As a Purdue graduate with a background in tech Taylor moved her problem solving skills to a focus in Salesforce solutions. With 5+ years of experience in the sports industry and a Salesforce Pathfinder Alumna she is leading the customer engagement space as the Associate Director of Salesforce products at Pacers Sports and Entertainment. Striving to develop a positive work environment that fosters innovation, progression, and data driven decisions. She focuses on open communication, bringing insight and creative solutions to expand business.

Andrew Laudato is the author of Fostering Innovation: How to Build an Amazing IT Team. He started his career as a computer programmer and quickly realized he was as passionate about business as technology. The intersection of business and technology is where innovation happens and where people and companies succeed. After spending more than 20 years as a CIO/CTO, Laudato currently serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of The Vitamin Shoppe. In this role, he leads operations across digital commerce, information technology, enterprise portfolio management, supply chain, strategic sourcing, quality, and commercialization. Andrew is a member of the CNBC technology executive council and the New York City CIO executive council.

Sydney Lesko has been with Pacers Sports and Entertainment for almost three years and serves as the Marketing Cloud Manager. Sydney strives to connect and build automations between the CRM and Marketing Cloud to optimize solutions for PS&E and gain deep insights for internal stakeholders. Her top projects for PS&E include automated and multi-step journeys, Interaction Studio data capture use case, and optimizing the newly launched SMS program. She is also pursuing her MBA from the Kelley School of Business to further her leadership skills and improve her data analytics background.

Christina Pletnewski is a powerhouse marketer, leading new and innovative solutions around the end-to-end customer experience at Safelite. Christina is currently serving as Vice President, Customer Experience at Safelite to build and lead a team to create meaningful experiences for customers, associates and clients that drive business value. Christina joined Safelite Group in January of 2016 as the Vice President of Marketing leading TV creative and media, market research, B2B marketing, corporate communications, internal creative and ancillary products and services. As a career marketer and customer advocate, Christina has worked for leading companies including Abbott, Nestle and SC Johnson.

J Ackley is the Vice President of Spark Technologies Development for Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants Inc. and oversees all company technology development platforms. Ackley has over 25 years’ experience in the technology field and previously served in an executive role that served many Fortune 100 companies that included Walmart, Albertsons, and Dollar General. He has participated in several panels including the Gilbane conferences on Content, Technology and the Customer Experience. Ackley received a degree in Business Computer Information Systems from the University of North Texas.

Kevin Armstrong is Base22's Chief Innovation Officer. He has a twenty-five-year career leveraging his experience as a CTO, CIO, owner, and consultant. He successfully designs and implements business outcome-focused solutions while applying innovation methodologies to lead and support transformational enterprise initiatives for commercial and public clients.

Chris Artinian serves as President & CEO at Condado Tacos and Tequila, an emerging brand that specializes in tacos, margs and tequilas, with growth plans to double its size by the end of 2023. Chris has over 30 years of restaurant and retail experience, with both private and public companies, and has extensive experience in restaurant and consumer services. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Another Broken Egg, Ted’s Cafe Escondido, and Condado Tacos. Chris joined Condado Tacos to partner with the team in charting the next phase of meteoric growth. He continues to serve as an Operating Director at The Beekman Group.

Jon Asher is an outdoor enthusiast, Digital Marketing Disruptor, and lover of "punny" content. He is a Berkeley graduate with an MBA from Chapman and over 10 years of experience in all things digital. He started out counting beans as an Aerospace Analyst and is now, coincidentally, promoting the benefits of a plant-based diet at Nékter Juice Bar.

As part of Krispy Kreme’s global, iconic brand Richard Bell’s key responsibilities include IT Strategy, Business Partner (HR, Operations, Marketing/Digital, International), Retail Systems, Workforce Management, People Systems, Data Warehousing, Integrations, Analytics and Application Development, Continuous Improvement, RPA. Previously, Richard was Vice President of Consulting Services / Principal Consultant for J.S. Walker & Company. Spanning nearly 20 years, Richard performed a range of roles from Developer to VP.

As Chief Veterans Experience Officer, John Boerstler leads the Veterans Experience Office (VEO), the Secretary’s customer experience (CX) insight engine supporting and enabling the Department in providing the highest quality experiences in the delivery of care, benefits and memorial services to Service members, Veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors. In this role he provides executive oversight of VEO’s many innovative projects and programs, working collaboratively within VA’s leadership to help achieve greater access, outcomes and experiences for all VA’s customers. Prior to his current position, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of Combined Arms, a collaborative backbone organization whose purpose was to connect Veterans to thousands of government and non-profit services.

