| John Dillon Vice President of Brand Marketing & Product Innovation Denny's John Dillon is Vice President of Brand Marketing & Product Innovation for Denny's, one of America’s largest full-service restaurant chains. Denny’s currently has 1,688 restaurants around the world with combined sales of around $2.4 billion, including 1,590 restaurants in the US and 98 restaurants in Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Honduras, Guam, Curacao, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and New Zealand. Of Denny’s 1,688 restaurants, 1,524 are franchised and 164 are company-owned and operated. In his role, John is responsible for leading all national marketing efforts for Denny's including brand marketing, product marketing, advertising, public relations, media, menus and merchandising, promotions, social media, consumer insights and culinary/product development. Additionally, Denny’s marketing team works closely with Denny’s operations team to ensure that we meet and exceed our guests’ expectations of great food and great service in a clean, inviting dining atmosphere. During John’s tenure, the Denny's brand and sales have been rejuvenated with an aggressive marketing approach including a successful brand repositioning, strategic menu improvements, impactful limited-time-only product windows and attention-getting marketing efforts in the broadcast, digital and social media space. Additionally, great strides have been made in establishing a spirit of collaboration between the franchisor and franchisee, directly leading to a sales turnaround. John has held multiple leadership roles in the marketing industry including 10 years with Yum Brands, Pizza Hut. Immediately prior to joining Denny's, John was Vice President of Marketing for the National Basketball Association's Houston Rockets. | |
| Dave Donnan Partner A.T. Kearney David Donnan is a Partner with A.T. Kearney, a management consulting firm based in Chicago. He is an experienced business leader and consultant with significant global experience in consumer products and retail industries. During his career David has managed operating companies, run food plants and consulted to leading global retail and consumer product companies in technology and supply chain strategies, brand growth and positioning. In his consulting career David has provided strategic advice on major transformation initiatives and growth opportunities to executives from the top 100 global consumer and retail companies. In addition to his client work David has provided pro bono consulting services to Feeding America, the leading domestic hunger-relief charity. He developed a donation marketing campaign that led to a significant increase in food donations from food manufacturers. David is a frequent speaker and author, David has presented at a variety of industry conferences for the GMA, FMI, NRF, GMDC, IGA and HDMA. He has also appeared on Bloomberg TV and quoted in various business journals including Business Week, Wall Street Journal and Forbes. Donnan earned his Masters of Business Administration at the University of Toronto Rotman School Of Business and his Bachelor of Applied Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of Toronto. | |
| Gerry Fernandez founder and president The Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance (MFHA) Gerry Fernandez is founder and president of The Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance (MFHA). Mr. Fernandez is a visionary and strategic thought leader on multicultural strategies and Cultural Intelligence and inclusion practices. He founded MFHA in 1996 with the original purpose and mission to advance the opportunities for minorities in the food & hospitality industry. Since then, Mr. Fernandez has advanced the organization to become the leading multicultural organization in the industry. His new endeavor to bring Cultural Intelligence and competency building into the foodservice and hospitality arena has been widely supported across the industry. | |
| Ginger Gregory Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Dunkin' Brands, Inc. Ginger Gregory was named Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, Dunkin’ Brands, Inc., in March 2012. Ginger has held executive-level human resources positions for several multinational companies across a variety of industries. As Chief Human Resources Officer for Dunkin’ Brands, Inc., Ginger is responsible for leading the company’s global employee recruitment, training, compensation, benefits and organizational development. Ginger joined Dunkin’ Brands from Novartis, AG, a worldwide healthcare solutions company, where she led a global team of human resources professionals. In that position, Ginger was responsible for global staffing, talent management and field human resources, and served as a member of the Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics Executive Committee. Prior to Novartis, Ginger held leadership positions at Novo Nordisk where she served as Senior Vice President, Corporate People & Organization at the company’s global headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. Earlier in her career, she held a variety of human resources generalist and specialist positions at Bristol Myers Squibb and served as consultant with Booz Allen & Hamilton in the area of organization change and effectiveness. | |
| Phil Hickey Phil served as Chairman of the Board/Chief Executive Officer of RARE Hospitality International, Inc., until October 2007, at which time RARE Hospitality was acquired by Darden Restaurants, Inc. RARE Hospitality was an Atlanta-based restaurant company whose concepts included LongHorn Steakhouse and the award-winning Capital Grille. RARE operated more than 300 restaurants, employed more than 20,000 people, and served more than 55 million guests per year. From 1997 to 2007, Phil and his team grew RARE Hospitality’s market capitalization from $90 million to $1.3 billion. As a veteran of more than 35 years in the industry, Phil Hickey has experienced the restaurant business from many perspectives. In addition to his roles at O’Charley’s and RARE, he has been a single restaurant owner-operator; has co-founded a restaurant company and taken it public; and grew a concept from six restaurants to 50 restaurants. | |
| Mel Kleiman President Humetrics Mel Kleiman is the president of Humetrics, a leading provider of best practice information, training, and resources for recruiting, hiring, and retaining employees Mel's expertise is based on his personal experience as the onetime owner of three different businesses (including the largest group of Hertz Rent-A-Car franchise locations in the U.S.), as well as his extensive research and consulting work helping employers design employee recruiting, hiring, and retention programs. Kleiman also has five books to his credit including the bestselling Hire Tough, Manage Easy which was featured on CNN Headline News. He has been a member of the National Speakers Association since 1992 and is one of only 650 speakers worldwide to have earned the coveted Certified Speaking Professional designation. He also serves as a board member for the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation and for the Workforce Institute and is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management. | |
| Becki Krebs Executive Director, Client Development The NPD Group, Inc. Becki Krebs has over twenty years of experience in the food industry analyzing consumer behavioral trends. In her current role as Executive Director, Client Development for The NPD Group, Inc., Becki assists a multitude of foodservice clients by providing business driven insights in several key areas; interpreting consumer demand, measuring tactical program successes, and developing ongoing strategic initiatives. Her clients include a mix of both manufacturers and restaurant operators. Prior to NPD, Becki worked for IRI, Inc in an analytical consulting capacity. As a manager in the Analytical Consulting and Testing division, Becki’s principal area of responsibility included research test design and analysis for packaged goods manufacturers. | |
| Jon Weber Partner L.E.K. Consulting Jon Weber is a Partner in L.E.K. Consulting’s Retail and Consumer Products practice, and head of the firm’s U.S. Restaurant sector. He has extensive experience working across retail channels and with worldwide consumer brands. Jon advises clients on a range of strategic issues, including growth strategy, consumer behavior and brand positioning, international expansion, performance improvement, and mergers and acquisitions. Jon is a frequent publisher and speaker on business strategy issues, having recently addressed topics spanning: winning in the hourglass economy, strategic consumer segmentation, retail promotions strategy, and mobile engagement. He received his Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and holds a Bachelor of Science with Highest Honors in Business and Economics from Lehigh University. | |
