Beto Guajardo was named President of Focus Brands International in early 2020. Beto brings extensive global experience in corporate and brand strategy, new business development, mergers and acquisitions and organizational structure. Over the past three decades, his career has spanned a broad spectrum of industries, including management consulting, global retail, automotive, energy, consumer packaged goods, and media and entertainment. Beto joined Focus Brands from Starbucks Coffee, where he served as Senior Vice President, Global Strategy. Beto built the Global Strategy team that was responsible for developing the company’s five-year strategic plan and operated as a coordinating body, creating and implementing strategies to succeed corporate goals. His teams worked extensively on executing Starbucks Delivery, acquiring technology to power Starbucks CRM, and developing new go-to-market processes to streamline store development innovation.

Mindy Armstrong finds excitement in discovery and has spent her career helping marketers and culinary teams do just that–discover what’s next for their business. By digging into marketplace trends, studying consumer data, hunting down the next gotta-try-it flavor, and uncovering the “so what,” Mindy is all about spirited and focused collaboration, asking “what if,” and inspiring her team toward action. In her current role, Mindy leads the menu strategy and product innovation efforts at Buffalo Wild Wings.

Liz Bazner is a self-proclaimed foodie who currently serves as Director of Digital for A&W Restaurants, the nation’s oldest franchised restaurant chain. Liz leads the development of digital & social campaigns to increase brand awareness & drive measurable traffic to A&W locations across the country, as well as overseeing the consumer-facing website & email marketing program. After graduating from Vanderbilt University with a degree in political science & public policy, Liz worked for a variety of public officials doing PR & campaign management work before joining the A&W team.

Brett Berger is the head of sales at SynergySuite, where he leads customer acquisition and partnerships. Brett has more than 15 years of experience in sales, sales development, banking, and technology, and brings a collaborative perspective to his work. Brett is passionate about driving revenue and profitability for restaurants, and focuses on restaurant needs to understand ways that technology can best help clients meet their goals.

Randal Black has been in the hospitality industry for over 11 years. For the past seven years, Randal has been with The Greene Turtle in various roles. He currently operates a training store and is responsible for training new managers along with testing new innovative initiatives and menu concepts. He assists with the rollouts and planning that goes into easy and seamless execution at the store level. Randal enjoys engaging with his team and learning through the day-to-day operations and finding the most efficient way to operate. He is passionate about the future of the industry and providing a world class experience for every guest and team member.

Kerry Bridges is the Vice President of Food Safety at Chipotle Mexican Grill. In this role, Kerry oversees food safety standards, quality assurance and procedures. She joined Chipotle in January of 2019 and oversees a team of individuals who are committed to enforcing Chipotle’s zero-tolerance policy and industry-leading processes, focusing on supply chain, in-restaurant practices, food prep and employee training. Prior to joining Chipotle, Kerry oversaw supplier food safety for the world’s largest food retailer, Wal-Mart, serving over 200 million customers around the world on a weekly basis. During her time at Wal-Mart, Kerry’s food safety oversight included tens of thousands of Wal Mart’s, Neighborhood Market’s, and Sam’s Clubs food suppliers.

Brett Campbell, Vice President of Field Marketing for Tropical Smoothie Cafe has a proven track record of contributing to the revenue growth of organizations in the franchise food sector, such as HoneyBaked Ham, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Papa John’s and Tropical Smoothie Cafe. In his current role, Brett leads the Tropical Smoothie Field Marketing team who are responsible for all local marketing including media, sports partnerships and local store marketing. With Tropical Smoothie Cafe opening over 120 cafes, his team also manages the marketing of new store openings.

Alex Canter is a restaurant industry innovator, in-demand speaker, and passionate advocate for restaurant operators and workers. He was raised in the kitchen of the world-famous Canter’s Deli in Los Angeles, where he and his team invented Ordermark. A fourth-generation restaurateur, the restaurant business has been in Alex’s blood for over 85 years. In addition to being the visionary and leader of Ordermark, Alex is active with the Techstars network and enjoys mentoring other restaurant technology entrepreneurs. A 2019 recipient of the Forbes 30 Under 30, Alex has previously led several technology ventures.

A 20-year veteran of the restaurant industry, Steven Chan brings the mind-spinning energy of Asian sidewalk eating to Atlanta with Tin Drum Asian Kitchen. His urban upbringing in Hong Kong inspired the pan-Asian restaurant concept that now has over 10 locations throughout the Atlanta area. As the company’s founder and CEO, Chan spearheads the vision for Tin Drum and serves as the chief designer of the brand. Steven champions the legend of the Tin Drummer, the tale of a young man who became an unsung hero of the community by the simple act of serving people and showing hard work alone can make a difference.