Benjamin Brown serves as Vice President of Marketing at ConverseNow, the leading voice AI platform for quick service restaurants to automate drive-thru and phone orders. Ben’s team is driving thought leadership to shed light on the fast-growing category of voice AI, empowering franchise owners with the tools they need to enhance guest experience and support restaurant staff. Dedicating his career to the intersection of hospitality and technology, Ben has led digital experience at MGM Resorts International and Carnival Corporation, as well as worked with leading restaurant and hotel groups across nearly 60 countries. He currently resides in San Diego, CA.

Kristen Call leads innovators and technologist in shaping the future of business. She has 25+ years of retail experience and is passionate about technology and how it drives best in class outcomes. Having spent the majority of her career in IT she is focused not only on the importance of how technology impacts organization but how it shapes the lives of those it touches.

Before joining Networld Media Group as Vice President of Events, Cherryh Cansler spent several years as VP of Editorial managing Networld’s nine B2B publications. Throughout her 20-year career as a journalist, she’s written about a variety of topics, ranging from the restaurant industry and technology to health and fitness news. Her byline has appeared in a plethora of newspapers, magazines and websites, including Forbes, The Kansas City Star and American Fitness magazine. She also serves as the managing editor for FastCasual.com.

Susan Ann Carroll-Boser started her career with White Castle in 1994 as a systems administrator. She has consistently advanced in the company during her 26-year career and now serves as the vice president of technology. In this position, Susan has the overall responsibility for the company’s technology strategy, leading the tech shared services, IT and information services departments. Her teams are responsible for software development, software implementation, the server/data center, network services and cybersecurity. Susan also serves on White Castle’s restaurant leadership team and leads the company’s technology strategy team. Susan is active with the National Restaurant Association (NRA) serving as chairman of its Cybersecurity Committee.

Jeremy Cauble is focused on leveraging the latest technology to create new ways to delight customers and provide insightful data to clients through unattended retail stores. With a background in marketing and over 10 years of experience in the industry, he has seen how quickly technology, customer preferences and client expectations change and evolve, especially during the last two years, which is why he emphasizes continuous learning, active listening, unrelenting exploration, and an open mind to see beyond an innovation’s face value and discover all the underlying possibilities for how it can be used within daily business operations.

Kathleen Chugh is an accomplished CIO SVP of IT with over 30 years’ experience in IT, with the last twenty three years focused in the Restaurant industry. She currently is the North America CTO for Nando’s Peri Peri Chicken, where she is responsible for IT for US and Canada locations. She is focusing on strategy and innovation to move the Nando’s brand forward in the North America market. Prior to Nando’s, she was the SVP of IT for Bravo Brio Restaurant Group, where she was passionate about implementing guest facing technologies and systems for the restaurants. During her tenure, she prepared IT for growth, including focusing on PCI, security and digital initiatives.

David Coulson is the Head of Innovation for Tandem Theory, an integrated, data sciences based agency in Addison, TX. A huge analytics and loyalty marketing geek, he has built best in class loyalty programs for some of the world’s top brands as well as the platforms, apps or engagements rooted in personalization that continue to increase their lifetime value with fans. Some of his past and present clients include Starbuck’s, Panera, Rent A Center, Domino’s, MGRMI, American Express, and PepsiCo. He’s an influential, creative, make-it-happen marketing leader with deep consumer and technology experience that truly loves helping brands exceed their consumer’s expectations while growing their digital footprint.

Will Duderstadt is currently the VP, Chief Marketing Officer at M/I Homes, one of the nation's leading builders of single-family homes, having delivered over 140,000 homes. He oversees digital and traditional marketing campaigns and strategy for 16 divisions in 12 states.

Lt. General Michael Ferriter, U.S. Army (Retired) serves as President and CEO of the National Veterans Memorial and Museum. In his role, Michael leads the development of a national community and funding base for the Museum. He communicates the mission and vision to Veterans, active military, donors, partners, and other key constituencies. Michael strives to create a community gathering place where the general public can join Veterans and members of the United States Armed Forces in celebrating the service and honoring the sacrifice made by Veterans.

