Renee Cacchillo is EVP, Customer Experience Officer at Safelite Group, a multifaceted vehicle glass and claims management service organization, where she is responsible for Customer Experience, Brand, and Safelite Solutions. Renee joined Safelite in 2011 and has held leadership roles in service delivery, brand development, technology and experience design. Today, she successfully leverages the company’s core competencies in aligning the customer experience, marketing efforts, technical enhancements, and sales and claims management. Renee has a BS in business administration and an MBA from the University of Kansas. She resides in New Albany, Ohio, with her husband and their twin daughters.

Brent Reston is the Client Service Transformation and Platform Executive at Bank of America. His team is responsible for delivering personalized and proactive servicing from digital to chat to our client service representatives. His team listens to client and associate feedback to enhance associate facing solutions, automated telephony, and call analytics platforms, while partnering with our digital team to develop self-service capabilities. Brent previously served as Chief Digital Executive for Retail Banking and Head of Digital Sales and Service. Brent holds a degree in Economics from the University of British Columbia.

Ashley Ross is the Client Care executive for Bank of America. In this role, she is responsible for the overall client experience strategy across Consumer & Small Business. Her organization manages client feedback from Bank of America’s 65 million clients, shares real-time client feedback with 70,000 users from the front-line to the C-suite, and conducts root cause analysis to drive ongoing client experience improvements. During her 17 years with Bank of America, Ashley has held a variety of executive roles in Consumer & Small Business, across various channels and client segments. Ashley holds a degree in brain and cognitive science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Speaker bio coming soon!

Brian Anderson has been busy working on several initiatives for Modern Market Eatery, Lemonade and Modern Restaurant Concepts. Current projects have included ghost kitchens for both the Modern Market and Lemonade brands and the launch of our first virtual brand Honest Pizza Co. Brian is a third-generation restaurateur, with his roots in operations. His first job was sorting silverware in his family’s restaurant on Siesta Key, FL. He had worked every role in the FOH and BOH before his passion for technology won out. His experience as an operator enhances his ability to translate technology into solutions that improve, enhance and remove friction from the guest experience.

Tara Banks drove the development of Hilton Grand Vacations’ unique and innovative enterprise Sales experience, Envision. She has more than 20 years of brand, guest and marketing experience. She has led both internal and external teams to create a holistic digital journey – ranging from an interactive Sales presentation, In-room guest technology and social media reviews to embedded digital elements within the architecture and space. Tara currently serves the I.T. organization as the Vice President of Emerging Technologies and Innovation for Hilton Grand Vacations. Previously, she was the Corporate Brand Manager for Orlando Health and served the Walt Disney Company in creative roles for more than 10 years.

Brenda Barré is the Director of Mobile and Digital Innovation at Caesars Entertainment, the world’s most diversified casino-entertainment provider and the most geographically diverse U.S. casino-entertainment company. Brenda brings a strong knowledge of enhancing the guest experience through mobile technology having successfully launched Ivy, the real-time guest text messaging program, at twenty-two (22) Caesars Entertainment resorts to date comprising over 33,000 rooms. In addition, Brenda led the rollout of mobile food ordering to fifteen (15) Caesars Entertainment resorts across the country. Brenda has been with Caesars Entertainment since 2012 and has served in various roles within the organization.

Vishal Bhalla joined Parkland in August 2016 and soon moved into the role of Vice President and Chief Experience Officer (CXO), focusing on the experience of employees, providers, patients and their families. Transitioning to healthcare a few years ago from a successful career in hospitality, Vishal completed his Master of Business Administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) along with a Healthcare Certificate from the joint Harvard-MIT Healthcare Innovation Initiative. Vishal is passionate about leveraging analytics, technology and system sciences, along with his extensive experience in managing large service operations, to add rigor to the art of human interaction; thereby enabling meaningful employee and patient experiences.

Michael Chachula serves as Dine Brands Global Executive Director of IT, where he oversees the IT relationship with all things IHOP. Michael joined Dine Brands in 2016 with over 20 years of leading IT Digital and Operations experience for large and multinational companies in industries such as Finance, Pharmaceutical, Consumer Goods and Consumer Electronics and Hospitality. Michael has a full breadth of experience in creating business and IT solutions that work. Michael holds a BA from DePaul University and an Executive MBA from Northwestern – Kellogg School of Management in Evanston, Il. He currently sits on the CX (Customer Experience) Advisory Board of Rutgers University, which looks to understand customer experiences.

