Caitlin Allen
Caitlin Allen
Senior Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Advisory Board Chair, Simbe
Caitlin Allen is the senior vice president of marketing at Simbe Robotics, where she leads brand, communications and commercial strategy. With two decades of experience scaling innovative companies from startup to $200 million Annual Recurring Revenue and through multiple exits, including Lyft’s IPO and Happy Returns’ acquisition by PayPal, she has built markets for transformative technologies spanning AI, robotics and enterprise SaaS.
A former Andreessen Horowitz partner and founder, Allen also co-founded OPEN Imperative for pay equity. She’s also been recognized as a Progressive Grocer Top Woman in Grocery and an RTIH Top 100 Retail Influencer. She holds a B.A. from UCLA and is a French Wine Scholar, certified by the Wine Scholar Guild.
Hayley Berkshire
Hayley Berkshire
Vice President Sales, Kellanova
Hayley Berkshire is a high-impact sales leader known for driving revenue growth and building high-performing teams for iconic brands. She began her career in sales analytics and account management at Perrigo Co. and Kellogg Co., developing expertise in data-driven decision-making and customer engagement.
Berkshire has advanced through commercial strategy and sales roles, spearheading growth at key accounts such as Walmart, Costco and Kroger. She has been named a Rising Star within Progressive Grocer's Top Women in Grocery for multiple consecutive years and is a certified Change Enthusiast Practitioner through Change Enthusiasm Global.
In 2026, following the Mars acquisition of Kellanova, Berkshire was appointed vice president strategic demand for Mars snacking accelerator brands where she is focused on driving growth against leading brands like RXBar, KIND, Pop Tarts and Eggo.
She holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a graduate certificate in project management from the University of Virginia and is passionate about the food industry and developing future leaders within consumer packaged goods.
Daniel Breeman
Daniel Breeman
Senior Vice President, Reyes Coca Cola Bottling
Daniel Breeman is senior vice president of revenue growth management at Reyes Coca-Cola where he leads enterprise-wide pricing, portfolio strategy, and commercial capability to deliver sustainable revenue and margin growth across a complex franchise system.
Breeman brings more than 25 years of leadership experience across the Coca-Cola system, with a track record of translating complex data and market dynamics into clear, actionable commercial decisions that drive growth and margin expansion. He aligns cross-functional teams to execute with discipline at scale, grounded in a deep understanding of the consumer and customer.
Prior to RGM, Breeman led large-scale headquarters key account and retail sales organizations, experience that underpins his focus on practical, execution-driven commercial strategy.
Breeman has held multiple senior leadership roles across the Coca-Cola system, primarily on the bottling side, complemented by experience with the company. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in communication studies from Western Michigan University.
Nicole Collida Davis
Nicole Collida Davis
Managing Director and Senior Vice President - U.S. National Accounts, NielsonIQ
Nicole Collida Davis has spent her entire career at the intersection of retail and data—and she's been at NielsenIQ doing it for over 25 years. Today, as managing director of U.S. retail and agencies, she leads strategic partnerships with some of the world's most influential consumer brands, helping them translate consumer intelligence into competitive advantage and sustainable growth.
Collida Davis built her foundation in retail client success, pioneered NIQ's retail onsite support model, and has since led commercial transformations spanning sales, revenue operations and global go-to-market strategy. A frequent industry speaker and recognized thought leader, she is known for bringing strategic rigor and human-centered leadership to every room she walks into—with a genuine passion for developing the next generation of retail talent.
Aaron Conant
Aaron Conant
Co-founder and Chief Digital Strategist, BWG Connect
Aaron Conant is co-founder and chief digital strategist at BWG Connect, a networking and knowledge-sharing platform with a network of over 5,000 senior professionals from across the ecommerce ecosystem. Through thousands of conversations with brands from startups to Fortune 500 companies, he has built a real-time pulse on the newest trends shaping digital commerce, from LLMs and AI-driven discovery to Amazon and Walmart marketplace strategy to D2C optimization.
Conant hosts The Digital Deep Dive podcast, serves on advisory boards for multiple tech and agency partners. He previously led ecommerce sales and business development at Perrigo, holds a B.S. in chemistry and biochemistry from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Western Michigan University.
