| Art Bell Partner The Partnering Group Art is a Partner with The Partnering Group, working across TPG’s Manufacturer Consulting and Marketing practices. Art brings more than 15 years of experience in consulting and manufacturer sales & marketing. Art’s expertise includes pricing strategy, trade optimization, category management, tool creation, organizational development, and customer & market analytics.
Over the last two years with The Partnering Group, Art has worked on trade spend optimization projects for both retail and away from home operations. Art also has developed joint business plans for both a foodservice manufacturer (broadline distributor customer) and a building products manufacturer (retail customer focused on building contractors).
Prior to joining TPG, Art led the development of the strategic pricing function within the foodservice organization of Sara Lee. During this role, Art spearheaded the development of a formal value-pricing framework, re-designed the price setting processes, implemented a regional pricing strategy, and helped establish pricing governance across global Sara Lee. Art was responsible for the development of a standardized process to manage responses to formal Request for Proposals (RFP). | |
| John Costello President, Global Marketing and Innovation Dunkin' Brands John Costello joined Dunkin' Brands in 2009. He has global responsibility for Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin Robbins advertising, marketing, consumer engagement, consumer and business intelligence and field marketing, and oversees Dunkin Brands’ research and development, culinary team and channel development efforts for both brands globally.
One of the early pioneers of omni-channel marketing, John has served as the Executive Vice President of Merchandising and Marketing at The Home Depot, Senior Executive Vice President of Sears, Chief Global Marketing Officer of Yahoo and President and COO of Nielsen Marketing Research U.S. He also worked at Zounds, Inc. and YOU Technology, Inc. f/k/a Pay by Touch. John began his career at The Procter & Gamble Company, where he held a number of senior marketing and brand management positions and served as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales at Pepsi-Cola, USA.
John was named one of the 30 Most Influential People in Marketing by Advertising Age, one of the Top 10 Merchants by DSN Retailing Today and was elected to the Retail Advertising Hall of Fame. He is a director of The Ace Hardware Corporation, the Global Mobile Marketing Association and the Yellowstone Park Foundation. He is past Chairman of the Association of National Advertisers and The Advertising Council.
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| Vince Crew Founder REACH Development Services Clients say Vince’s edge comes from diverse and multiple industry experience. Vince calls it “TransREACHing©: the act of discovering fundamental truths, regardless of industry, that enable innovative transition (doing things differently) or transformation (doing different things).” With 20 years of sales, marketing, management, and executive leadership experience combined with nearly 20 years of running his own firm, he is a trusted resource to executives around the U.S. Vince holds a graduate degree in Marketing & Communication with an emphasis on Leadership Ethics during Organizational Lifecyles. He is a syndicated columnist, publisher of The One Sheeter© monthly newsletter, and a contributor to the national business media. He has been both an adjunct faculty member and a corporate trainer. Vince is the author of four books on business leadership issues. Today he’s a recognized thought leader on business issues acting as a confidential adviser and coach to various industry leaders. | |
| Mark DiDomenico Director, Business Development Datassential Mark DiDomenico has been following trends in the Foodservice Industry for over 22 years. He started his career with The NPD Group, analyzing restaurant traffic trends and foodservice manufacturer shipments. From there, he transitioned to the manufacturer side, providing insights guidance for the foodservice divisions of Kellogg USA and Sara Lee. In 2011, Mark transitioned back to the supplier side, joining Datassential, another leading insights provider for the foodservice industry. As Director, Business Development, Mark is leveraging his significant experience helping foodservice operators and manufacturers develop critical insights for their strategy, sales, marketing and new product development efforts, across all menu categories. Mark has presented insights and trends at conferences and meetings for several organizations, including IFMA, The Research Chefs Association, the National Coffee Association and CSP Information Group (FARE and Foodservice Directory Magazines). Mark holds a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. | |
| 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. | |
