markey holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. Maurice and his wife have three children and reside in Northwest Arkansas.


Catherine Roe
Head of CPG, Google, Inc.
Session:
Digital Media & Store Brands

As Head of CPG, Catherine leads Google’s digital advertising initiatives for the top Food and Beverage companies and their agency partners. Her Chicago based team takes a consultative, creative approach to the unique marketing challenges facing consumer goods companies in this new, digital world. Search, Video, Display, mobile and social all fall under Catherine’s leadership. Catherine brings over 20 years of experience in sales & marketing, specializing in CPG and Retail. Prior to joining Google in 2007, Catherine was Director of Sales –Team Target for Pepperidge Farm, leading the #2 Retailer team. She also ran the Central Region Sales Team, covering retailers across 13 states. Catherine started her career with SuperValu, and also worked in marketing for BP Amoco. Her passion is in brand building, creative sales solutions, and leading & developing highly productive teams. A pioneer in the quickly evolving digital shopper marketing arena, Catherine participates in many thought leadership conferences, including GMA, In Store Marketing Institute, and Symphony IRI. She’s a member of the In Store Marketing Institute League of Leaders. Catherine is a graduate of Gonzaga University, Spokane Washington and has her MBA in Marketing from the KellstadtGraduate School of Business, DePaul University in Chicago. She lives in Chicago with her husband and twin teenage boys. Catherine Roe


Edward Salzano
Executive Vice President LiDestri Food & Beverage
Session:
A Roadmap for Enhanced Collaboration

Edward P. Salzano serves as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of LiDestri Foods, the premier manufacturer of sauces, dips and beverages. Known to the consumer for its Francesco Rinaldi line, it has a large private label business supporting brands such as Newman's Own and provides contract manufacturing and packaging services.


John Seal
Senior Vice President and Senior Consultant, Burke, Inc.
Session:
Shopper Segmentation and Store Brand Portfolio Management

John Seal has been with Burke, Inc., since 1991 and currently serves as Senior Vice President and Senior Consultant in Burke's Decision Sciences group. In that capacity, Mr. Seal is responsible for the development and maintenance of Burke's custom marketing research analytical capabilities. He is the primary consultant on advanced analytical issues for Burke's professional staff, as well as for Burke clients in a wide variety of industries, spanning consumer and business-to-business applications. He is responsible for maintaining Burke's industry presence with regard to analytical developments through publications and presenting at professional conferences. Mr. Seal has particular expertise in the areas of conjoint modeling, pricing research and segmentation, and teaches each of those topics through Burke's training and professional education division, the Burke Institute. In addition, Mr. Seal has primary responsibility for training of Burke's internal analytical and consulting staff. He leads Burke's R&D and product improvement efforts on topics including internet research, data weighting, segmentation, and discrete choice modeling. John holds a Masters Degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan, and an undergraduate degree in Mathematics from Drake University.


Sohrab Vossoughi
Founder and CEO
ZIBA
Session:
Product Innovation Beyond the Store Shelf

Sohrab Vossoughi guides the vision and creative direction for Ziba Design. As founder and president, his passion for business-driven design has always shaped Ziba's growth and evolution. Sohrab is the recipient of numerous patents and design awards, including Best of Category Awards at Hannover Fair; ID International Design Designers Choice Awards; IDEA Awards from the Industrial Designers Society of America; and IDSA/Northwest Design Excellence Awards. He holds more than 40 patents, has received ten citations in Business Week magazine for Best Product Design, and is the only industrial designer to have been elected "Global Leader of Tomorrow," by the World Economic Forum. Sohrab was named "Entrepreneur of the Year" by BusinessWeek (1992); and one of the 40 most influential designers in the US by International Design Magazine (1994). In 2000, he was elected to be a member of the World Technology Network in the area of design. And in 2005, he was named one of five "innovation gurus" in the US by BusinessWeek magazine. Sohrab has been a visiting professor, lecturer and guest speaker at many national and international universities and conferences. He has been a juror to many national and international design competitions, and has advised the Hong Kong Productivity Council since 1998. Sohrab graduated with a degree in industrial design and mechanical engineering from San Jose State University in 1979. He immediately joined Hewlett-Packard Corporation, where he worked until becoming an independent consultant in 1982. He founded Ziba Design in 1984.