Bogdan Constantin is the founder & CEO of Voxie – the conversational AI text marketing leader that helps companies build 2-way relationships with their customers at scale. Voxie is proud to help customers from Buff City Soap to Massage Heights talk with their customers in an authentic and meaningful way across their entire lifecycle. He previously founded Menguin – the world’s first online suit and tuxedo rental company. He scaled the business by over 10,000% by texting with his customers and within 2.5 years of launch sold to the founder of Men’s Wearhouse. He resides in Atlanta with his family.

Alice Crowder is the Chief Marketing Officer for Krystal Restaurants, LLC, the oldest quick service restaurant chain in the South. Alice previously served as the brand’s Vice President of Marketing from 2014 to 2018 before leaving to head menu strategy and innovation at industry leader Tropical Smoothie Cafe. She is returning to drive relevance and preference for Krystal and its famous square burgers under the brand’s new ownership group and along with a completely new management team led by industry veteran, Tom Stager.

Recently appointed in Q1 of 2021, Chris Demery serves as Blaze Pizza’s Chief Technology Officer. Chris is an industry veteran with extensive experience leading off-premises and consumer-facing platforms for nationally-recognized food service brands. Spearheading the brand’s technology efforts, he consistently leverages his expertise to develop and execute strategic initiatives supporting Blaze’s ongoing innovation. Prior to joining Blaze, Chris most recently served as senior vice president at P.F. Chang’s, where he was responsible for developing the roadmap of its new Chang’s GO off-premise prototypes. He also spent six years at Bloomin’ Brands overseeing the company’s external facing technology and spearheading crucial strategic initiatives.

Nicole Di Pietro joined Jeremiah’s Italian Ice in 2016 as Vice President, to assist in positioning the company for growth. She has been instrumental in developing the company’s Core Values, Mission and Vision, along with the current infrastructure. She has successfully added elements of culture, accountability, and process to the brand, delivering excellent financial results. Her experience has brought new insight to the Jeremiah’s Executive Team, leading to the successful opening of 5 additional company owned locations in 2018, while maintaining positive sales growth and increased profitability across the company. In 2019, Nicole aided in further expanding the Jeremiah’s brand with the launch of the Franchising program.

Brian Dixon is the Director of Real Estate for Team Oney, a Starbucks Master Licensee, Papa John’s and Qdoba franchisee operating more than 90 locations throughout Florida. He brings 17 years of experience in Commercial Real Estate which follows +20 years in franchise operations, the bulk of which was with Dunkin’ Donuts franchisees including international expansion. Brian started his current position with Team Oney over five years ago where he created the Real Estate Department from scratch and worked with the Operations Team to accelerate development and acquisitions. Under Brian’s leadership, Papa John’s increased their locations from 51 to 75 (and counting) and acquiring a Starbucks Master License.

Matt Drewes is Senior Vice President and Group Head of Restaurant Industry at Cardlytics, a company that drive incremental sales using purchase intelligence from 160M+ monthly active bank accounts on its native advertising platform. Before joining Cardlytics, Matt held various positions at Darden Restaurants, including SVP of Marketing for Red Lobster and Director of Marketing at Olive Garden. Prior to Darden, Matt worked in various CPG Brand Management positions at Campbell Soup Company and M&M/Mars including a year developing business in Russia. Matt holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Auburn University and an MBA from the Columbia Business School at Columbia University.

Rafik Farouk is the senior director of Global Business Development for P.F. Chang’s. In his role with the international Asian culinary brand, he helps guide international growth strategy and oversees expansion of a company that has more than 300 restaurants in 23 countries and U.S. airport locations. Prior to P.F. Chang’s Rafik served as the Senior Director of Development and Operations at Bloomin’ Brands Inc., where he managed the international franchisees’ development and supported of the global operations as part of the Global Development Team. During his tenure with Bloomin’ Brands, he worked to launch the Aussie Grill by Outback, the first fast-casual concept in company history.

Stephen Farr-Jones, as President, brings over 25 years of marketing and retail industry experience to ADM Marketing. Overseeing the restaurant market vertical as well as ADMM’s other retail channel verticals, Stephen came to ADMM from what is now the world’s largest games software publisher, Activision Blizzard, where he was Vice President of Marketing and Business Development. Previously he held the position of US President for Coogi Australia, where he restructured US sales and distribution operations for the Australian luxury knitwear brand. Stephen was an integral member of Walt Disney Company’s Consumer Products Division, managing international and duty-free merchandising and licensing as well as filmed entertainment licensing, in the US, Asia and Europe.

