Carrie Nielsen

Carrie Nielsen, NCIDQ, ASID, is a Senior Associate and Senior Project Designer at JCJ Architecture. With a deep passion for creating inspiring spaces, she is actively involved in every stage of the design process—from conceptualization and planning to documentation, implementation, and quality control. Known for her dynamic approach and ability to seamlessly blend creativity with functionality, Carrie brings energy, innovation, and an unwavering commitment to design excellence.

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Aric Nissen

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Shannon O'Shields

Shannon O’Shields is the Vice President of Marketing at Rubix Foods, where she is responsible for creating and accelerating the company’s marketing strategy and brand recognition in the food industry. She is focused on building customer-centric marketing programs to promote Rubix’s one-of-a-kind product innovation and value-added capabilities in the flavor and ingredient space. In her role, Shannon oversees brand management, digital, go-to-market strategy and consumer insights.

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Meredith Otte

Jason Morgan throughout his career has built and led successful growth companies across various industries. Currently, as Chief Executive Officer at Original ChopShop, Morgan has increased unit count from three units to 22 units in the past seven years achieving sales and operating results that are leading the fast casual sector. As Chief Financial Officer of Zoës Kitchen from 2008 to 2015, Morgan was instrumental in the growth of the company, increasing store count from 20 to 150 and revenues from $18mm to $223mm.

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Adam Palicz

Adam Palicz is the founder of SpiniX, a guest retention platform for restaurants, serving 100+ businesses across six countries. He holds an MA in Social Psychology and writes about the behavioural science behind why guests return, or don't.

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Janine Perry

Janine is a strategy director at Partners + Napier where she helps brands across categories leave a mark on business, people, and culture by creating work with lasting impact. Janine has counseled some of the top brands in restaurant and food/bev, including Starbucks, Chipotle, KFC, PepsiCo, Breyer's, MillerCoors, Quaker, and many more. Her unique blend of brand, digital, and cultural strategy experience helps clients increase relevance with their audience and achieve their business goals. She has held prior roles at Edelman, mcgarrybowen, DigitasLBi, and sparks & honey.

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Shira Petrack

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Lindsay Petrovic

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Patrick Pleiss

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Zachary Poelma

Zachary Poelma is SVP, Supplier Strategy for Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits, the world's preeminent distributor of beverage alcohol. He is responsible for embedding a supplier-centric approach across a Center of Excellence team of talented professionals including Supplier Strategy, Insights, and other supplier support functions. In addition to his time at Southern Glazer's, Zach has also worked in corporate and financial roles for Procter & Gamble, Dannon, and UBS. He earned a Bachelor of Science from The U.S. Naval Academy and received an MBA from NYU's Stern School of Business.

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Caroline Price

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Chris Richardson

Chris Richardson is a former U.S. diplomat and General Counsel and President of BDV Solutions. He is a leading expert on immigration policy. Richardson served in Nigeria, Nicaragua, Pakistan, and Spain as a U.S. diplomat. He has advised both Democratic and Republican members of Congress and their staffers in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate on critical immigration and foreign policy issues.

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Andrew Robbins

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Paul Roberts

Paul Roberts is Head of Growth & Partnerships at GoodBite, a food ordering platform that donates $2 per order to charity. He focuses on restaurant technology, marketplace dynamics, and how consumer incentives shape ordering behavior.

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Don Robinson

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Matt Rolfe

Beginning his career with companies like Bacardi and Labatt/Anheuser-Busch, Matt is an industry expert dedicated to helping leaders examine the human element of their business and execute effective team-building strategies unique to their needs. His book, You Can’t Do It Alone: Focusing on People to Scale, Develop, and Lead Your Restaurant, is available on Amazon. Matt lives in Toronto with his wife Lindsay, their two children, and their golden retriever.

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Paul Rupert

Paul Rupert is a consultant, strategist and thought leader within the hospitality ecosystem. With an unwavering passion for hospitality, Paul helps organizations discover enhanced profitability without compromising the guest-centric, hospitality-focused experience. A Certified Capital Markets & Securities Analyst (CMSA®) and ETF Advisor (CETF®), Paul has a dedicated focus on the consumer discretionary equity sector, with an emphasis on hotels and restaurants. A native of Upstate New York, Paul is now based in Atlanta, Georgia.

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Alex Sanchez

As President and COO of Franchise FastLane, I lead growth initiatives to help emerging franchise brands scale successfully. With over 21 years in franchising—including roles at CKE Restaurants and Gala Capital Partners—I focus on operational turnarounds, change management, and M&A. I also oversee programs that empower franchisors and franchisees to meet today’s business challenges, with a commitment to mentoring and innovation.

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Meredith Sandland

Meredith Sandland is the CEO of Empower Delivery, a software company that enables restaurants to profitably and sustainably serve off-premise demand. As co-author of "Delivering the Digital Restaurant" and former Chief Development Officer at Taco Bell, Meredith brings extensive industry expertise. She also co-hosts "The Digital Restaurant" podcast, covering the latest in restaurant delivery and technology.

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Raji Sankar

Raji Sankar believes the vision behind the Choolaah brand – to transform the quality of life of everyone it touches – truly drives the fast-casual Indian BBQ brand forward. Celebrating its seventh location opening in Westlake, OH, in December 2023, the brand’s continued expansion is a testament to its menu and culture. Sankar’s goal is to continue to foster an atmosphere of inclusivity where there are no ceilings – regardless of gender, preferences, or race – and become the dominant fast-casual Indian cuisine that people fall in love with.

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