Kevin Coupe
Kevin Coupe
Content Guy, morningnewsbeat.com
For more than 40 years, Kevin Coupe has been bringing to audiences all over the world a wealth of experience, sharp storytelling skills, provocative and contextual insights, a unique worldview and "serious irreverence" about the world of business and consumers.
He is the author of ‘Retail Rules! 52 Ways to Achieve Retail Success,” a guidebook for competing effectively and efficiently on Main Street, and co-author, with Michael Sansolo, of “The Big Picture: Essential Business Lessons from the Movies,” which uses film narratives to teach about leadership, marketing and surviving the workplace.
Almost a quarter century ago, he launched MorningNewsBeat.com, providing business news in context and analysis with attitude to more than 25,000 subscribers all over the world, finding critical, relevant and resonant lessons not just in the world of retailing, but also in sports, popular culture and a wide range of other businesses. An independent survey recently ranked MNB as the top industry news and information site.
Coupe is an adjunct faculty member at Portland State University in Oregon.
In addition to speaking at hundreds of conferences in the U.S. and abroad and reporting from 49 states and six continents, Coupe has been a daily newspaper reporter, magazine writer and editor, video producer, bodyguard and clothing salesman. He has supervised a winery tasting room (happily), run two marathons (slowly), driven a race car (badly), learned to box (painfully) and acted in a major (but obscure) motion picture.
Aliza Freud
Aliza Freud
Founder and CEO, SheSpeaks
Aliza Freud is the founder and CEO of SheSpeaks, an influencer-powered media and performance company helping brands turn authentic social storytelling into measurable business results. A former vice president of global marketing at American Express, she founded SheSpeaks in 2008 with a belief that trusted voices would reshape how consumers discover and buy.
Today, SheSpeaks partners with leading brands to transform influencer content into high-performing advertising across paid social, CTV, retail media and programmatic channels, positioning influencer as a true performance media channel, not just a marketing tactic.
Freud is a recognized industry voice on the future of creator-led media and hosts the SheSpeaks: Women of Influence podcast, where she explores how storytelling drives culture, commerce and measurable success.
Brian Harris
Brian Harris
CEO/President, Intent AI Tech
Dr. Brian Harris pioneered the concept of category management in the late 1980s. Since then, he’s been an ambassador and thought leader teaching the benefits of category management to hundreds of retailers and manufacturers across the globe.
For the last 30 years, he has been a leading contributor to every major ECR initiative across the globe directly related to category management and its related practices. Harris has trained over 30,000 executives and managers in category management and its related processes across the globe, and his industry reports have been downloaded more than 20,000 times across 150+ countries.
Today he is co-founder and CEO of Intent AI Tech, where he is using AI to restore the strategic discipline category management was built on and uncover growth that has been hiding in plain sight.
Justin Honaman
Justin Honaman
Global Head, Worldwide Retail, Restaurants & Consumer Goods, Amazon Web Services
As the global head of retail, restaurants and consumer goods business development at Amazon/AWS, Honaman leads a team dedicated to driving digital transformation across the consumer landscape. Amazon's mission is to be the earth's most customer-centric company and his team's mission is to empower businesses with supply chain, advertising, ecommerce, physical store, artificial intelligence, digital core and customer experience capabilities.
Beyond his professional endeavors, he serves on a Coalition of Action for Consumer Goods Forum, the Western Michigan Food Marketing Association advisory board, the Leadership Atlanta board and CHRIS180 board.
Katie Hotze
Katie Hotze
Co-founder, Crave Ventures
Katie Hotze knows what it means to chase the dream. As a female founder in tech, she’s lived the rollercoaster of building a company from scratch—pitching investors, navigating bias and pushing through the setbacks that come with trying to do something new. That lived experience makes her deeply relatable to the founders she now supports. Entrepreneurs trust Hotze because she gets it—she’s been there.
Before co-founding Crave Ventures, Hotze launched Shopii Technologies, an Adtech startup that uses AI to streamline meal planning and online grocery shopping. The platform helped its independent grocer partners secure 30% larger carts and an astonishing 60% monthly shopper visitation return rate.