| Bill Hale Founder Hale Group Mr. Hale, the founder of The Hale Group, Ltd., has an extensive history of providing strategic counsel to the various participants in the food system. He has consulted with clients ranging from first stage processors and food manufacturers to chain restaurant operators and retail grocers. Recognized as an expert in the food industry, Mr. Hale is well known for his ability to identify emerging trends and new opportunities within the food system. Mr. Hale has conducted benchmark studies concerning strategic business and market planning, economic and competitive assessments, identification of market opportunities, and development of go-to-market strategies and programs. Mr. Hale received his B.S. in Food Science and Technology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and his M.B.A. from Boston College. | |
| Bonnie Keith Founder and President The Forefront Group Bonnie Keith is the Founder and President of The Forefront Group, a certified small business with focus on sustainable strategic supply management transformation. She is a strategic thought leader with 30 years of operations and supply management experience. She has provided successful strategic business input to a variety of companies and has designed effective global procurement and supply management organizations. She is an Executive Coach for leading companies and has trained all levels of resources worldwide. She has served in Corporate Executive and Officer positions for three Fortune 100 companies and two Fortune 500 Companies covering the restaurant industry, retail, manufactured products, global distribution, consumer products and services, pharmaceutical and defense and aerospace. In these roles she provided Procurement/Supply Management strategies that made significant financial contribution to shareholder value. Bonnie is a Faculty Member at the University of Tennessee Center for Executive Education. She is an Advisory Board Member to Vested Outsourcing Inc. Bonnie’s business experience includes Operations and Supply Management assignments with General Electric Company, Asea Brown Boveri, Ltd., PepsiCo/Tricon, Amerisource/Bergen and American Standard Companies. | |
| Jack Li Managing Director Datassential Jack Li spearheads Datassential's custom insights and new products initiatives. Over the past decade, Jack has helped launch a number of foodservice research platforms including:
Jack has led hundreds of research studies for foodservice manufacturers and distributors across a broad array of topics. Jack holds an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA, and is a 2003 recipient of the IFMA Sparkplug award. | |
| Chris Martin Founder Tibersoft Chris founded Tibersoft in 1996. With his extensive background in system design and a deep understanding of the industry’s challenges, Chris has a way of making technology approachable and easy to use. With a vision for innovation, he leads the company in supplying Operator Intelligence solutions to Clients that helps ensure prosperous growth. He is a regular speaker and writer on many topics associated with using BIG DATA to find and optimize trading partner relationships. | |
| Doug Morrison Partner and Category Leadership Practice Director The Partnering Group (TPG) Doug Morrison is a Partner and Category Leadership Practice Director with The Partnering Group (TPG). He has been with TPG for 17 years providing total system consulting solutions to Manufacturers and Retailers across the globe. During his time with TPG, Doug has led more than 200 strategic consulting engagements with a focus on Category Management, Strategy, Shopper-Marketing and Retail Innovation. Doug has led project work in more than 12 different channels of trade with major Manufacturers and Retailers in several different countries and languages. This project work led Doug to pioneer many new techniques in insights-driven Category Management. He is a recognized expert throughout the industry for his work in driving and publishing Best Practices Category Management work. Additionally, Doug has been a long time advisor with various Insight Councils and Committees, Nielsen and IRI and was recently presented with the Flannigan Award by his peers for Leadership and Integrity. | |
| Ann Oka Senior Vice President, Supply Management Sodexo, Inc. Ann Oka is senior vice president of supply management for Sodexo in North America. She has supply chain responsibility for over $ 5.5 Billion in spend. Reporting directly to CEO George Chavel, she is also a member of the company's executive team. Ms. Oka joined Sodexo in 2003 following 20 years with Unilever Bestfoods, where she most recently served as vice president of supply management, responsible for supporting Unilever's North American food business. A seasoned supply chain professional, Ms. Oka began her career in operations, managing a vegetable oil refinery in San Francisco and later overseeing food production operations in Santa Fe Springs, CA. In the mid-1990s, she took a corporate position at Bestfoods' headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, NJ as a systems and financial liaison for a nascent shared service purchasing organization. She rose steadily through the organization to become the senior purchasing executive for Bestfoods. Ms. Oka was named vice president of supply management, following the company's merger with Unilever in 2000. Oka's business and industry expertise have allowed her to expand her influence; she currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Sodexo Foundation, as well as the Institute of Supply Management, and chairs the Board of Trustees for the Center for Strategic Supply Leadership, (CSSL). She is also a longstanding member of the Executive Committee of the GS1 Foodservice Initiative. Ms. Oka holds a Bachelor's of Science degree in chemical engineering from the University of California-Berkeley and a Master's of Business Administration degree from the University of California-Irvine. | |
