March 24-26, 2024 | Kansas City, MO — Early Bird registration ends Nov. 17. Register Now
AGENDA
SUNDAY // MARCH 24, 2024
Registration Opens
- Cherryh Cansler | Vice President of Events | Networld Media Group
Session Topic – Coming Soon!

Give-Back Party & Opening Reception

MONDAY // MARCH 25, 2024
Registration & Breakfast
Session Topic – Coming Soon!
Executive Perspectives: Inspiration for Today’s Restaurant Leaders
- Tom Gordon | Co-Founder & CEO | Slim Chickens
- Beto Guajardo | CEO | Blaze Pizza
- Ryan Maybee | Co-Founder & Managing Director | J. Rieger & Co.

Robotics & AI: Fleeting Fad or Here to Stay?
- Scott Ford | President & Co-CEO | Hawaiian Bros Island Grill
What’s New at the Drive-Thru?
Scaling Up: From Small Start-up to Full Growth Mode
- Craig Haley | President | Smokey Mo’s TX BBQ
- Andrew Pudalov | Founder & CEO | Rush Bowls
Time to Fly: Exploring Unfamiliar Lands
- Nate Fowler | Brand President | Long John Silver's
- Glenn Moon | Vice President, U.S. Development | Moxies
- Kevin Moran | Chief Development Officer | Blaze Pizza
- Sam Rothschild | COO | Slim Chickens
Reducing Food Waste AND Boosting Profits: It’s Possible!
Restaurant brands produce nearly 11.4 tons of food waste each year, leading to $25 billion in losses for the industry. Although waste is seen as an avoidable consequence of operating a restaurant, cutting it is imperative, not only for the environment but also for a brand’s bottom line. This session will explore how the right technology and processes in place can help restaurants track inventory from delivery to preparation and drive consistency with forecasting, predictive ordering and recipe management.
- Dan Harmon | CEO | Playa Bowls
Transforming Data into Your Super Power
Improving Catering Operations with Tech & Human Touch
Hands off: Are Autonomous Restaurants the Future?
Predicting the Future of Restaurant Delivery
Although over 112 million Americans have used a food delivery service and the food delivery market is expected to reach $1.45 trillion by 2027, delivery has slowed down since the days of COVID-19 when it served as a lifeline for many restaurant concepts. So what’s next in this anything goes era? Restaurants are not only making their own deliveries as well as tapping third parties, they are also exploring drones AI-ordering and a variety of other technologies to keep costs down and demand up.
- Loren Bontrager | Vice President of Franchise and Development | MAD Greens
- Desi Saran | Founder & CEO | Sweetberry
Prove Your Case!

Dinner Party
This private dinner party is included with your Summit registration at no additional cost. Transportation will be provided.

TUESDAY // MARCH 26, 2024
Brain Exchange

Discovery 30:
What’s the Deal with Dynamic Pricing?
Franchising in the Family: Great Idea or Recipe for Disaster?
- Jeff Rinke | Vice President of Marketing | Hungry Howie’s
Session Topic – Coming Soon!
Session Topic – Coming Soon!

Why Your Loyalty Program Isn’t Working
Session Topic – Coming Soon!
Franchising Think Tank
- Michelle Bythewood | President | Nation’s Giant Hamburgers
- Sara Carhart | Vice President of Operations | SPIN! Pizza
- Troy Hooper | CEO | Hot Palette Holdings
- Rob McColgan | Co-Founder & CEO | Modern Restaurant Concepts

View 2023 Agenda