Hotze’s ability to turn smart technology into bottom-line business results has drawn the attention of investors like Apple founder Steve Wozniak, earned Shopii Technologies a spot in Microsoft for Startups and garnered recognition as Progressive Grocer’s “Best Tech Application of 2019.”
Hotze's path to entrepreneurship was built on two decades of experience leading global marketing teams at Mercer. She left the corporate world in 2018 to pursue her MBA at William & Mary and go all-in on startup innovation.
Today, Hotze leads Crave Ventures, the early-stage CPG accelerator she co-owns with Alliance CEO Scott Anderson. Backed by Alliance Sales & Marketing, Crave operates with the mission to expedite growth for emerging brands through advanced marketing and commerce strategies combined with renowned brokerage and advisory support.
Named an RIS Top 10 Woman in Grocery Tech, Hotze is known for her clarity, grit, and founder-first approach. She’s based in Davidson, North Carolina, and remains an active voice in the venture and startup community.
Jocelyn Hurley
Jocelyn Hurley
Senior Director of Integrated Marketing Communications, Chomps
Jocelyn Hurley is senior director of integrated marketing communications at Chomps, the fast-growing meat snack brand in the U.S. She leads the company's integrated marketing communications strategy, directly overseeing earned media, executive communications, partnerships, community, social and influencer marketing. Since joining Chomps in January 2026, Hurley has focused on building a communications function that aligns storytelling, cultural relevance and business objectives to drive awareness, household penetration and brand growth. Her growing team partners closely across marketing, creative, paid media, ecommerce and commercial teams to deliver a cohesive brand experience.
Hurley brings nearly two decades of experience building consumer brands across food and beverage. Before joining Chomps, she served as vice president of marketing at Q Mixers, where she led brand strategy, integrated marketing, innovation, partnerships and communications during a period of rapid business transformation. Prior to Q Mixers, Hurley was a marketing leader at Angel's Envy, helping transform the emerging craft bourbon into one of the industry's leading premium whiskey brands following its acquisition by Bacardi. She began her career at The Boston Beer Company and Stonyfield Farm in sales and transitioned to brand marketing and strategy roles at Molson Coors, helping shape growth strategy for iconic brands including Coors Light and Miller High Life.
Hurley believes every great marketing strategy starts with the consumer. She champions an insights-led approach that pairs creativity with commercial accountability, ensuring marketing not only builds enduring brands but also delivers measurable business impact. She has helped organizations connect strategy, storytelling and consumer experience to create lasting relevance and sustainable growth.
Mary Kelly
Mary Kelly
Ph.D., CSP, CDR, U.S. Navy (Retired)
Dr. Mary C. Kelly is one of the world's leading voices on leadership, economic strategy and organizational growth. A Hall of Fame speaker, Ph.D. economist, retired U.S. Navy Commander and bestselling author of 22 leadership and business books, she helps leaders make better decisions, improve performance, and drive sustainable growth in an increasingly uncertain world.
Recognized as one of the world's top leadership economist, Kelly is known for translating complex economic trends into practical leadership strategies that organizations can immediately apply. Her unique ability to connect economic realities with leadership execution has made her a trusted advisor to executives, business owners, government agencies, healthcare organizations, insurance organizations, the military, financial institutions and associations worldwide.
During her 21-year military career, Kelly led organizations ranging from small specialized teams to large, complex operations responsible for millions of dollars in assets and thousands of personnel. She served as a military intelligence officer, logistics officer, chief of police, and human resources director, gaining firsthand experience leading through crisis, change, uncertainty and rapid growth.
Today, as CEO of Productive Leaders, Kelly works with organizations to improve productivity, profitability, communication, succession planning and leadership effectiveness. Her clients include Fortune 500 companies, major healthcare systems, financial institutions, manufacturing organizations, government agencies and hundreds of professional associations.