Rachel Friedman is Founder and CEO of TENFOLD and TENSPACE. TENFOLD is an award-winning strategy and creative firm that builds brands through the lens of culture - leveraging what makes them truly unique and special on the inside. The company’s designed solutions bring company culture to life through omni-channel activation in the physical, digital and experiential space. TENSPACE is a dedicated space that leverages TENFOLD’s design approach to create in-real-life experiences for online brands. TENSPACE features one brand at a time in an experiential ‘show’ for 2-months. This revolving brick-andmortar concept is a completely new shopping experience and acquisition platform that is changing the way consumers engage with DTC brands.

Stan Friedman is passionate about franchising. Past leadership positions include C-Level roles at: Blimpie International, Wing Zone, Maggie Moos and Tutor Doctor. For the past 10 years, Stan has been Partner/President of FRM Solutions, a CRM solution tailored exclusively toward franchising and the Principal Consultant of Sensible Franchising, a boutique franchise-centric consultancy. A tireless advocate for diversity in franchising, during the summer of 2008, Stan was invited by the White House to participate in the President’s Conference for Community Empowerment. Previously his creation of an Urban Expansion Initiative for Blimpie International, earned him their Innovation of the Year Award. In 2011 the (IFA) International Franchise Association honored Stan with their coveted Ronal E. Harrison Diversity Award, for his many years of dedication to the expansion of franchising through diversity.

Industry award winning strategic marketer, innovator, and leader. Proven results leading teams and strategic roadmap in food, retail, and technology innovation including breakthrough digital marketing and branding campaigns. Enthusiastic people advocate committed to developing future leaders. Success building new company functions and leading teams from concept ideation through post-launch product management. Articulate and persuasive with varied audiences including executive leadership. Expansive expertise in e-commerce, digital marketing and media, product management, strategy, digital UX + retail customer experiences.

Sam Gerace leads the Lineup.ai team as they launch innovative data science products that drastically increase revenue forecasting accuracy and optimize labor scheduling for the restaurant industry. Sam is a five-time tech entrepreneur – the founding Chief Executive Officer of Convey, a licensor of patents and mobile+cloud CRM libraries for sales and account management teams; Veritix (Flash Seats), a sports and live-entertainment SaaS platform company processing over $1 billion in ticketing transactions annually; Be Free, a digital marketing platform company processing over $2 billion in commerce transactions annually; PCXIS, Inc. a public utility marketing software company; and PCX Consulting, Inc., a systems development firm serving heavy industry. Sam and his wife are committed to organizations helping children facing significant challenges. Sam has chaired the board of Minds Matter of Cleveland for eight years, is the President of the board of the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra.

Nick Hancart is a Columbus, Ohio, native who graduated from the University of Dayton. As the Regional Events Supervisor for Rise Brands, he helps on the Events Team for multiple of their brands from Pins Mechanical Co. and 16-Bit Arcade to No Soliciting, a members-only restaurant and bar. Through multiple kinds of daily touchpoints, he ensures events of all scopes have a lasting impression and great experience.

As Senior Manager of Solutions Commercialization, Kelly Harlin identifies and vets solutions for Sharp NEC Display Solutions that complement its existing display portfolio in the areas of IoT, software, and analytics. In her three years with Sharp/NEC, she has worked on key solution launches including NaViSense and Analytics Learning Platform (ALP). Kelly has over 20 years of experience in marketing and merchandising and holds degrees in English and elementary education from Western Washington University.

As a published author, accomplished motivational speaker and Senior Director of Customer Experience for the Central Ohio Transit Authority, Shara Hutchinson leads by example in providing innovative business solutions to leaders and organizations. Shara is an empathetic, technology-oriented executive and customer-success professional with more than 17 years of leadership experience and a proven track record of developing and implementing operational strategies and technologies that creatively enhance the customer experience while supporting key business initiatives. She is a change agent with expertise in delivering value and leveraging customer feedback to ensure long-term relationships that drive retention and recurring revenue expansion. Her specialty is transforming start-up teams and elevating them to enterprise level by scaling processes to match growth and strengthening interdepartmental cohesion. She is passionate about optimizing the customer experience to drive results.

Stacey Kane has more than 25 years of experience working with multi-unit restaurant chains as a Head of Marketing and Marketing Consultant. She has worked with such brands as California Tortilla, Think Food Group, Subway and East Coast Wings. Known for her incredible creativity and obsession with data she was one of the pioneers of using social media in the restaurant space and was named a Top 20 Movers and Shakers by Fast Casual Magazine three times. Currently, Stacey is a fractional CMO for several fast casual brands including and works as a marketing consultant for CORE: Children of Restaurant Employees a non-profit that serves food and beverage employees with children.