Steve Felson is the Vice President of Operations for Bonchon International with oversight for the brand’s Operations, Training, Food Safety and Restaurant Opening teams. Steve has more than 20 years’ experience across multiple restaurant industry segments spanning a number of roles. Prior to joining Bonchon, Steve worked with the fast-casual chain BurgerFi leading Operations, Training and Marketing and, prior to that, as the Director of Field Training and Restaurant Openings for Denny’s restaurants. Steve received a B.A. degree in English from Stetson University.

Fueled by passion, dedication and proven in-depth experience in both full-cycle marketing and technology, Larry Fiel has leveraged over 40 years of practical knowledge to help raise the bar for excellence in a variety of verticals, including restaurant/hospitality, IT, education, and social services. With four academic degrees (including an MBA and MS in MIS), and an intuitive understanding of interpersonal relationships, Larry, an adjunct professor, thrives on educating and mentoring others and finding order amid chaos. By excelling in brand creation and propagation, strategic marketing, lead generation, and marketing communications, Larry has helped foster sustained business profitability through increased revenue and the lowering of both tangible and intangible costs.

Since earning his J.D. from Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Jeff has proven himself as an entrepreneurial innovator. As a serial entrepreneur, Jeff’s been recognized nationally for his business creations ranging from a quick-serve restaurant chain, payroll & HR company, digital marketing agency, and construction company, among others. In addition, Jeff is a Forbes Professor at their school of Business and Technology, named a top 100 Entrepreneur in America under the age of 35 in 2013 by Empact, named a Top 40 Executive under 40 by the Business Journal in 2019, and was recently a finalist for CEO of the year.

Ross Franklin, is the Founder & CEO of Pure Green Franchise, one of the fastest growing juice bar franchises. Ross is ranked as one of the top five wellness entrepreneurs by Thrive Global and has two decades of experience building top tier brands within the health and wellness industry. He is a sought after keynote speaker and presenter.

Drew French is the Founder and President of Your Pie. While honeymooning on the Italian island of Ischia, Drew was inspired to bring the authentic, brick-oven taste of Italian pizza to the United States. With a passion for gourmet food and a business degree from the University of Georgia, he opened the first Your Pie location in Athens, Ga., in 2008. The brand has since grown to more than 75 locations across the U.S. with more than 50 in development, and Drew continues to infuse creativity, inspiration and innovation through his leadership.

Speaker bio coming soon!

Speaker bio coming soon!

gusto!’s Director of Operations & Strategy and Business Partner, Richmond Green, is an Atlanta Native and former collegiate swimmer at the University of Georgia. Richmond has invested the past 5 years into the development of gusto! as “Atlanta’s Fastest Growing Restaurant Brand” (Atlanta Business Chronicle, 2021), an AJC Top Workplace, and member of the 2021 Inc. 5000 List of “Fastest Growing Private Companies in America”. Prior to joining gusto!, he spent nearly six years with Chick-fil-a as a Grand Opening Franchisee Consultant where he helped launch that brand in new markets all over the country.

Stuart Greer is an Enterprise Account Executive at SOCi and is responsible for partnering with and helping improve the customer retention & acquisition online strategy for SOCi’s largest clients. In addition to this Stuart has owned multiple businesses, has over 20 years of sales and business development experience, and an MBA in Marketing. With these experiences, Stuart tries to sit on the business owners’, marketers’, and operators’ side of the table to help them find new and inventive ways to improve their short and long-term objectives.

With more than 20 years of experience in food service, franchising, consumer products and retail, Joe Guith has a passion for growing iconic brands that deliver superior experiences and value to guests. In 2021, he was named Restaurant Category President, Focus Brands, where he oversees McAlister’s Deli, Moe’s Southwest Grill and Schlotzsky’s. While at Focus Brands, he has served as the President of McAlister’s Deli and President of Cinnabon. Previously, he worked in general management and strategy with The Coca-Cola Company and Yum! Brands. Throughout his career, he has built a reputation for driving significant results through strong performance management, application of process-driven improvements and building collaborative, high performing teams.

Josh Halpern is the Chief Executive Officer for Big Chicken. Josh is a dynamic, partnership-focused, thought leader with a robust career in streamlining efficiency, driving innovation, building diverse engaged teams, and growing economic results across the CPG, retail, and restaurant verticals. Most recently, Josh served as the Chief Sales Officer for FIFCO USA, the 8th largest US brewing company, where he was responsible for commercial operations and building top and bottom-line results for Off-Premise, On-Premise, and company-owned brewpubs. Prior, Josh led the Anheuser-Busch InBev, On-Premise and Small Format channels in the US, and Shopper Marketing globally.