Kelly’s research and insights have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Success Magazine, Money Magazine, Entrepreneur, Yahoo Finance and numerous other media outlets. She is the author of 22 books, including Leadership is Tough: What Great Leaders Do Differently, Who Comes Next? Leadership Succession Planning Made Easy, You Next: A Step-by-Step Guide to Taking Charge of Your Career, and Stop Procrastinating Tomorrow.
A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Kelly holds master's degrees in history and economics and earned her Ph.D. in economics. She is one of only 160 members in the prestigious Professional Speakers Hall of Fame and holds the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation, earned by fewer than 15% of professional speakers worldwide.
Organizations hire Kelly because she delivers far more than motivation. Audiences leave with actionable tools, practical strategies, economic insights and leadership frameworks they can immediately implement to improve results. Her presentations consistently receive high ratings because they combine relevant economic intelligence, leadership expertise, humor, audience engagement and real-world solutions.
Whether she is speaking to executives, entrepreneurs, healthcare leaders, government officials, financial professionals, or emerging leaders, Kelly's message is clear: better leaders make better decisions, and better decisions create stronger organizations, stronger economies and better results.
Amanda Lai
Amanda Lai
Associate Partner, McMillan Doolittle
Amanda Lai is an Associate Partner at McMillan Doolittle, a Chicago-based consultancy that has served the retail industry for over 35 years. She manages the firm’s food industry practice and brings a decade of cross-functional experience across retail and the food industry, with expertise spanning strategic planning, consumer insights, sales, marketing, concept development, go-to-market strategy and real estate.
Lai partners with food and retail clients to develop comprehensive strategies and concepts that help retailers and brands navigate disruption, identify growth opportunities and respond to shifting consumer expectations. Her key client engagements have included Emart in South Korea, The Fresh Market, Sprouts, Roche Bros., Good Food Holdings, Bristol Farms, Metropolitan Market, New Seasons Market and Dom’s Kitchen & Market.
A frequent keynote speaker, media contributor and subject matter expert on retail trends, innovation, grocery, and the evolving consumer landscape, Lai has delivered presentations and insights across North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. She is a recurring guest analyst on the Schwab Network and has been recognized as a 2025RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert, a Shelby Report Emerging Leader in the Food Industry, a Progressive Grocer GenNext Award honoree and a Consulting Magazine Rising Star of Consulting. Lai holds an Executive MBA from Kellogg School of Management and an undergraduate degree in retail merchandising, marketing and global studies from the University of Minnesota.
Nick Lenzi
Nick Lenzi
Senior Vice President of Marketing, Lipari Foods
Nick Lenzi, senior vice president of marketing joined Lipari Foods, based in Warren, Michigan, six years ago. Lenzi began his career in 1980 with VG’s Grocery, holding positions of increasing responsibility until the chain was acquired by SpartanNash in 2008. While at SpartanNash, Lenzi served as director of sales and merchandising for corporate retail and most recently, was the senior vice president of sales and marketing for Busch’s Fresh Food Markets in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Colleen Lindholz
Colleen Lindholz
GVP and President, Kroger Health
As GVP and president of Kroger Health, the healthcare division of The Kroger Co., Lindholz oversees the company’s pharmacy, clinical and nutrition operations and services including healthcare-related digital solutions and telehealth platforms. Kroger Health has over 2,200 pharmacies and 220 clinics across 35 states and serves more than 17 million customers annually.
She is the lead architect of the company’s Food as Medicine strategy and a passionate believer in Kroger Health’s vision to help people live healthier lives.
Lindholz joined Kroger as a pharmacist in 1995 and has held several pharmacy roles including manager, coordinator, sales promoter, recruiter and merchandiser. In 2013, she was promoted to Director of Pharmacy Sales and Marketing at Kroger’s General Office followed by accepting the role of President and CEO of The Little Clinic, LLC in 2015. In April 2017, Colleen accepted a promotion to her current role as the first-ever President of the newly-formed Kroger Health organization.
