Webinars

Stephanie Lind founded ESA (Elohi Strategic Advisors) in 2015. Though best known for leading the global sales initiatives for Impossible Foods during its2018 break-out year, Stephanie spent 20+ years working for large and small, private equity and publicly held companies, including PepsiCo, Sysco, and Kerry. She has broad cross-functional experience, having spent time working in sales, marketing, and supply chain plus cross-channel experience in retail, foodservice and ingredient (industrial) channels.

Connor Harbison is a talented Boston-based entrepreneur who keeps sustainability at the forefront. He founded Atlas Urban Farms, which designs and builds vertical farming systems for chefs, so they can grow their own food inside their restaurants, save money, deliver fresher meals to their customers, and create a more sustainable food system. Connor got the inspiration to launch this venture back in 2017 when he was on a hike in Wyoming. He was camping at Grand Teton National Park, and ventured into Jackson for a beer after a long day on the trail. There was this big building across the street from Snake River Brewing, all glass and steel with magenta lights inside. That was his first encounter with vertical farming, and it was enough to convince him that this was the future. He also gives back to the community including the Boys and Girls Club where he donates equipment, in a very successful project.

Shawn P. Daly, P.E. is a highly accomplished academic and international business professional. Dr. Daly has served as the Dean of the College of Business Administration at Niagara University and is presently the Director of Student Global Experience. Prior to that, he served as the Dean of the H-E-B School of Business at the University of the Incarnate Word and the School of Business Administration at Tiffin University. His past employment includes R&D engineering with a multinational chemical firm and marketing management of a laboratory instrument manufacturer.

Beth has worked in flexible packaging for over 16 years. With a Bachelor’s in Business Economics from UC Santa Barbara, she started her career in public accounting at Ernst & Young LLP. She then transitioned to Marketing and Finance for notable companies including Activision and Time Warner. In 2007, Beth refocused her career toward Great American Packaging, the family business. She has spent the last 16 years learning about flexible films, understanding the packaging requirements of the marketplace and growing the Great American Packaging family.

Bruce is a highly accomplished senior executive with 35 years of domestic and international experience in industrial and consumer products manufacturing businesses. Bruce has a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and an MBA from Cal Poly Pomona. He began his career as an industrial engineer progressing to leadership roles in notable companies including Avery Denison. In 2011, he joined Great American Packaging as President where he has gained intimate knowledge of material blending and the nuances of flexible materials. Bruce is a board member of the Western Plastics Association.

Dr. Vorst serves as the Director of the Polymer and Food Protection Consortium in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Iowa State University in Ames, IA. Dr. Vorst worked in industry for three major packaging companies and served as a consultant for a major automotive manufacturer prior to joining academia in his current position at Iowa State University. Dr. Vorst has 70 publications and 13 published or pending patents for plastics characterization, package design, contamination monitoring, medical device manufacturing, microbial testing methods, and polymer design. Dr. Vorst has done extensive work in method and sample preparation development for extractables in packaging materials and novel biobased packaging materials. Dr. Vorst has received awards for most cited research in Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management and Journal of Food Protection. Dr. Vorst has done extensive work in method and sample preparation development for PFAS analysis in packaging materials and novel coating, recycling, and adhesive technologies for multi-layer packaging structures. In addition to private and Polymer and Food Protection Consortium funding, Dr. Vorst is currently funded by the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences (IAFANS), three Department of Energy Grants (DOE), one Department of Defense grant (DOD), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to evaluate recycling of plastic waste.

Throughout her career, Jennifer Gilmore has looked at food as a catalyst for building bridges across diverse communities. As CEO of Kitchens for Good, Gilmore connects San Diego’s robust hospitality sector and individuals often excluded from the workforce.

Under Gilmore’s leadership, Kitchens for Good has become the go-to-source for culinary talent in the San Diego region and has helped hundreds of individuals gain employment.

Gilmore is a member of the San Diego Hunger Coalition’s Advisory Board and has been the recipient of several awards including the Tribute to Women in Industry Visionary Award and the James Irvine Leadership Award.

She holds an MPA from the Eller School of Business at the University of Arizona.

Christine Schindler is PathSpot’s CEO and Co-Founder, the leading health and safety operating system for smart restaurants and businesses that prepare and serve food. As a Duke-alum and Biomedical Engineer, she is passionate about utilizing engineering principles to make an impactful change in the world. She developed PathSpot’s flagship product, the HandScanner, to prevent foodborne illnesses by monitoring employee handwashing practices accurately and effectively.

