Ryan’s natural fascination with the intersection of retail and technology has led to a career of inspiring and leading retailers to be on the forefront of the evolving “connected retail” environment. Ryan enjoys tackling changing consumer dynamics and defining how retail organizations can leverage technology to strengthen their competitive position. Most recently, Ryan was in charge of the core department store strategy at Lord & Taylor and Hudson’s Bay Company. Prior to joining Hudson’s Bay Company, Ryan was a senior leader at Accenture, driving growth and profit improvement across multiple clients, including Virgin Media, FedEx and Best Buy.

Ricardo is responsible for the Enterprise Solutions Group at Hughes developing enterprise services for retail and hospitality markets. In this role, Ricardo develops product/services strategy and market positioning for solutions designed for omni-channel retailers and the “connected restaurant”, focusing on enabling their customer’s digital “in-store” experience. Most recently, Ricardo has helped launch new services designed to accelerate access to cloud applications and deliver performance optimized in-store mobility solutions to retailers and restaurant operators through uniquely innovative Hughes technologies. Ricardo actively follows and discusses retail & restaurant technology trends on Twitter and LinkedIn and was recently named Social Media Mayor at an executive retailer event.

Amit leads the customer loyalty and marketing team at Marsh Supermarkets and drives the customer strategy using insights and big data. His primary focus is on building customer loyalty through enhancing touch points across the customer journey. Amit is deeply engaged in leveraging technology & marketing automation to improve customer experience & delivering personalization through location, context & augmentation. At Marsh Supermarkets he leads the implementation of the first ever ibeacon platform.  Prior to joining Marsh, Amit has worked in marketing and customer loyalty with retailers including Albertsons, Spartan and Supervalu where he activated insights across the multi-million member customer base. He also implemented one of the first RFID solutions at Dell working for Beal Solutions, an Austin based technology startup.

John directs all of Bluefin’s existing and new product marketing initiatives, including P2PE, QuickSwipe Mobile and PayConex for Salesforce. He has over 20 years of experience in product marketing specializing in managing the entire product life-cycle, from initial concept, research and development to final market launch and sales. Prior to joining Bluefin, John served as Vice President, Product, for Global Commerce and Director, Relationship Management, for Planet Payments.

Kam joined Chipotle in 2011 and currently manages the digital and mobile marketing programs across all Chipotle brands. Previously, Kam worked for Factory Design Labs and Crispin, Porter + Bogusky managing digital accounts for a number of brands including The North Face, Volkswagen, and Coke Zero. Prior to that, Kam was the director of online marketing for Vail Resorts. Interesting fact: Kam was named after a Hawaiian Tropic Suntan model, Kam Nelson.

As senior product manager for mobile, Eric is responsible for the cart and checkout for mobile sites, as well as iPhone and Android apps for Sears and Kmart. He has an extensive background in web and mobile development, working for organizations such as Groupon, Redbox, FTD, and Sprint. Eric is experienced in fast-paced development environments with the goal in mind of shipping the product, iterating, and creating great customer experiences.

Cherryh has been a reporter and editor for nearly 15 years, writing on a variety of topics, ranging from the restaurant industry to business and health and fitness news. Before joining Networld Media Group as managing editor of Food/Retail Publications, she was content specialist at Barkley ad agency in Kansas City and has served as editor for several publications, including FastCasual.com. She’s also written for several daily newspapers, magazines and websites, including Forbes, The Kansas City Star and American Fitness magazine.

Maryann has spent 17 years leading retail transformation initiatives at OfficeMax and Sears. Focusing on the customer experience and corporate ROI, she collaborated with key business groups to drive a seamless and profitable experience. Her strong in depth knowledge of retail (POS), marketing (Loyalty and Campaign mgmt), merchandising (Product & Assortment mgmt) allowed her to drive many challenging cross-functional customer facing solutions.  Prior to OfficeMax, she led POS implementations at Sears and most recently completed successful IT merger integration between OfficeMax and Office Depot

Michael joined Regal Cinemas in 2014, and he currently manages and oversees all mobile, web and paid media.  Since joining Regal, he has successfully increased website traffic 405% by focusing on local support and revamping the entire digital landscape for Regal, while providing a media cost savings of over 20%.  Prior to joining Regal, he was a senior account executive and director of digital media for an ad agency, where he worked with national brands, such as NHTSA, NASCAR, Toyota, McDonald’s, Malibu Boats, Ekornes and many more.