Scott Heim is President of Middleby Ventless Solutions and Evo America. In this position he leads the efforts of all the Middleby commercial brands with ventless cooking solutions. He is concentrating on educating designers, architects and customers on a variety of ventless concepts, especially focusing on ways to create pockets of F&B revenue in non-traditional locations and even in historical buildings. Scott joined Evo, Inc. in 2012, sparking the product development work in the griddle, plancha and cooktop segments. He directed the launch of the EVent ventless griddle in 2015. Prior to joining Evo, he created a consumer packaged goods firm which was successful in a competitive retail market.

Steve Holmes, a seasoned human capital management (HCM) executive and accomplished entrepreneur, is co-founder of ShiftPixy. With nearly 30 years of experience in human resources services, Steve has established a track record for helping small and midmarket businesses (SMBs) through Fortune 500 companies drive efficiency in HCM initiatives and has successfully founded and sold five human resources services businesses, all of which are still operating today.

As CMO of Cowboy Chicken since 2015, Kim Jensen-Pitts is responsible for all brand development and marketing activities, including positioning, creative development, media buying, digital marketing, field implementation, public relations, pricing and analysis. Kim has enjoyed a highly successful career in all segments of the restaurant industry for over 25 years, working with several successful restaurant brands such as Cracker Barrel, Atlanta Bread Company, Ted’s Montana Grill and more. Kim attended Illinois State University where she studied Communications and Marketing.

Scott Johnson is a seasoned marketing and management executive with over 30 years of experience with a variety of Fortune 500 and growth companies focused on consumer marketing and technology. He has a proven track record of driving results through innovation and creative-driven brand marketing. Through his initiatives and brand leadership, Scott has generated over $1B in incremental revenue, and led major turnarounds at Arby’s and Outback Steakhouse. Since 2016, he has led brand marketing efforts for two of the fastest growing brands in the fast-casual segment, previously at BurgerFi International, and now as lead of domestic and international marketing for Smashburger.

Stacey Kane has more than 25 years of experience working with multi-unit restaurant chains as a Head of Marketing and Marketing Consultant. She has worked with such brands as California Tortilla, Think Food Group, Subway and East Coast Wings. Known for her incredible creativity and obsession with data she was one of the pioneers of using social media in the restaurant space and was named a Top 20 Movers and Shakers by Fast Casual Magazine three times. Currently, Stacey is a fractional CMO for several fast casual brands including and works as a marketing consultant for CORE: Children of Restaurant Employees a non-profit that serves food and beverage employees with children.

Kevin Kilgore has a 30-year Design and Construction background with various restaurants and retailers, architects and developers. As Vice President of Design and Construction for Focus Brands, Kevin leads all design initiatives for the portfolio’s restaurant brands and has oversight on all East coast development. Prior to joining Focus Brands, he was Director of Construction for Jim N Nicks BAR-B-Q, with oversight on all design, entitlement, due diligence and construction activities for the brand. His prior experience includes Director of Construction for Steak N Shake, Senior Program Manager for Chick-fil-A, Director of Construction for CVS/pharmacy, and various other project management positions with developers and architects.

Dennie Laney has dedicated her career to the restaurant and hospitality industries, serving individuals, teams, and organizations desiring to cultivate an environment of building trusting relationships, where authenticity and humility lay the foundation for outstanding results. Dennie has accomplished this by defining the internal people and performance strategies for both corporate and for operations teams, aligned to achieve bottom line success for performance, profitability and EBITDA achievement. Dennie has worked for iconic brands such as Brinker International, Romano’s Macaroni Grill, and G6 Hospitality LLC (Motel 6 Studio 6). She elevates leadership excellence at all levels, with maximum results-orientation at the forefront.

Dr. Ben Lawrence is the Aziz Hashim endowed Professor in Franchise Entrepreneurship at Georgia State University. Ben’s broad domains of interest include franchise relationships, consumer coproduction, and service innovation. He has published research articles in leading business journals including Production and Operations Management, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Operations Management, Journal of Retailing, Industrial Marketing Management, Service Science and Journal of Business Ethics. Prior to joining GSU, he was on the faculty of Cornell University. He holds a B.S. from Cornell Univeristy, a MBA from Texas A&M University and a PhD from Boston University.

Jackie Lobdell is the Vice President of Franchise Development at Slim Chickens. She has been with the brand since 2018 and was promoted to her current position in 2020. Since then, she has sold over 350 deals. Jackie also was named as a top Influential Women in Franchising 2020 for her accomplishments within the industry.