Through Christine's leadership, PathSpot has grown to partner with thousands of businesses worldwide.The PathSpot HandScanner has protected 1.7 million meals through completed employee hand scans in the last year alone and has increased handwashing frequency at partner locations by up to 80% in just 90 days. As a result, Christine has dramatically impacted the restaurant industry, ensuring the safety of employees and customers, helping businesses save labor costs, reduce food waste, and increase profit.

Outside of her work in PathSpot, Christine mentors young entrepreneurs with the Clinton Global Initiative and serves on the Board of Directors for Aunt Flow, a female-founded company providing menstrual products to businesses and schools. Christine is also the founder of Girls Engineering Change, a nonprofit organization that seeks to close the 7:1 male-to-female gender gap in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math fields. The organization connects middle and high school girls with a network of college mentors who work alongside them on engineering projects to make a tangible impact in the world.

Christine has been recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30, Time Magazine Top Inventions, and Entrepreneur Magazine for her work and was recently named a Rising Star in Hospitality Technology Magazine’s 2023 Top Women in Restaurant Technology Awards. She is committed to improving our world by empowering those working in STEAM fields and is passionate about establishing a safer and more efficient industry for brands, employees and customers.

Guillaume Dupin has a deep-seated passion for international business and gastronomy. As the Export Manager at Maison Agour he plays a pivotal role in expanding the brand's presence across global markets. With a background in international business and a specialized focus on specialty food, his journey in the realm of exports began with a fascination for connecting cultures through the shared love of traditional food and its place in the life of people in the future.

After a short decade operating in specialty food import and distribution into Hong Kong, Australia and the UK, Guillaume joined Maison Agour with one goal: build successful partnerships with distributors around the world by providing them with personalized support based on education, mutual understanding and the setting of common goals.

Jonathan Powell is a catalyst between creativity and production. Co-founder and president of Look On Media and NeXR VR Training, he’s worked with multi-billion dollar companies to design and execute Virtual Reality initiatives over the past ten years. Companies such as Merk, Bell, Exelon, Johns Hopkins and more have trusted Jonathan to analyze their unique challenges and craft elegant and effective solutions. His passion for innovation is matched only by his drive to complete projects exceeding client expectations.

As Chief Customer Officer, Derek Hannum is responsible for expanding customer relationships, growth and revenue performance including sales, marketing and customer success. Before joining Park City Group in 2017, Hannum served as managing director of marketing and product for Miller Heiman, the global leader in sales and leadership training. His retail industry experience includes marketing leadership roles with workforce management solution provider Empower Software (successful exit to Kronos) and CHEP Equipment Pooling Systems. Sales and marketing leadership roles include previous stints with Nissan Motor Corporation USA and Tenneco Automotive. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Marietta College and is a graduate of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Claire is in charge of the syndicated content for Datassential's presentation-ready insights library, Report Pro. She's been part of the Datassential team for over a decade. When she applied for her role at Datassential her cover letter stated “I am not only passionate about market research and data analysis, but have a love for all things culinary. I enjoy dining out, cooking in, and introducing people to new foods.” which holds true today. Datassential's tools are her happy place and a job that allows her to spend all day finding new food trends and playing with data is a dream come true. She has a BS in Decision Science and a BA in Hispanic Studies from Carnegie Mellon University. She is a hobby veggie gardener and mom to two budding foodies.

With a Degree in Economics, Carlos joins the Consorcio as Marketing and Promotion Manager. Carlos has ample knowledge of international markets, having held positions as Export Manager for the wine sector, Internationalization consultant and Advisor for large purchasing groups.

Dr. Bryan Quoc Le is a food scientist, food industry consultant, and author of 150 Food Science Questions Answered. He earned his Ph.D. in Food Science in 2020 from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he studied the biological effects of plant-based flavors. Currently, he provides consultation on food technology, flavor chemistry, and technical documentation to food companies and organizations such as The Good Food Institute, Blue Diamond Growers, Lactalis, Black Sheep Foods, TurtleTree, High Time Foods, and many others. He is also a Faculty Research Fellow at Pacific Lutheran University, a Research Scholar at the Ronin Institute of Independent Scholarship, and a Domain Expert for Carbon13.