| Jeff Schroeder Partner The Partnering Group Jeff is a partner in The Partnering Group consulting and training with both manufacturers and retailers. Jeff has experience and provides leading edge consulting on Customer Management, Marketing and Sales Training and Best Practice “Go to Market” Processes, Tools and Analytics. Jeff has over 20 years of sales and marketing experience in consumer packaged goods and financial services. He worked for over nine years at Procter & Gamble Co., in numerous high-level sales and management roles. | |
| Arnie Schwartz President Food / Foodservice The NPD Group, Inc. Arnie Schwartz is President of the Food/Foodservice Sector of The NPD Group. In this role, Mr. Schwartz manages a portfolio of information practices, each focused on tracking consumer behavior and product movement of food and beverage items and foodservice sales. NPD recently launched SupplyTrack®, the first and only monthly tracking service that codes, aggregates, and tracks every product shipped from a critical mass of leading broadline distributors to each of their foodservice operators. In addition to SupplyTrack, NPD's flagship services include CREST®, which has been collecting information on consumer restaurant visits and purchases every day since 1975, and National Eating Trends®, which has continuously s tracked all aspects of food and beverage eating behaviors since 1980. NPD works closely with the nation's top foodservice operators and food and beverage manufacturers to understand Americans' evolving demand for meals, snacks and beverages, and to identify consumer needs and market opportunities. Prior to his current role, Mr. Schwartz led the Food and Beverage Practice area of The NPD Group, where he managed information services designed to track and provide insight into consumers' habits and practices with the food and beverage products they use and consume. Earlier, Mr. Schwartz launched the company’s SnackTrack® service, which measures usage of convenience- and snack-oriented products, wherever and whenever these snacks are purchased and eaten. Mr. Schwartz joined NPD in 1987, after receiving an MBA in Marketing from the | |
| Dawn Sweeney President and CEO National Restaurant Association In her role as president and chief executive officer of the National Restaurant Association, Dawn Sweeney has been instrumental in focusing the mission of the Association through a unique, multi-year strategic plan, highlighting key areas of opportunity within the restaurant industry. Since taking the helm at the end of 2007, Sweeney has led the Association in addressing a wide-range of issues, offering services and products that promote the industry, and helping individual operators and large multi-unit companies succeed. She has strengthened the organization’s core operations, including consolidating its Foundation around a mission to develop a strong workforce and build the next generation of industry leaders. Sweeney’s 25+ years of marketing, advocacy and policy experience include serving as president and CEO of AARP Services, the wholly owned taxable subsidiary of AARP, and holding leadership positions at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, a membership organization of consumer-owned electric utilities, and the International Dairy Foods Association, the trade association for the nation's dairy foods industry, where she played a key role in the launch of the “milk moustache” advertising campaign. Sweeney has been named one of the perennial top association CEOs in the country for each of the past several years. She serves on the boards the U.S. Travel Association and the Women’s Foodservice Forum. She is also a charter member of Child Obesity 180, a unique initiative of private, public, non-profit and academic leaders who have committed to taking a leadership role in preventing childhood obesity through evidence-based initiatives. | |
| Kate Vitasek Faculty, University of Tennessee – Center for Executive Education Founder, Supply Chain Visions University of Tennessee Author, educator and business consultant Kate Vitasek is an internationally recognized innovator in the practice of supply chain management and outsourcing. Vitasek’s approaches and insights have been widely published in over 200 articles and five books, , including Vested: How P&G, McDonald’s and Microsoft are Redefining Winning in Business Relationships. World Trade Magazine named Vitasek to their list of the 50 most influential people and ideas impacting global trade. Vitasek is a faculty member at the University of Tennessee’s Center for Executive Education and is the Founder of Supply Chain Visions - a Top 10 Boutique Consulting firm specializing in Supply Chain Management. | |