Brian Loescher has served as COO in the Golden Chick headquarters since 2021, after serving as VP Franchise Operations. Golden Chick is a growing QSR franchise that prides itself on providing delicious food and great customer service. Golden Chick has 205 locations throughout TX, OK, SC, FL, and LA. Prior Experience: From September 2017 to August 2019, Brian served as Franchise Development Manager for YUM Brands (dba Pizza Hut). From May 2014 to June 2019, he served as Associate VP of Franchise Operations for Grandy’s LLC. From February 2002 to May 2014, Brian served as Training Consultant Manager, District Partner and Area Supervisor for Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc.

Michael Manlapas is the VP of Partnerships at Revel Systems. Michael brings more than 20 years of experience in the retail technology industry to Revel. Prior to joining Revel Michael served as the US General Manger for Metapack, an eCommerce shipping solution which was acquired by Stamps.com and as the VP of Business Development for Retailnext, where he launched their international business units. Michael started his career in retail technology with nearly 15 years at Radiant Systems and BlueCube Software serving the retail, QSR and entertainment industries.

Eric Marcoux is the Vice President of Quality Management for Smashburger, where he is responsible for the oversight of Quality Assurance, R&D, Operations platform design, Guest experience, Restaurant safety & sanitation and Crisis management. He has been a member of the Smashburger team since 2012 taking on various rolls within the organization. Eric has been in the food business for the past 20+ years with experience ranging from regulatory compliance, consulting and restaurant operations. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Health with an emphasis on microbiology from Cal State Northridge.

With 40 years of extensive experience in helping restaurants evolve to meet the ever-changing needs of consumers via the always-advancing technologies that propel growth, Wade Mays has ensured sustained growth for a host of enterprise titans, including McDonalds, Taco Bell, Arby’s, Church’s Chicken, Popeyes, Burger King, Wendy’s, Whataburger and Chick-Fil-A. Wade’s holistic industry background, including president of Prism Data Systems, sales engineer at PAR Tech, and restaurant manager for QSR franchises, has afforded him the opportunity to excel in all aspects of business administration as well as operations management, strategic planning, P&L, client relations, leadership enhancement, product development and project planning/execution for both startups and large established companies.

Dr. Cheikh Mboup was named President & COO of Edible Brands in December 2019. In this role, he is responsible for the strategic vision and overall franchise performance of Edible Arrangements, Berry Direct, Netsolace and Incredible Edibles. He was previously the founder of various franchise restaurant brands which operated across the north and southeast United States. Cheikh is recognized as a business transformer and was recently highlighted by Forbes as a pioneer for business pivots due to how he led Edible’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mboup holds a bachelor’s degree in statistics from Lehigh University, an MBA in economics from Jacksonville University and a PhD in economics and international business from Argosy University.

David McDougall is the Chief Executive Officer of Your Pie Franchising, LLC leading all aspects of the business at both the national and store levels, with an emphasis on revenue growth and profitability. David previously was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Back Yard Burgers, Inc. After joining the company in 2013, he led the successful turnaround of the brand through improved financial performance, franchise relations and return to the brands roots, “great tasting food”. This in turn led to finding a new owner and sale of the company. David’s background includes more than 35 years of food and franchise leadership specializing in operations, development, growth and international business.

A self-proclaimed restaurant nerd, in 30 years John Montgomery has only had two jobs outside of the industry, a ditch digger at a natural gas company and an auditor at Deloitte. Both were equally uninspiring to him. Luckily for him his favorite audit client was Buca Di Beppo, where he ultimately landed as their Assistant Controller. In 2002, John moved to Colorado to become Controller of Noodles & Company, leaving to pursue his MBA. In 2008 he took a finance job with fast casual salad company, MAD Greens, and is now President & CFO. John helped grow the MAD Greens concept to 27 units located in Denver, Austin, and Phoenix.

Chase Mullican helps restaurant and hospitality brands grow by finding the network security and management solutions that best-fit the needs of their locations. With the goal of powering a more secure and agile network that significantly reduces cost and complexity, Chase brings his experience and knowledge in cybersecurity and branch networking solutions. As sales director specializing in the QSR and Fast Casual market, Chase works with franchisors and franchisees alike to realize the benefits of Netsurion’s SD-Branch platform and services.

Named one of Ad Age’s 100 Most Influential Women in Advertising, Sharon Napier oversees all executive leadership at Partners + Napier, an integrated creative company best known for amplifying food and beverage brands. Partners + Napier’s clientele includes established and fast-growing franchises like Smashburger, CoreLife Eatery, and BurgerFi, plus leading consumer and foodservice brands like Instant Pot, Pyrex, Saputo Dairy Foods, and 50+ wine, beer, and spirits in the Constellation Brands portfolio. Sharon is a frequent speaker at industry events and has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and numerous others. She is Vice Chair of the American Association of Advertising Agencies.