Jonna has been an innovator in the fresh foods space for nearly two decades driving the evolution of consumer-centric decision making and big data analytics throughout the perimeter.

Jonna joined Circana in 2016 and leads Circana’s Fresh Foods practice which unlocks the big data power of Circana for perishables suppliers and retailers. She spearheaded developing Circana’s Integrated Fresh solution for sales and shopper tracking across total food and beverage, in partnership with IDDBA and other industry leaders.

Jonna has talked fresh foods to outlets such as NPR and CNN and many others. She co-authors the monthly IDDBA and fresh industry articles with 210 Analytics’ Anne-Marie Roerink and was one of Progressive Grocer’s 2020 Top Women in Grocery.

Anne-Marie Roerink is the president of 210 Analytics, a research firm specialized in food retailing. Working closely with retailers, wholesalers, producers and trade associations, Anne-Marie has developed an excellent perspective on the ever-changing wants and needs of the consumer in a one-size-fits-no-one world. She understands the challenges and opportunities in the food retailing today as well as the drivers of success tomorrow. She works in many different areas from deli and meat to candy and bakery — uncovering the trends in our ever-changing marketplace.

Katie is a Senior Business Development Manager at good natured®, working with food producers, growers, and grocers across North America. Grounded in science and strengthened by heart, she has been using her engineering background and technical knowledge to help scale businesses with sustainability in the last 3 years. Katie enjoys biking and exploring new sites during her free time.

Zak Romanoff is a prominent figure in the food industry, known for coining the term 'Brand Advocate' to redefine his role in connecting manufacturers and retailers. With a lifelong immersion in the industry, he's played a pivotal role in OMNI Food Sales, leading to multiple 'Broker/Vendor Partner of the Year Awards.' Zak is also active in education, speaking engagements, community involvement, and has recently written a book “Death of A Broker: How a Brand Advocate was Born”. He resides in New York with his family, balancing his professional pursuits with his passion for basketball and Spartan races.

Craig Gibson is a Managing Director at TM Capital and head of the firm’s Consumer Products Investment Banking Group. Craig has advised on many of the most noteworthy M&A and financing transactions across the consumer products spectrum and has a specialized focus on the bakery category. Recognized as the “baker’s banker”, Craig has completed industry transactions with: Superior On Main, Uncle Wally’s, Hostess, Sara Lee, Mondelez, Tate’s Cookies, Second Nature Brands and Brownie Brittle, among others. Craig is also a well-respected thought leader, spearheads TM Capital’s consumer research efforts and is often asked to speak on emerging brand trends, evolving consumer behavior and disruptive channel developments. Earlier in his career, Craig was a national winner of the M&A Advisor Top 40 Under 40 Dealmaker award. Prior to joining TM Capital, Craig was a Vice President at Boston Corporate Finance and was part of the consumer investment banking team at Advest, now Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Craig holds a BA from Union College and received his MBA from the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management.

Molly Browne is the Education Director for Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin. A true-born native of the State of Cheese, she was pursuing an MA in Food Rhetoric from the University of Colorado when she first crossed paths with cheese in a professional capacity. She (somewhat unknowingly) launched her career by accepting the position of lead cheesemonger at a small specialty shop in Boulder. Since then, Molly has worked in a multitude of roles for cheese companies large and small. She is a Certified Cheese Professional and Certified Cheese Sensory Evaluator through the American Cheese Society, and serves as vice-chair of the ACS Certification Committee. She lives in Milwaukee, WI with her daughter.

Rick Findlay has been in the food service and grocery retail space for over 45 years. This includes stops along the way at large national accounts like Albertsons in the traditional channel along with Whole Foods in the organic channel and heading up their restaurant venues and food service department.

At the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin Rick is responsible for growing the awareness of Wisconsin cheese to end consumers as well as growing volume and distribution with large retail chains and multi-unit restaurant operators. Also Growing the International footprint for Wisconsin cheese.

Rick has recently been the Chairman of the IDDBA (International Dairy Deli and Bakery Association) and works closely with the United States Dairy Export Council and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture and Consumer Protection (DATCP). He has a BA degree from North Central College in Naperville, IL and a MBA from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago and is working on his PHD at North Dakota State University.

Rick has been married for 46 years and has three married children and 6 grandchildren.

His outside interests are basketball and travel. He has been a registered basketball official for over 15 years covering the Big Ten and Big 12 conferences.