She is the recipient of Kroger’s Chairman’s Award, Kroger’s Leadership Award, Progressive Grocer’s Top Women in Grocery Rising Star Award, Top Women in Grocery-Senior Level Executive and Forbes Best Service Award. In 2018, she was recognized as one of the Most Inspirational Female Leaders of the Year by the Break the Ceiling Women in Leadership Summit. In 2019, Colleen was named one of Eating Well Magazine’s American Food Heroes and one of Forbes’ Powerful Women Shaping the Future of Food. She was also recognized as one of Modern Healthcare’s top women leaders in 2023 and an MMR Influential Woman in 2024 and 2025.
Lindholz is extremely active in her community and participates on the boards of many organizations including American Heart Association-Greater Cincinnati, National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS), The Kroger Co. Foundation, Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health and the Joe Burrow Foundation Advisory board. She is also currently serving as the board chair for Easterseals Redwood, Cincinnati Chapter. Under her leadership, Kroger Health was named the 2022 Mass Market Retailer’s Retailer of the Year and Kroger Family of Pharmacies were recognized as a Forbes Best Customer Service Company.
Tim Lowe
Tim Lowe
Head of Alex Lee Retail, President of Lowe's Foods
Tim Lowe has over 30 years of broad retail experience and currently serves as the head of Alex Lee Retail/president of Lowes Foods, LLC. He previously served as executive vice president, merchandising for Supervalu. Lowe also held the position of senior vice president of operations, senior vice president of merchandising and president of Shoppers Food.
Prior to SuperValu, Lowe’s broad career also included time in general merchandise including positions with companies such as Wal-Mart and Meijer. He is a graduate of the University of Houston where he graduated with a B.S. in pharmacy. Lowe and his wife Karla reside in Lewisville, North Carolina.
Eric Mayerchak
Eric Mayerchak
Vice President of Category Management and Customer Strategy, Aunt Millie's Bakeries
Eric Mayerchak is the vice president of category management and customer strategy for Aunt Millie’s Bakeries, where he leads shopper insights, category strategy, retail partnerships and brand growth initiatives across the Midwest. His career spans more than 25 years in grocery retailing, category management, shopper analytics and consumer packaged goods, giving him a unique perspective on how retailers, manufacturers, and shoppers interact to drive business results.
Mayerchak began his career in grocery retail in 1998 with Albertson’s in the Dallas, Texas market, gaining firsthand experience in store operations, merchandising, customer engagement, and frontline retail execution. In 2008, he joined Kroger, where he held leadership roles in store management and division merchandising before transitioning to category management in 2011 and relocating to Kroger’s general office in Cincinnati, Ohio.
During his time at Kroger, Mayerchak managed a broad portfolio of categories across both fresh and center store departments, including packaged produce, super-premium juices, shelf stable grocery and commercial bakery. This experience gave him deep exposure to merchandising strategy, assortment optimization, pricing, promotion planning, private brand development and supplier collaboration at one of the largest grocery retailers in the U.S.
Mayerchak became widely recognized for his expertise in shopper data analytics and customer insights. He was an early leader in leveraging Kroger’s dunnhumby/84.51° data platforms to uncover shopper behavior and translate complex data into actionable business strategies. He also played a key role in the development and adoption of Circana’s market share dashboard tools used by Kroger category management teams, helping establish new ways to measure category performance and competitive dynamics. As a senior category manager, Mayerchak was responsible not only for driving category growth, but also for coaching and mentoring future leaders, teaching them how to combine analytical rigor with sound business judgment that defines successful category management.
In 2022, Mayerchak joined Aunt Millie’s Bakeries to lead the company’s shopper insights function as vice president of category management and retail strategy. In his current role, he partners closely with retailers across the Midwest to develop category growth strategies, identify shopper opportunities and create mutually beneficial business solutions. He combines his extensive retail experience with advanced analytics and storytelling to help retailers better understand evolving consumer behavior and marketplace trends.
Beyond category management, Mayerchak also leads Aunt Millie’s marketing organization, overseeing efforts to strengthen the company's digital presence, enhance retailer digital shelf execution, improve the in-store shopping experience, and build brand awareness across both established and emerging markets. His work focuses on connecting consumer insights, retailer needs and brand strategy to drive sustainable growth.