Jeff has been an integral part of the AC Entertainment (producers of Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Forecastle, Big Ears and AFROPUNK ATL) team for 12+ years and currently serves as VP of strategic partnerships. In this role, he works to establish and build mutually beneficial relationships with all of the communities in which AC Entertainment does business, creating key connections with community leaders in government, business and civic organizations in order to ensure a lasting and positive impact. Jeff also manages strategic brand partnerships, revenue generating programs, as well as the on-site/digital experiential components of event partnerships.

Brad has been in mobile marketing for over 10 years.  He joined Cabela’s in April of 2014 and he currently leads a team that focuses on mobile web, app, SMS and push notification.  Most recently, he was the mobile lead for Sports Authority, where he formulated a long-term strategy and implemented successful launches of a new mobile site, tablet site and a national messaging program.

Mike is a builder of mobile commerce businesses, having worked at Google, Braintree/Venmo and PayPal to conceive and grow payments, loyalty and ads/offers products from scratch to scale. Mike helped launch Google Wallet and sign anchor partners Walgreens, Subway and CVS. He then helped grow Braintree/Venmo’s mobile volume at partners like Uber, Airbnb, OpenTable and HotelTonight to a $4B annual run rate leading to a sale to PayPal. Early in his career, Mike worked in corporate M&A and strategy for Disney and MTV. Mike earned a BA from Stanford and an MBA from Kellogg.

Tyler joined Texas Roadhouse back in 2008 as a marketing intern and has since worked his way up to digital marketing manager. He currently manages all digital marketing for Texas Roadhouse’s three brands along with the companies Gift Card Program. Tyler has launched multiple websites, a mobile app, and the companies first ever mobile loyalty program. He continues to explore emerging technologies in an effort to increase brand loyalty and help drive sales to the individual restaurant locations.

Drago is director of business development at VeriFone.  He has extensive experience in almost all aspects of the card processing value chain including Payment terminals, POS and store level processing solutions, and acquiring and card issuing. With both a broad background and deep industry knowledge, Drago spends most of his time helping client build and implement payment solutions which look to address payment security, EMV readiness, and mobile payments, to name a few.

In her role as head of digital consumer research for Euromonitor International, Michelle Evans follows the technological advances that are forever altering the way that consumers research, shop and pay for products and services. She produces opinion pieces, in-depth reports, podcasts, video casts and general analysis to help clients make informed, long-term strategic business decisions as it relates to the emerging connected consumer. Michelle is a recognized expert in this fast-changing industry and has been invited to share her knowledge at several industry events. Michelle also has extensive experience with the media, being sought-after as an industry thought leader in many national and global publications.

During Lincoln’s three years at Pizza Hut, he has worked on growing the company’s digital business, which includes launching some of Pizza Hut’s first social advertising campaigns. In his current role, Lincoln manages the refinement of social campaigns into efficient sales driving channels, launching new media and technology partnerships, and advocating for a greater focus on local marketing capabilities.

Jeff has spent his last six years transforming the way teams use technology at Papa Murphy’s, from data integration that drives decision making to an internal support center growing utilization of POS systems with a new online ordering platform. Through his leadership, Papa Murphy’s has expanded their brand presence to include traditional web, mobile, ecommerce, and database marketing. A perfect precursor to pizza, Jeff was vice president of information technology for over six years at Rock Bottom Restaurants after holding various key roles and leadership positions at Champps Entertainment, Convergent Communications, and ICG Communications.

Jordan is the head of North America sales at Waze where he leads a growing team of account executives and managers positioned throughout the region. Jordan began his career in display advertising at HotJobs, acquired by Yahoo in 2002, before joining Shopping.com as manager of East Coast and Midwest partnerships. After eBay’s acquisition of Shopping.com in 2005, he helped launch, develop, and manage the national display monetization for Bizrate and Shopzilla, and was instrumental in the launch of their shopper behavioral targeting platform. Jordan graduated from Lehigh University and is recognized as an industry expert in e-commerce, shopper marketing, and mobile/location guided advertising.