Rishi Nigam is a Georgia native with over 20 years of hospitality and retail experience. He is the CEO and co-founder of Franklin Junction, an e-commerce platform that allows kitchens to optimize excess infrastructure capacity by serving as a Host Kitchen for other proven restaurant brands. Prior to the launch of Franklin Junction in 2020, Rishi helmed the turnaround efforts for an award-winning airport concessions firm as they achieved record profitability and completed a successful management-led buyout of the founders. The foundation of Rishi’s career comes from non-traditional hospitality operations. Rishi led the rebuilding of the concessions, hospitality, and retail lines of business as a Vice President with NASCAR.

A graduate of UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, Aaron Noveshen is an award-winning chef and restaurant entrepreneur. He is the Founder and President of The Culinary Edge, an innovation agency that provides global companies with strategic food, brand and operations solutions. Aaron is also the Founder and President of Starbird, a modern chicken concept that is revolutionizing food and convenience in the QSR/Fast Casual marketplace. As Co-founder of Pacific Catch Restaurants, Aaron served as president for 10 years and currently serves on the board of directors. Most recently Aaron co-founded The Culinary Edge Ventures with the mission to create, incubate, operate and grow restaurant brands.

Zack Oates is an author, husband, father, entrepreneur, and hot tub aficionado (but not in that order, necessarily). He grew up in restaurants before getting into startups. He was voted Top 100 Entrepreneurs, rang the NASDAQ bell, won the world’s biggest business competition, been to 50 countries, and started 3 companies. He went on over 1,000 dates before he got married and wrote a book, Dating Never Works…Until it Does. He currently is Founder and CEO of Ovation, the #1 restaurant feedback platform in America.

Danielle Porto Parra joined McAlister’s Deli as the head of Marketing in 2020, with responsibility for culinary & menu innovation, brand experience, digital, media, and growth strategies. Danielle has been in the hospitality and retail industry for more than 20 years, working in leadership roles at top companies including Petco, Build.com and Caesars Entertainment Corporation. Throughout her career, she has led company growth through a combination of brand experience and product innovation, personalized marketing, breakthrough creative, and digital transformation. Most recently, Danielle worked as Chief Marketing Officer & SVP of eCommerce for automotive aftermarket brands Pep Boys, AAMCO, Precision Tune, and Auto Plus.

Mario Paysee leads all strategic partnerships for Botrista, the new automated craft beverage solutions provider for operators. With his extensive experience in US and International markets, Mario has led commercial teams at Pepsi, Starbucks, and Bevi. Passionate about the intersection of food and technology, he is an industry trends writer/contributor for Forbes.com.

With over fifteen years of high-growth tech experience driving sales, marketing and business development initiatives through direct sales and strategic partnership programs, Matt Pierce has been a key contributor to innovative growth organizations throughout his career. Matt began his career as an early-stage team member at Greenway, growing into a business development leadership role responsible for 250+ partnerships nationwide. After a Greenway IPO and subsequent acquisition by Vista, Matt moved on to lead sales and business development at Pri-Med Amazing Charts. Prior to founding Immediate to drive improved financial wellness through on-demand access to earned wages, Matt worked with multiple startups in developing go-to market growth strategies.

With his latest concept Pita Mediterranean Street Food, which he founded in 2012, Nour Rabai has created a fast casual destination for fresh, delicious and affordable Mediterranean cuisine. As founder and CEO, Nour oversees the operations of Pita’s corporate and franchise locations and management team and also is involved in the development and design of new locations. With a goal of growing Pita Mediterranean Street Food and introducing his authentic food and culture into every major city in the U.S., Nour’s major responsibility is in franchising. He is involved in the entire process from meeting with prospective franchisees and discussing locations to working alongside new franchisees to offer advice on staffing, profitability and operations.

As SVP of Marketing at Dog Haus, C.J. Ramirez plays a vital role in driving brand innovation and marketing strategy. Since joining the team in 2013, he implemented marketing and branding campaigns that have directly impacted Dog Haus becoming one of the hottest emerging brands in the restaurant industry. As an industry veteran, C.J. brings extensive experience in designing branding strategies that build strong corporate identities. Before joining the Dog Haus family, he led teams for prominent brands such as The Kennedy/Marshall Company, Sun Microsystems, Oracle, The Walt Disney Company, Eastman Kodak, Johnson & Johnson Company, and Mattel. He is a graduate of the Art Center College of Design.