Patrick Walsh
Senior Vice President, Industry Relations, Education and Research
Food Marketing Institute
Session:
A Roadmap for Enhanced Collaboration: FMI’s Private Brands Needs Assessment

Pat has been with FMI for 12 years. His responsibilities include industry and trade development, trade association collaboration, directing joint industry initiatives in supply chain, sustainability, asset protection, private brands, growth, operational excellence as well as leadership and management development initiatives. Pat leads FMI strategic initiatives in education to include all conferences, on-line learning capabilities as well as industry and consumer research and insights. Pat has spent his entire career in the food and consumer products industry starting in 1972 as a retail produce clerk with SUPERVALU, INC. while attending college. Prior to FMI, Pat spent 4 years at Safeway, Inc. and was the Corporate Director, Electronic Marketing. In that capacity, Pat was responsible for launching, developing and managing Safeway's frequent shopper, customer management and database marketing programs in North America. Pat spent 17 years of his career on the manufacturing side of the business with Kraft Foods, Inc. Pat started his career with General Foods Corporation as a sales representative and held a variety of sales, marketing and product management positions at Kraft Inc. including Business Unit Manager, Director of Marketing and Planning, District Sales Manager and Trade Promotion Manager. Pat managed the integration of the first Kraft General Foods consolidated sales and marketing organization combining the assets of Kraft, General Foods and Oscar Mayer in the Hawaii marketplace. Pat also held the position as President and General Manager of McHale VideoFilm, a subsidiary of the Burnham Broadcasting Company, Hawaii's largest commercial television production company. In that capacity, Pat was responsible for leading the strategic direction of the company and worked with an extensive network of advertising agencies such as Ogilvy and Mather and clients like McDonalds, United Airlines, Hilton Hotels, Safeway and political campaigns for Hawaii gubernatorial, U.S. Senate and Congressional campaigns. Pat received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science and International Affairs from The George Washington University.


Erin Young
Associate Principal
McKinsey & Company
Session:
Store Brands Organization Structure

Erin Young is an Associate Principal in the Toronto office of McKinsey & Company. Erin is a leader in McKinsey’s Retail Practice Merchandising Service Line and has deep expertise in private label. She has worked with grocery and drug retailers in North America and Europe on private label strategy, pricing and promotions, organization and cost-saving topics. Additionally, she works with grocery, apparel, specialty, drug and hardline retailers on strategy, merchandising and operations topics. Prior to joining McKinsey, Erin worked for Loblaw Companies on their private label team where she led the development and launch of PC Blue Menu. Erin graduated from Queen’s University in Kingston and lives in Toronto with her husband and young son.





Roger Zellner
Director – RD&Q Sustainability
Kraft Foods
Session:
The Global Packaging Project

Roger Zellner is the Director of Sustainability for Research, Development and Quality at Kraft Foods. He is responsible for development and implementation of RD&Q sustainability strategy, platforms and tools for package and product design. Additionally, he is the KF RD&Q leader for Sustainability internally and externally with customers, NGO’s, government and universities. Roger is currently a co-chair for the Global Packaging Project sponsored by the Consumer Goods Forum. In 1983, Roger began with Kraft Foods - Oscar Mayer business. He has held various management positions since 1992 in both product and packaging development and has worked in Madison, WI. , Glenview, IL and Munich Germany. He has been involved with many new product and package innovations which have been successful in market contributing significant revenue growth. Many of the innovations have leveraged new technologies and consumer research to deliver consumer desired benefits. Roger completed his B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 1983 and his Executive MBA in 2000, both at University of Wisconsin, Madison.



The Innovation & Marketing Summit is a production of Store Brands Decisions