Will has 14 years of experience ranging from newspapers to wire services and trade publications. Before becoming editor of Mobile Payments Today, he spent two years as the content manager for PaymentsJournal.com, a leading payments industry news aggregator and information hub published by Mercator Advisory Group. He spent four years covering the payments industry as an associate editor for multiple publications in SourceMedia’s Payments Group based in Chicago including ATM&Debit News, CardLine, PaymentsSource.com, ISO&Agent Weekly and American Banker. Will helped launched SourceMedia’s bi-weekly newsletter, Mobile Banker, and built and cultivated the Payments Group’s first Twitter presence.

Kristen is the mobile product manager for Paytronix Systems – a tech firm that supplies more than 280 restaurant and retail brands with an innovative customer engagement platform and data analytics. Specializing in the reward program and stored value spaces, Kristen is the thought leader behind white-labeled iOS and Android apps used today by brands such as California Pizza Kitchen and Wienerschnitzel, as well as the firm’s mobile app API used by Pinkberry and Thorntons. Kristen’s latest pet project – a geofenced messaging feature set – has helped clients compel a 30% same-day Eat ThruSM rate.

Darrell is the global practice leader in emerging media and applied data intelligence and “action” solutions for social, digital, and mobile media as a part of an overall integrated marketing services offering. Prior to Omnicom Media Group, Darrell spent two decades on the client and agency side of the desk creating new and reinvigorating existing image-driven brands at Foote, Cone & Belding, The Coca-Cola Company, The Interpublic Group of Companies and the Goose Island Beer Company. He founded one of the first influencer/word-of-mouth marketing agencies, Liquid Intelligence, where he created the most talked-about beverage comeback story in over 50 years: Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer.

Nick has been with The Greene Turtle, a unique sports bar chain that recently opened up it’s 40the location, since 2012. He currently works on the beverage program, system-wide marketing iniativies/campaigns, Loyalty Program, Gift Card Program, New Restaurant marketing strategy, and local restaurant marketing. Last year he integrated sports gamification within their Rewards App  Prior to beginning his career with The Greene Turtle, Nick worked for Red Robin as the new restaurant operations director.

Charlie serves as senior director of the GameStop Technology Institute (GTI). GTI is a business unit focused on creating affiliations with leading technology corporations and academic institutions to discover and deliver business innovation and technology solutions to better address the needs of today’s empowered consumer. In this role, Charlie is accountable for accelerating business growth through the application of emerging technologies that create next-generation customer experiences. Current research and development activities are focused on connected, smart-store experiences and digital marketing within the retail space. Charlie has more than 15 years of retail technology experience and a knack for combining emerging technology, business strategy and innovation to solve big problems.

Erin is currently VP of marketing at Freebirds World Burrito. Prior to her current position, she oversaw all mobile, social, and digital initiatives for the national restaurant chain Wingstop. Previously, she worked at Palms Casino Resorts as the executive director of marketing and eCommerce. Erin has worked at MGM Resorts International, where she was responsible for the digital ad planning and buying for Monte Carlo, Mandalay Bay, New York New York, Beau Rivage, and Gold Strike.

Justin serves as the vice president of marketing at Cousins Subs where he is responsible for managing ad and PR agency relationships, developing national promotion calendars, creating and executing system-wide strategic initiatives related to advertising, marketing and public relations. Justin brings nearly nine years of restaurant industry experience to Cousins Subs as well, as more than four years in public and media relations with the Milwaukee Bucks. Justin holds a Bachelor of Arts in communications from Cardinal Stritch University. McCoy serves on the Cousins Subs management team and is a director on the company’s Make It Better Foundation board.

Bhaskar is responsible for all coupon and local flavored experiences on the mobile websites, iPhone and Android apps for Sears and Kmart. His current pet projects include localization of product discovery and improvement in coupon redemption as customers engage online and inside the stores. He received a masters in engineering from Stanford University and a bachelors in engineering from MDU, Rohtak.