Prakash Karamchandani is a self-proclaimed foodie and technology junkie who co-founded Balance Pan-Asian Grille, a nationally-acclaimed fast-casual Asian fusion multi-unit concept based in Ohio. Since starting the venture in 2010, Prakash has been recognized as a Top 24 Fast Casual Executive and a 20 Under 40 recipient. He is a graduate of the University of Toledo where he received his bachelor’s degree in business administration and met his company’s co-founder. Prakash is a proud husband and father of two.

Mike Kelly is the Director of Business Development and Distribution Partnerships for AtmosphereTV. As one of the original 5 employees at Atmosphere, then known as CHIVE TV, Mike has helped to lead distribution of AtmosphereTV to over 20,000 businesses in 14 countries who run their service daily. Atmosphere now employs over 300 people between their HQ in Austin,TX as well as satellite offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and London to further nurture the rapid growth of their company.

With a background in Geography and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Tim began his career 15 years ago with MapInfo Corp, consulting for Home Depot as well as national restaurant chains such as Burger King, KFC, Taco Bell, and Pollo Tropical. As Director of Retail Strategies & Head of Vivalociti at La Macchia Group, he brings an increased understanding of how successful national retailers view markets. Tim believes in the power of data supported by in-market intelligence to predict viability of new branch locations. Since joining La Macchia Group, Tim has become an expert in the industry, participating in industry colloquiums, focus groups, and round tables.

EJ Kritz is a seasoned strategist, trainer, and keynote speaker with extensive experience working for some of the finest brands in Financial Services, Retail, Call Center, Franchising, and Media. As the Executive Vice President of apc’s Training, EJ supports banking organizations of all sizes to build and deliver world-class training solutions focused on such critical topics as Customer Experience, Leadership, Management, Needs-Based Sales, Employee Engagement, Problem Resolution, and more.

Steve Lieber is an expert in designing restaurant concepts, the art of pizza making and is a certified pizzaiolo from Italy. As Vice President of Franchise Development, Steve leads the team who sold over 150 franchises to over 50 franchise groups. His team has sold franchises in 20+ states and international deals in Kuwait and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Our teams built systemwide restaurant sales of $100+ million USD in under 5 years. Steve was on opening restaurant teams for 10+ states in the United States. He taught franchisees recruiting techniques, training and operating systems, professionalism, food ordering and preparation, inventory controls, labor controls, local store marketing to increase sales and profitability of all locations.

John Lowe took the leap from General Electric Company to the then four-shop ice cream company based on his belief that Jeni Britton Bauer was a generational talent making the World’s finest ice creams. He and Jeni had been long-time friends, and they decided that their talents were a perfect yin and yang. The Company has grown to 38 scoop shops, from LA to DC, and has “gone national” with its pints on the freezer shelves of more than 3,000 of America’s finest retailers, while developing the nation’s largest direct-to-consumer ice cream business.

Dan Morton is VP, Guest Experience, at Hilton, where he's responsible for guest-facing technologies like Digital Key, Connected Room, and Payments for Hilton's many brands worldwide. Previously, Dan led Product and Partnerships for Bose, a class-leading consumer audio company. He has also worked as a co-founder at consumer technology startups, an Assistant Professor at Berklee College of Music, an engineer, and a composer. He holds an MS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a BS from Texas A&M.

Jason Profitt is the Director of Technology for The Piada Group, overseeing and executing technology solutions inside the restaurants and through their digital spaces. Jason joined Piada in 2017 where he has been responsible for the continued growth of online, mobile, and third-party ordering, as well as the development of customized internal solutions for the brand. Before becoming part of Piada, he spent 10+ years in software engineering, where he worked with several other restaurant brands on custom online and mobile ordering solutions, and brings with him extensive knowledge in digital user experience and engagement.

Josh Sarver, Vice President of Experiences & Operations, is responsible for supporting COSI’s mission by ensuring excellence in the development and production of educational, attractive and functional guest experiences by managing the development process and technical direction for the research, design, development, production, fabrication and evaluation of new experiences, additions to the permanent exhibition base, traveling exhibition and other permanent and temporary experiences. In addition, his responsibilities include oversight of the facilities, safety & security, information technology, grounds, volunteer experiences, as well as marketing and communications.