John Ramsay brings 28+ years of experience in Franchising and development with large mature organizations and emerging growth concepts. John has developed over 900 restaurants, covering all fifty states and twelve countries. He is currently Vice President of Franchise Sales for Noodles & Company. Started in 1995, and with over 450 restaurants, Noodles & co. is a leader in Fast Casual restaurants. Noodles is positioned for growth with strengths in off-premise dining, a robust digital platform, and a unique menu. John holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Virginia Tech, and is a Certified Franchise Executive with the International Franchise Association.

Ricky Richardson’s background includes his current role as CEO of EUG Holdco, LLC, the parent and franchisor of Eggs Up Grill. Since joining Eggs Up Grill, Ricky has energized the brand, defining it’s DNA, building the leadership team and strengthening franchisee relationships while delivering accelerated growth of new franchisees, new restaurant openings and same store sales. Eggs Up Grill has doubled in size since his arrival, closing out 2020 with 46 restaurants and a record for new restaurant openings. Prior to joining Eggs Up Grill, Ricky served over 20 years with TGI Fridays, holding a range of executive roles, lastly serving as president and chief operating officer of Fridays USA.

Mahesh G. Sadarangani has served as Wingstop’s Chief Operating Officer since January 2020. Mahesh joined Wingstop in July 2019 as SVP of Channels and has more than 20 years of operational leadership experience. Mahesh previously held executive roles at CEC Entertainment, the parent company for Chuck E. Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza; where he most recently served as Chief Administrative Officer of CEC Entertainment and President of the Peter Piper Pizza brand leading strategy, revenue management, supply chain, and operations. Previous executive roles include the leadership of financial planning and analysis, sales, and various strategic functions across a range of industries and companies.

Sweetberry Bowls was founded in 2017 by restaurant veteran, Desi Saran. He is a serial entrepreneur with an MBA in Finance & BA in Economics from Rutgers University. Desi has extensive experience in developing fast-casual chains and tech start-ups. He created Sweetberry Bowls to provide quality and affordable healthy food options to consumers. The healthy, fast-casual concept specializes in Acai bowls, Poke Bowls, Smoothies, Wraps, & Salads with a focus on product, atmosphere and extraordinary customer service. Under Desi’s leadership, the company opened 20 units across 7 states in 2 years.

Laurie Schalow joined Chipotle in 2017. As the Chief Corporate Affairs and Food Safety Officer, Laurie oversees all internal and external communications, stakeholder engagement, sustainability, customer service, social listening, food safety and quality assurance for the brand’s 2,700 restaurants in the U.S., Canada and Europe. Additionally, she is responsible for oversight of The Chipotle Cultivate Foundation, where she serves as President. Prior to joining Chipotle, Laurie was Vice President of Public Affairs for Yum! Brands, overseeing global corporate social responsibility, public relations, crisis management, social listening and community diversity programs for the 44,000 KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants in 140 countries.

Jean Schneider joined The Human Bean in 2019 and helps lead all franchise development, new technology initiatives and ecommerce efforts. Jean spearheaded the 3rd party delivery program creation at 90+ locations including efforts like POS integration, onboarding, pricing, promotions, reporting, review management, delivery vs pick up and social media. The Human Bean is currently in it’s 3rd year using 3rd party delivery services (Doordash, Grubhub, Uber Eats and Postmates) and continues to evolve through challenges, but all signs point toward continued growth and convenience for their customers. Jean grew up in Austria and has worked in Asia, Europe, and the US with organizations and major corporations across a wide range of industries.

Now with more than 170 locations, another 200 in development and $100 million in systemwide sales, Steve Schulze, as CEO, has grown Nékter Juice Bar into the clear leader and pioneer of the $2 billion juice bar industry. Founded in 2010 upon a promise to reinvent a restaurant category that had lost its way, Nékter Juice Bar has been a catalyst for change, vowing ingredient integrity and authenticity across its menu of 100% freshly made, nutrient-rich and entirely clean juices, Superfood smoothies, acai bowls, cleanses, and a variety of healthy snacks.

Speaker bio coming soon!

Samuel Stanovich is part of the leadership team of Big Chicken. Prior to joining Big Chicken, Samuel worked with Firehouse Subs brand as an Area Representative and Franchisee. Samuel’s past experiences include: Director Partner Product Development & Industry Relations, National Restaurant Association, President & CEO of the Heritage Corridor Convention and Visitors Bureau, in addition, he is a 12-year veteran of Marriott International. In 2020 Samuel co-authored the top catering book “Catering Domination” and is co-host of the Takeout, Delivery and Catering podcast. Samuel is an alum Johnson and Wales University and adjunct faculty at the College of DuPage.