Terry Chi is the Director of Mobile & Digital Innovation at Caesars Entertainment, where she oversees the development, strategic roadmap, and marketing of the Caesars Rewards mobile app and other enterprise-wide digital initiatives. Prior to moving to Las Vegas, she spent most of her career in the CPG industry in which she launched over 30 products into national retail distribution driving multi-million dollar revenue growth at companies such as M&Ms Mars, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and Dunn-Edwards. Terry received her BA from Cornell University and her MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Paula Couselo-Findikoglu serves as Senior Statewide Program Manager of Language Access Services at the NM Administrative Office of the Courts. The 2016 Justice Index, published by the National Center for Access to Justice, ranked the NM Judiciary #2 among 50 states in the nation for its language access efforts. Paula is a nationally recognized speaker in her field and she has spearheaded numerous initiatives that combine technologies to improve access to justice. She received a UNM-STC Innovative Award from the University of New Mexico in 2012 for the Language Access Specialist Certificate Program, which has trained over 100 bilingual judiciary employees in her state.

Christiana DiMattesa oversees Under Armour’s North America direct-to-consumer retail marketing team inclusive of marketing strategy, operations, in-store experience, and event activations. Christiana has spent 20 years working within the retail space and has a passion to utilize technology to change the interactive landscape of the retail environment. She has been with Under Armour since August 2014 and previously held marketing roles with Ann Inc. and Foot Locker.

Alana Galardo is an innovative marketing technology leader in the forefront of digital transformation and marketing automation. She has expertise in the areas of email marketing, implementation, process change, and enterprise project management in a variety of sectors. In her current role as Director of Customer Engagement for Pacers Sports & Entertainment, Alana is setting the bar for how NBA and WNBA teams create the ultimate fan experience globally. Aside from professionally, Alana recently launched MomInTheCloud.com to be a resource for all women and mothers from all walks of life to find inspiration and career advice to land jobs in tech. Her greatest inspiration is her husband and two daughters.

Christopher Gumprecht leads guest technology innovations for Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants across 60+ brands, representing 120 locations nationally. With 15+ years in the organization, Christopher is the business owner for all website design and development, road mapping for the LettuceEats mobile app, and delivering insight for additional marketing channels like loyalty, SMS, gift card and email. He provides a unique perspective combining his years of experience to drive customer acquisition and engagement. He is continually exploring new ways to integrate technology seamlessly into the customer experience with an emphasis on user experience, content generation, mobile engagement, and valuable data insights.

Rishi Gupta joined Taco Bell in 2017 and made an immediate impact by leading the kiosk rollout at Taco Bell. In addition to that Rishi supported all on premise digital solutions and customer engagements prior to transitioning to his current role leading all software engineering effort. Prior to joining Taco Bell, Rishi spent over 10 years of leading IT Digital and Operations transformations large and multinational companies in industries such as finance, automotive, media, and telecommunications. Rishi holds a BS in Computer Science and BA in Economics from UCLA and an MBA from The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University.

Rafik Hanna is the digital technology leader for all Taco Bell customer-facing platforms (including: Web, Mobile Apps, Kiosks, On Demand Delivery, Digital Menu Boards and Loyalty). Since joining Taco Bell in 2015, Rafik has led numerous large initiatives to modernize the guest and restaurant experience. Some of Rafik’s notable programs include the re-launch of Taco Bell’s mobile apps, introduction of digital menu boards (interior and drive-thru) and the nationwide roll-out of self order kiosks.

Chris Hansen is Sr. Director of Digital at TGI Fridays overseeing the complete digital technology experience including eCommerce, site and app development, build-out, and maintenance. His mission is to deliver an innovative end-to-end frictionless guest user experience to all guests of Fridays. Prior to TGI Fridays, Chris spent 18 years in a variety of industry and UX positions, focused on digital design, performance analytics, strategy & implementation, to drive consumer engagement and conversion. As an additional outlet for his passion on design thinking, Chris founded www.jeepmodreview.com, an online marketplace for product reviews & news about Jeep Wranglers.