Desmond is a digital leader offering +13 years of experience in mobile & web development, strategy, mobile messaging & social CRM, web content management, digital marketing and business systems support. Analytical Six-Sigma/Lean/PMP-trained leader adept at digital and mobile product and project management, business process engineering, and optimizing web design for rich user experiences. Desmond is Passionate about strategic e-commerce, mobile technologies, information architecture, and digital innovation.

Gaurav is SVP research & principal analyst at EKN – the retail industry’s only retailer-driven research and analysis firm. He has helped many leading retailers develop and implement technology-led transformation programs across analytics, multi-channel, mobile and loyalty. He helped establish Tata Consultancy Services’ retail industry practice where he also drove non-linear and retail products business for North America. Along with EKN’s research team he delivers prescriptive and consultative industry research, including working with retailers to help them benchmark their mobile strategy maturity. Gaurav is also the founder of Winculum, a start-up venture that invests in and incubates B2B and B2C services and solutions that have a strong focus on analytics, social & mobile experiences, and user-centered design.

With over 16 years in mobile, Jack is one of the industry’s premier thought leaders. In addition to his role as CEO of Vibes, Jack serves as vice chairman of the Mobile Marketing Association’s (MMA) Global Board of Directors. He has been a member of the CTIA Wireless Innovation Council since 2006 and is a regular speaker on mobile innovation. With his close industry ties, Jack advocates and educates on everything from mobile strategy and industry trends to mobile best practices. For his efforts, Jack has been honored with the MMA’s “Outstanding Individual Achievement” award in 2005 and was named the 2013 Mobile Evangelist of the Year by Mobile Marketer.

Rob founded MomentFeed in 2010 and serves as chief innovation officer, working closely with the company’s brand and platform partners to deliver the most innovative marketing solutions. As a pioneer in the location-based marketing space, he speaks and writes frequently on the convergence of social, local, and mobile and its implications for brands. Rob spent 10 years writing about snowboarding, luxury travel, and automotive culture for such magazines as National Geographic Adventure, Elite Traveler, and Men’s Journal. He authored The Way of the Snowboarder and later started MaxGladwell.com, a leading independent blog (now syndicated) on social media, sustainability, and geolocation.

David joined Chick-fil-A in June of 2014, after working for 10 years as Chick-fil-A’s agency partner at The Richards Group in Dallas. He currently serves as the manager of integrated media, responsible for paid media strategy and implementation across all forms of media – Digital/Mobile, TV, Outdoor, and Audio. While at The Richards Group, David served as group media director and specialized in multi-channel paid media planning/buying for a number of other brands in addition to Chick-fil-A: GameStop, Motel 6, STAINMASTER carpet, Reily Foods, Giant Eagle grocery, Guaranty Bank, SMU, Bahama Breeze, and more.

Rick leads marketing for OnStar AtYourService, a new online commerce platform that connects drivers with retailers and merchants on their drive. AtYourService provides OnStar subscribers with information, convenience and valuable offers tied to their specific destinations. It initially rolls out in the U.S., where OnStar receives more than 35 million requests for directions, and supports more than 53 million mobile app interactions each year.  Rick has extensive background delivering new products and creating breakthrough marketing for iconic brands and companies.

Kevin is currently the vice president of brand marketing at Pita Pit, a 230+ unit chain of fast casual restaurants based in Coeur d’Alene Idaho. He oversees all national and local marketing initiatives for the brand, including advertising, social media, public relations, loyalty, online ordering and mobile marketing. Previously, Kevin worked in the footwear and apparel industry at Timberland where he led global brand management for Timberland’s Outdoor Performance division. In that role, he was responsible for refining the brand’s positioning and ensuring a consistent and cohesive brand presentation throughout the world.

Ken has held technology leadership positions across multiple industries, including retail, healthcare, consumer goods, medical devices and the United States military. He is as effective designing and implementing a strategy for corporate innovation as he is streamlining business processes that yield hundreds of thousands of dollars in business and technology improvements. Ken was selected to be the 2015 Top Innovator by Retail Touch Points and Chairperson for the 2015 RIS News Technology Conference. Combining his technical education with solid people and business management experience, he has forged effective partnerships to deliver large-scale projects and technical process improvements.