Jim Thompson CFE has over 25 years of leading operations teams for brands like Wendy’s, Kings Family Restaurants, D’Angelo and Papa Gino’s. Jim was hired by Chicken Salad Chick’s co-founders, Stacy and Kevin Brown in 2013. Since that time, he has built and led operations, training, and the development of management and purchasing systems that have been instrumental to Chicken Salad Chick’s expansion from six to more than 135 restaurants over the past six years. Jim continues as the strategic operations executive for Chicken Salad Chick, and he works closely with CEO, Scott Deviney, and the company’s leadership team. He has built strong relationships within the franchise community.

Speaker bio coming soon!

Speaker bio coming soon!

James Walker, CFE, is a top restaurant industry expert with a specialty in rebranding and repositioning iconic American comfort food brands. James is an industry-leading authority in restaurant trends, including, Delivery and off-premises, Ghost Kitchens, Virtual Brands and leading through macro events like COVID-19. He specializes in mergers & acquisitions, domestic and international development, operations, franchising, and new product development. With more than 30 years of broad based, senior level, management experience in the hospitality and retail industries, James has served as President, Chief Development Officer, as well as in Senior Operations and New Product Development positions, for brands such as Baja Fresh, Cinnabon, Johnny Rockets and Subway.

Charles Watson is the CEO at Tropical Smoothie Cafe and focuses on the strategic vision and sustainable growth of the franchise system. Prior to being named CEO in December 2018, Charles served as the Chief Development Officer for Tropical Smoothie Cafe. Under his leadership, the Tropical Smoothie Cafe system grew from 265 units to 725 units. Tropical Smoothie Cafe currently has more than 975 locations nationwide and will open its 1,000th location in 2021. A veteran franchise professional, Charles has worked for several hospitality-related companies. Charles is a graduate of The Hotel School at Cornell University and holds an MBA from The Terry School of Business at The University of Georgia.

Mark Wayne is the Viking Cloud Chief Revenue Officer. He is an active member of the Secret Service Electronic Crimes Task Force and considered a national expert on topics of Digital Technology, Cybercrime, Compliance and Crisis Management. Prior to joining Viking Cloud, Mark spent over 20 years as a technology executive focused on network security. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force where he served as military code breaker for the National Security Agency and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Central Michigan University and an MBA from the University of Detroit.

Brian Whitney leads Appetize’s sales efforts in the Professional and Enterprise space. He brings over 20 years of POS experience to Appetize and has worked with Radiant Systems, NCR and Allure over that term. Brian has worked globally in over 20 countries on 5 continents in industries throughout hospitality, airports, cinemas, stadiums and retail. An avid college sports fan he lives in Atlanta with his wife Monica and daughter Annabeth.

Alex Williams joined Moe’s Southwest Grill with nearly 30 years of leadership experience in both food and beverage and oil and gas industries. Across several national brands, Alex has expertise in franchising, operations, and innovation – all while driving business results in competitive environments. Most recently, while Alex was at Bloomin’ Brands, he was the Regional Vice President of the Outback Steakhouse brand in the Midwest region supporting more than 100 restaurants and also served as Vice President of Operations for Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse nationally. Prior to joining Bloomin’ Brands, Alex spent 11 years at McDonald’s Corporation leading future innovation across 10,000 restaurants in the U.S.

Mandi Wooledge has spent the last decade championing innovation within the restaurant technology industry. Her unique blend of extensive leadership experience in restaurant operations and proven track record of bringing bottom-line impacting technology products to market allows her to focus on solutions that adapt to operations vs. requiring operators to adapt to bleeding edge technology. Known for developing trusted relationships, Mandi has helped major brands like Twin Peaks and Rib Crib achieve demonstrable, measurable ROI on technology that increases profitability. Her ability to shape vision and execute roadmaps with technology allows her teams to become true partners in solving real-world restaurant issues.

Cooking at four- and five-star restaurants, Chef Dave Woolley has always wanted to further explore the culinary world through flavor & inspiration while either apprenticing at fine dining restaurants in Walt Disney World, perfecting cowboy cuisine at his family-owned Antero Grill restaurant, being mentored by culinary historian Sam Arnold at The Fort, or inspiring culinary research and development at Red Robin Gourmet Burgers. In 2013, he formed CD Culinary Approach, a consulting company that helps inspire food service and retail brands through passionate innovation, ideation and initiation. He took this learning experience and brought it to his current role at Buffalo Wild Wings as Director of Culinary Innovation AKA “Director of Deliciousness”.