Meyerchak is passionate about developing future industry leaders and enjoys sharing practical career insights with students interested in retailing, category management, shopper analytics, marketing and consumer packaged goods. His career journey, from store-level retail operations to executive leadership, demonstrates the wide range of opportunities available within the food and grocery industry.
Today, Meyerchak resides in the Cincinnati area with his three daughters. Outside of work, he is an avid baseball fan and enjoys spending time outdoors kayaking, hiking, camping and exploring off-road trails in his Jeep.
Jennifer Paulson
Jennifer Paulson
Brand Marketing Expert
Jennifer Paulson is a brand growth and partnerships leader with more than 20 years of experience helping food, wellness, lifestyle and consumer brands drive growth through strategic partnerships, experiential marketing, and consumer engagement.
Her career spans entertainment, retail, foodservice, CPG and emerging brands, giving her a unique perspective on how brands earn relevance, build community, and create consumer demand. Throughout her career, Paulson has developed culturally relevant experiences, partnerships and brand platforms that drive discovery, loyalty and advocacy, transforming products into brands consumers remember, seek out, and champion.
Paulson has held leadership roles with Wicked Kitchen, US Foods, and Endeavor/IMG, where she led brand-building initiatives, sponsorships and growth platforms designed to accelerate awareness, engagement and business performance. Earlier in her career, she worked in entertainment marketing in Los Angeles, developing branded partnerships and experiential programs for global brands including PepsiCo, Reebok and BMW across film, sports, music and cultural platforms.
Drawing on experience across both established and emerging brands, Paulson believes cultural relevance is no longer a byproduct of scale, it is often what creates scale. The strongest brands build community, advocacy and consumer demand before and beyond the shelf, creating momentum that drives retail success and long-term growth.
Today, Paulson advises emerging and established brands on growth strategy, partnerships and consumer engagement. She serves on the executive committee and board of directors of Naturally Chicago and currently chairs the organization's program committee.
Lynn Petrak
Lynn Petrak
Lead Content Writer and Editor, Corporate Communications, Circana
Lynn Petrak is lead content writer and editor, Corporate Communications, at Circana. Prior to joining Circana in September 2025, she was senior editor at Progressive Grocer magazine, where she covered a wide range of industry trends and news and co-hosted podcasts and webinars. Her 30-year industry background includes editorial roles at several other food and beverage B2B publications, as well as media relations positions at boutique agencies.
She is the author of a children’s book, Goodbye Lake, and contributed an essay to the best-selling book, Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul. She taught Introduction to Journalism at Columbia College in Chicago and was named Outstanding Senior in the journalism department at Northern Illinois University. Petrak spends most of her time in West Michigan, but often returns to her native Chicagoland.
Stephanie Postma
Stephanie K. Postma
Senior Innovation Manager, Hormel Foods
Stephanie K. Postma is a senior innovation manager at Hormel Foods, where she leads retail innovation for Costco. She brings a broad background spanning sales, category management, brand strategy and enterprise transformation. Known for connecting ideas to execution, Postma specializes in turning insights into practical solutions that deliver results. She is passionate about improving how teams work, building strong cross-functional partnerships and creating an environment where innovation can thrive.
Postma is chair of the Austin Public Library board and a member of the food marketing advisory board at Western Michigan University. Stephanie holds a B.B.A. from Western Michigan University and an MBA from the University of Iowa.
Leigh Richardson
Dr. Leigh Richardson
CEO and Founder, Brain Performance Center
Dr. Leigh Richardson is a CEO, brain performance strategist and licensed psychotherapist who bridges neuroscience, business leadership and organizational development to transform how individuals and companies optimize human potential. As the founder of the Brain Performance Center in 2009, she has spent nearly two decades integrating clinical brain health protocols with executive coaching and operational strategy.
With a Ph.D. in psychology, an MBA and over 30 years of experience across clinical practice, corporate human resources, and strategic consulting, Richardson offers a rare interdisciplinary perspective. She is board-certified in neurofeedback and biofeedback and holds credentials as a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor. Her expertise spans quantitative brain mapping, neuromodulation, cognitive performance analytics and evidence-based psychotherapeutic intervention.