Curt Johnson has spent the last 8 years on digital marketing, analytics and customer experience. In 2012, Curt founded BlueFire Marketing, working with BMW Dealerships Experiences, then later AT&T Entertainment Group helping them drive retail to online behavior and recently with InterContinetal and IHG.com’s luxury hotel brands. Curt believes that future technology will help better humanize the customer experience, something that is clearly lacking in today’s customer experience marketplace. Curt lives in Atlanta with his wife, daughter, two dogs and a horse.

Speaker bio coming soon!

Rachel Layton is the Vice President of Marketing + Growth for Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe, building sustainable growth strategies that drive sales for the company’s 90+ locations nationwide. Rachel oversees the management of the Taziki’s brand, including digital and local store marketing and was a critical force behind the launch of the company’s email marketing program, in addition to their loyalty program, TAZ Rewards. These initiatives drove an 11% increase in system same store sales. She built initiatives that increased online ordering by 80% and led a 15% increase in same store catering sales by coaching local markets in growth techniques. Additionally, Rachel manages the Taziki’s off-premise dining program which includes catering and delivery.

Steve Leasure is a foodservice industry veteran with over 30 years of experience. In his role as Director of Franchise Operations at BurgerFi International, Steve has the opportunity to work with a growing brand that is at the forefront of consumer trends and tastes. Steve has extensive experience in all facets of restaurant operations, having served in various roles across the QSR and Fast Casual segments. He started his career operating high volume restaurants in Manhattan and has worked with franchise owners throughout the United States and around the globe over the years. Steve currently resides in Orlando, Florida.

Elliot Maras is editor of Kiosk Marketplace and Vending Times. Elliot brings a background covering the retail, foodservice and payments industries, having served as the editor of Automatic Merchandiser Magazine for 20 years and as the founding editor of VendingMarketWatch.com. He is a graduate of the National Automatic Merchandising Association/Michigan State University Executive Development Program, a former board member of the International Foodservice Editors Council, and a winner of the Journalism Award of the Office Refreshment Development Foundation.

John Moffatt is the Senior Director of Retail Systems for Sodexo North America. Sodexo is one of the world’s largest multinational corporations, with 420,000 employees that represent 130 nationalities and are present on 34,000 sites in 80 countries. John works to provide Sodexo’s North American market with enterprise solutions, systems, vendors, and process for customer facing technology in retail locations. John’s team provides customer focused solutions for the majority of Sodexo’s service segments like healthcare, universities, government, corporate services, and schools. It is his belief that technology with no thought to the customer journey is just noise and will never satisfy the customer.

Retail Customer Experience Editor Judy Mottl is an award-winning experienced senior editor, reporter, writer, and blogger who has worked for top media outlets, technology companies and publications including AOL, InformationWeek, CNET, Information Security Magazine, Investor’s Business Daily, InternetNews and Tech Times as corporate marketing divisions within IBM and HP. She’s written everything from breaking news on business and technology to in-depth articles on tech trends to profiles on top business leaders.

Jacqueline O’Reilly has a contagious passion to grow the la Madeleine brand. Her passion carries through to her team and marketing partners through teamwork and creativity. Prior to joining la Madeleine, she ran account teams at TracyLocke for Pizza Hut, Hewlett-Packard and Sonic Drive-In. Her love for the intense restaurant business formed during years on Pizza Hut where her team owned below the line brand, calendar, promotion and test work. In her free time, you can find Jacqueline creating memories with her fun-loving husband, 5 and 2-year old daughters. Ask Jacqueline how Texas Longhorns + Wienermobiles + Croissants fit together.

Michelle Stauffer is the Product Manager of the Digital Guest Experience at Great Wolf Resorts, the largest indoor waterpark resort group in the U.S with 17 properties and 2 opening soon. Michelle is driving a digital transformation on the website, mobile app and conversational interface on phone and chat. Michelle joined Great Wolf about a year ago and brings along passion and experience in digital user experience, digital marketing and brand advertising from Discover.

Richard Ventura is the Senior Vice President of Strategy for NEC Display Solutions of America’s, overseeing all strategy related activities for the organization. Focusing on leading the development and communications of strategies aimed at evolving the business and driving it forward, while working with the Executive Team to define the vision and direction for the company and establish strategic initiatives that disrupt current and future markets, explore alternative solutions, and result in short and long-term gains. Richard has spent 17+ years within the NEC sales and marketing organizations focusing on display solutions, display technologies, projectors and direct-view LED.

Speaker bio coming soon!