Ben Stormer joined g2o in 2019 as Senior Vice President of their Technology business line. He leads a team of strategists, architects, developers, and system engineers focused on delivering innovative digital experiences and solutions for their clients. Prior to g2o, Ben was Vice President, Specialty Products at CoverMyMeds, where he focused on solving complex customer problems in healthcare. Early in his career, he served in a number of leadership roles at Cardinal Health, including overseeing product innovation, technical product management and infrastructure architecture and platforms.

Julie Wade is the Senior Director of Marketing for Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe and is currently leading the brand to effectively reach guests now that buying habits of the chain’s customers in 90+ locations have changed. Using an omnichannel approach, Julie is spearheading an app and online ordering update, digital advertising efforts, third party delivery promotions, and new social media channels to interact with guests in ways not thought possible previously, while dissecting every possible guest interaction. With over 15 years of experience in retail and restaurants, Julie brings experience from operations, development, and franchising to Taziki’s. She consistently challenges the status quo and never takes, “This is how we’ve always done it,” as an acceptable answer.

April Walker is a digital transformation expert, board member, published author, industry thought-leader and C-suite advisor. She has been with Microsoft for over 4 years and is the General Manager of the US Microsoft Technology Centers where she leads a team of more than 100+ architects and is accountable for 15 state-of-the-art technology innovation centers and industry centers-of-excellence across the country. In this role, she leads an organization chartered with scope and influence to help global enterprise leaders from all industries to transform into digital businesses and create enhanced customer experiences (CX). A career spanning more than 30 years in global leadership, April has been the catalyst for driving change and direction.

James Walker is an industry leading consumer-packaged goods and restaurant expert. His specialty is in building agile high-performance teams, to drive rapid enterprise growth and value. James is an authority in restaurant technology and delivery channels, with a focus on mergers & acquisitions, domestic and international development, operations, and new product development. He has more than 30 years of broad-based, senior level, management experience in the hospitality and retail industries for brands such as Nathan’s Famous, Baja Fresh, Cinnabon, and Subway. As the North American Vice President for Subway, James oversaw their 28,000 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada and was instrumental in starting Subway’s delivery program.

Donna Westmoreland is the Chief Operating Officer of I.M.P., Inc., the Washington, DC company that operates the renowned 9:30 Club, The Anthem, Merriweather Post Pavilion and the Lincoln Theatre. An avid music fan and born event planner, Donna was drawn to the independent company post-college, quickly taking on production responsibilities, and subsequently becoming General Manager. She returned to I.M.P. as VP of Marketing after spearheading the marketing, nonprofit and sponsorship components of Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Fair touring festival. Its groundbreaking, all-woman lineup played over 130 shows in three years at major North American venues including the Rose Bowl, Jones Beach and The Gorge in Washington State. In her roles at both I.M.P. and Lilith Fair, Donna has enjoyed opportunities to work with top performers, Fortune 100 executives and national and regional leaders.

Luke Wilwerding is the Vice President of North America sales at Elo, a global leader in retail and hospitality touchscreen solutions. As Vice President, Wilwerding leads interactive in-store initiatives for North America's largest customers. With over 20 years of interactive technology experience, Luke is at the forefront of innovation as retail customers create new shopping journeys that push engagement, creativity, information, and commerce. Elo solutions can be found across all verticals, with over 25 million installations deployed in many of the most popular retail chains and luxury brand stores across the globe. Working with some of the biggest retailers around the world, Luke is in a unique position to understand what’s coming next in retail. Learn more about Luke and connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukewilwerding.

Kathleen Wood is the Founder of Kathleen Wood Partners (KWP), an innovative growth strategy firm committed to business success. Kathleen and her team specialize in transforming visions into reality through strategic growth solutions, business optimization, competitive sales building, and leadership development. KWP focuses on developing acceleration strategies to transform small companies into national brands. The scope of their work spans across hospitality, healthcare, service, manufacturing, and retail clients. Kathleen Wood is a nationally recognized growth strategist known for her ability to help small businesses scale into market leaders, industry icons, and billion-dollar brands. Kathleen's expertise is in working with Founders and Executives to optimize their businesses for maximum performance and profitability. Kathleen believes that great leaders deserve to build great businesses, and has a proven track-record of success in making it happen.