At the Brain Performance Center, Richardson has personally administered more than 1,500 brain performance assessments. Her proprietary protocol integrates QEEG brain mapping and neurophysiological screening to evaluate and treat ADHD, anxiety, depression, PTSD and other conditions—while simultaneously strengthening resilience, emotional regulation and executive function in high-performing individuals. Under her leadership, the practice has sustained continuous profitability, driven by a 40% client re-engagement rate and 35% referral rate, validating her outcomes-first model.
Richardson is a founding board leader of the C-Suite Coaching Council, helping establish excellence standards for executive coaching. She has also created a digital brain health and leadership platform designed to assess and train brain-based capabilities such as decision-making, adaptability, psychological safety and execution under pressure.
A sought-after speaker, consultant and author, Richardson translates complex neuroscience into practical leadership strategies. Her forthcoming book to be published in 2026, introduces the concept of Brain Capital®—the cognitive, emotional, and social asset that fuels sustainable competitive advantage—and makes the case that investing in brain health is the next frontier in organizational performance.
Calli Schmid
Calli Schmid
Group Vice President, Grocery and Alternative Formats, Meijer
Calli Schmid is the group vice president of grocery and alternative formats at Meijer, Inc., a privately-owned and family-operated Grand Rapids, Michigan-based retailer that operates more than 500 supercenters, neighborhood markets, Meijer Grocery and Express locations throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin.
In her current role, Schmid drives the strategy and oversees all merchandising functions within the grocery business. Additionally, she leads the express, neighborhood market and Meijer grocery strategy and teams that support these formats. She leads a team of 70 members to deliver the best experience to the customer, while building strong talent and partnerships.
Schmid joined Meijer in 2016 as a director of merchandising for beauty and cosmetics before moving into the foods area as a director of merchandising for the dairy/frozen team. She then served as vice president of merchandising for grocery, where she oversaw the merchandising buying, brand development and category management team. She has achieved long-term growth of the business while continuing to improve profitability.
Schmid’s career at Meijer has been defined by her long-term vision for the industry, which pushes her to make changes to better serve evolving customer demands. Emphasizing the importance of teamwork within the teams she leads and beyond, she has built vendor relationships based on trust and reliability that has allowed her to manage challenges through collaboration. Schmid has been recognized as Progressive Grocer’s Top Women in Grocery in 2021 and 2025.
After beginning her career in the public accounting industry, Schmid built her merchandising knowledge over the course of 10 years at Target in various roles focusing on buying and private brand development. She then spent several years at Shopko where she was the vice president of merchandising for consumables before joining Meijer.
Elizabeth Skogland
Elizabeth Skogland
Vice President, Strategic Grocery, Kimberly-Clark
Elizabeth Skogland is vice President, strategic grocery at Kimberly-Clark, where she leads customer partnerships across the grocery channel and drives strategies that deliver sustainable growth for both Kimberly-Clark and its retail partners. She works closely with cross-functional teams and retailers to develop category growth plans, activate commercial opportunities and strengthen execution across the marketplace. Skogland also leads a 45-person organization focused on building talent, advancing digital capabilities and adapting to the needs of today’s rapidly changing retail environment.
Skogland brings a broad commercial background to her leadership, with experience across sales strategy, demand planning, sales training and Walmart account management. Known for connecting enterprise strategy to frontline execution, she is a trusted leader in driving growth, transformation, and organizational change.
Prior to Kimberly-Clark, Skogland began her CPG career at The Hershey Company after graduating from Miami University. She started as a retail sales representative and advanced through roles in retail operations, category management, and sales across Food, Mass, and Club channels.
A passionate advocate for leadership development, mentorship and inclusion, Skogland previously served as an officer for the NextUp Network of Executive Women in Northwest Arkansas and is an alumna of the Soderquist Leadership Circle, which she credits as foundational to her leadership journey. She was also recognized by Kimberly-Clark’s executive team with the Agile Leader Award for her ability to lead through change, inspire teams, and deliver results.
She and her husband, Shane, live in Arlington Heights, a suburb of Chicago, where they are raising their two daughters, Avery and Charlotte. Outside of work, she enjoys running and spending time with her family—often at a sporting event, whether supporting school athletics or cheering on their favorite professional teams across football, hockey, baseball and basketball.