Dan is a seasoned business leader with extensive experience building and running growing companies. He has over twenty years nurturing technology-based firms, with nine of those years focused on the mobile market with a deep commitment to help retailers drive increased revenues through the use of technology. Prior to starting CodeBroker, Dan was CEO of Framework Technologies, vice president of Open Market’s electronic commerce business, the Internet’s first electronic commerce provider and CEO, and founder of International Testing Services.

Dr. Brian Sobecks is a digital innovator in the chief technology office at Kraft Heinz.  His mission is to deliver next-generation consumer brand experiences and insights leveraging emerging technologies. Brian’s current research is focused on the future store, connected kitchen, & mobility. He employs a disciplined approach to innovation based on scouting, co-creation, incubation, and rapid experimentation to unleash business value for Kraft Heinz.

Rob is the founder of Splick.it, an industry leader in providing mobile and online ordering systems, as well as marketing, for restaurants across the country. He serves as co-chairman of the board and head of business development for the company. Rob founded Splick.it six years ago and has seen explosive growth, with over 2 million users and processing over $60,000,000 since inception. The Splick.it platform serves award winning brands like Jersey Mikes, Pita Pit and Moes Southwest Grill and drives real value to its restaurant operators every day.

Sara is a digital strategist with expertise in digital production, strategy and branding, with a background in advertising. She works with enterprise organizations to visualize the future state of their digital products and the next phases of their business. Sara is keenly aware of digital disruptors in her client’s industries, advising on how to stay ahead of competitors and startups. Her passion lies at the intersection of user goals, business outcomes and creative solutions that result in exceptional products and engaged users.

Jeff has worked in the Airline business for over 25 years.  His background is as varied as the number of years he’s worked for Continental and now the new United; from call centers to airports to technology, all of his experience has focused on enhancing the customer experience.  In his current role as senior manager of eCommerce digital innovation, Jeff focuses on new technologies and ways to deliver exceptional customer experiences through United’s mobile digital channels. Jeff lives to travel and loves gadgets, so he’s passionate about his role at United.

David leads a global product management and development effort to ensure Mood Media’s innovative solutions meet client needs and keep pace with future consumer tech trends worldwide. Dave has spent more than 25 years successfully developing media and communications businesses including DOOH provider 10 Foot Wave, scent marketing leader ScentAir and retail media solutions provider Muzak. Earlier in his career, he also served as national sales manager for HM Electronics, a specialty RF communications manufacturer. He is a frequent speaker on the subject of using the five senses and mobile technologies to create dynamic and interactive business environments.

Ann is an innovative technical leader with 14+ years of experience leading solution delivery within a portfolio of mobile and n-Tier JEE enterprise business applications, leveraging a Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) platform which utilizes the Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) integration pattern, Web Services, and B2B Integration. She provides leadership, resourcing, and technical expertise for E-Commerce, Mobile, SOA web services, portal applications, Peoplesoft HR, and Peoplesoft Finance development teams. Additionally, Ann partners with the Business Solution Services team to ensure IT goals and deliverables are in alignment with the company vision and business strategy, and is responsible for the full development life cycle of high quality enterprise business software, which includes solution architecture, SDLC oversight, development, and application deployment support.

Robin has led Taco John’s digital efforts since 2009, launching programs including MyTown Mania, TJ Summer Digital Roadtrip, Fish Tacos Rate It, Santa Fe Share, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Burrito App and Game, TJ Gives Holiday Countdown and more. Robin’s team focuses on building innovative, comprehensive online messaging and engagement strategies with a strong emphasis on balancing marketing, operations and IT to launch fully emerged programs. Components include CRM and dynamic email & mobile messaging, SEO, SEM, social media, website strategy/usability, web analytics, dashboards and evolving technologies. In addition to Robin’s work with Taco John’s, through a partnership with the ad agency, Lawrence & Schiller, Robin has led digital marketing efforts for midwest brands including South Dakota travel and tourism, Midcontinent Communications, Sanford Health, various higher education organizations and political campaigns.