Jason Smith
Jason Smith
Managing Director - USA, Shopper Intelligence
Jason Smith leads the Shopper Intelligence U.S. team. Prior to joining Shopper Intelligence in 2018, he led the North American category team at dunnhumby. Most of Smith’s career has been on the manufacturer side working at Hormel Foods and Colgate Palmolive where he led various sales and category management teams.
Anthony Suggs
Anthony Suggs
Vice President of Category Management, KeHE
Anthony Suggs is the vice president of category management at KeHE and leads Tree of Life US, the KeHE-owned importer of global food innovation. With nearly 30 years in the food industry, Suggs brings deep experience across category management, merchandising and operations, with a strong track record of leading high-performing teams in complex retail environments.
Prior to KeHE, Smith served as group vice president, center store at Albertsons Companies, and previously held senior leadership roles at Jewel-Osco, including senior vice president of marketing and merchandising. Beyond his role at KeHE, Suggs serves on the board for the Northern Illinois Food Bank and on the advisory board for the marketing department at Illinois State University.
Michael Taylor
Michael Taylor
Chief Operating Officer-Retailer Services, Advantage Solutions
Michael Taylor leads Advantage Solutions’ global retailer-focused businesses and teams, which provide end-to-end retail solutions. His portfolio includes private brands powered by Daymon, retail services powered by SAS, retail media solutions and more.
Taylor previously served as president of Daymon. Earlier in his career, he held leadership positions spanning retail, business management and business development. Taylor began his career with PepsiCo Inc.
Shana Ward
Shana Ward
Director of Category Management, Meijer
Shana Ward is the director of category management at Meijer, a privately-owned, Grand Rapids, Michigan-based retailer that operates more than 500 supercenters, neighborhood markets and Meijer grocery and express stores across Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin. She has spent more than 15 years with the company, holding multiple roles within merchandising across GM and CPG businesses before joining the category management team in 2023.
In her current role, Ward leads category management strategy for Meijer, serving as a strategic advisor to senior merchandising leadership and driving the team's broader category-management modernization efforts. She leads a team of over 50 team members shaping space through data-driven strategies in partnership with the merchant organization.
Eric Winn
Eric Winn
CEO, C&S Wholesale Grocers
Eric Winn, chief executive officer, is responsible for all aspects of the company strategy, growth plan, customer satisfaction and day-to-day operations. He has more than 20 years of industry experience, including as C&S’s chief operating officer, responsible for all operations, transportation, customer development and expansion.
Since joining C&S in 2004, Winn has held several leadership positions across the company and has been responsible for driving C&S’s strategic growth and further expansion. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business.
Russell Zwanka
Russell Zwanka
Director of the Food Marketing Program, WMU
Dr. Russell J. Zwanka serves as director of the food marketing program at Western Michigan University, one of the top food marketing programs in the world. Delivering a high-quality curriculum and applied food marketing skills, Western works with the food industry to provide real-time solutions, while also educating future leaders in the food industry.
The WMU food marketing program consistently delivers an incredible 100% employment rate for its graduates. WMU is is the only university to have won the Progressive Grocer Impact Award for Educational Support and Learning Advancement and was listed as one of the best CPG universities in the country by Consumer Goods Technology. Zwanka has previously taught marketing research, personal selling, marketing strategy, food marketing, business strategy, global business, cannabis marketing, and marketing principles.
With a career in the food industry before teaching, Zwanka conceptualized and formed the food marketing concentration at Siena College, as well as the food marketing track at the State University of New York at New Paltz.
He has led the merchandising, marketing, advertising, procurement, customer engagement areas for multiple food retail companies domestically and internationally.
Zwanka holds a Ph.D. in international business from the International School of Management in Paris, France. He also holds a Master of Science in Management from Southern Wesleyan University, and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of South Carolina. Zwanka’s 32 books are sold globally and cover topics from doing business in Cuba, to food marketing, to public speaking. He was named a Top Retail Expert twice by RETHINK Retail and has contributed to over 250 media publications and conferences.