Schedule of Events
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MONDAY, APRIL 29

Afternoon - Store Tours (Ticket Required - Registration closes April 24)

• As an attendee of Future Connect you are invited to participate in Store Tours. This is your chance to see stores from some of the best retailers in Orlando. Take this opportunity to network with industry colleagues from around the world and take away ideas in merchandising, décor, store design and more. When participants arrive at a store, you will have the option of a guided tour with a knowledgeable company associate or tour the store on your own. Participants will see stores from these retailers:

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    BI-LO Winn-Dixie
    Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, Winn-Dixie is a subsidiary of BI-LO Holding, which is the ninth-largest traditional supermarket chain in the United States. Under the banner names of BI-LO and Winn-Dixie, the company employs 63,000 team members who serve customers in 688 grocery stores and 493 in-store pharmacies throughout the eight southeastern states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. BI-LO and Winn-Dixie are well-known and well-respected regional brands with deep heritages, strong neighborhood ties, proud histories of giving back, talented and loyal team members, and strong commitments to providing the best possible quality and value to customers. For more information, please visit www.bi-lo.com and www.winn-dixie.com.
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    Publix Super Markets
    Founded in 1930, by George W. Jenkins in Winter Haven, Florida, Publix Super Markets is the largest and fastest-growing employee-owned supermarket chain in the United States. Publix and our associates excel in community involvement, volunteerism and a commitment to our market areas and beyond. Publix's commitment to diversity has contributed to our success in being a great place to work and shop. Publix operates more than 1,070 stores in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee. In 2012, the company announced their expansion into our sixth state of North Carolina. The first location will be in Ballantyne and is projected to open Q12014. Publix is best known for its philosophy of pleasing the customer; the Publix guarantee to never knowingly disappoint our customers is legendary in the industry. Click Here for more information.
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    Walmart Neighborhood Market
    Walmart serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week. We serve them in the ways they want to be served – in retail outlets, online and on mobile devices. Walmart operates under 69 different banners in 27 countries. With fiscal year 2012 sales of approximately $444 billion, Walmart employs 2.2 million associates worldwide. Walmart Neighborhood Markets were designed in 1998 as a smaller-footprint option for communities in need of a pharmacy, affordable groceries and merchandise. There are now about 200 Neighborhood Markets in the U.S. Each one is approximately 38,000 square feet and employs about 95 associates. Walmart Neighborhood Markets offer fresh produce, meat and dairy products, bakery and deli items, household supplies, health and beauty aids and a pharmacy. Click Here for more information.

   

• 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Special Presentation

  Untangling the Social Web- A Study by the Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council

  • Shoppers use social networking with friends to gather options, but use company connections for ideas about where to shop and what to buy. Results are dramatic. When shoppers get a company response on Twitter they are 60 percent more likely to follow that brand and make a purchase. Join us as we review the latest study by the Council, “Untangling the Social Web”, and examine steps companies should take in establishing goals and strategies, the rules of engagement, support integrating social media into marketing and communication, and the internal organization needed to support these efforts.
    Mark Irby, Vice President, Marketing, Publix Super Markets, Inc.
    Tim Massa, Vice President, Talent Development, The Kroger Co.
    Michael Sansolo, Research Director, Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council

• 8:30 pm - 10:30 pm - FUNDAY NIGHT presented by Kraft

  • FUNDAY NIGHT @ futureconnect
    Join your fellow Future Connect attendees for great food, drinks and live entertainment!
    
    Location: Peabody Grand Ballroom at the Peabody Orlando

TUESDAY, APRIL 30

• 6:45 am - 7:45 am Breakfast

• 8:00 am - 11:30 am Deep-Dive Courses (elective)

  • Supermarket Financials: Levers to Influence Business Results

    Financial statements are designed to tell the story about how well your business is performing. In this session, attendees will actively manage the financial results of a retail store, identifying the levers that influence business results. Learn the structure of a profit and loss statement and discover ways to increase sales, decrease costs and manage assets to increase cash flow. Join us for a session on retail financials that will change the way you look at your store. Sharon Collins, Celemi, Inc.

  • Connecting Strategy to Business Value

    In response to changing customer preferences the supermarket industry is adopting multiple initiatives, including brand campaigns, updating inventory systems and social media. This interactive program will help operators and leaders who face the challenge of gaining support for these multiple initiatives. Learn how to identify key stakeholders and create messaging that will increase the engagement of associates. You will participate in a simulation designed to anticipate situations that if addressed correctly can increase the business value of the change. Bring along an example of an initiative within your organization or store, and you will be able to apply the learning to your own situation to spark new ideas and approaches. Tracy McEachern, Celemi, Inc.

  • Becoming the Architect of Your Career: Building a Blueprint for Success

    Today's best leaders demonstrate that leadership starts with managing oneself and helping others. Top leaders take personal ownership for mapping out their careers and designing their own development plans, or blueprints. In this interactive and dynamic session, gain the insight, knowledge and strategies to build your own personal blueprint for success. Take a moment to slow down, focus on yourself and follow a plan. Success will follow.
    Trudy Bourgeois, Founder and CEO,
    The Center for Workforce Excellence
    NOTE: Those attending this session are encouraged to complete and bring a draft Career Development Blueprint, which can be downloaded from the Resources page at www.futureconnect.com.

  • Am I the Leader I Need to Be?

    Most leaders have asked themselves this question at one time or another. Getting a clear, objective and quantifiable answer can be a real challenge. Whether leading a committee, a department or a small business, Genuine Leaders excel in ten distinct and measurable areas. This session identifies the ten common qualities Genuine Leaders tend to possess. In a step-by-step process, you will quantifiably determine your "leadership score" and identify the specific qualities you'll need to improve to raise your score in the future. This session promises to deliver takeaway value and a powerful push in the right direction for those who participate.
    Harold Lloyd, President, H. Lloyd & Associates, Inc.

  • Idea Exchange: Leveraging Your Industry Experience and Expertise

    Join fellow Future Connect attendees in solving and addressing real retail opportunities and challenges. Share your experiences, personal best practices, and successful solutions while networking and learning from others. Collaborate while networking with your group and then reap the benefits of hearing the solutions to all the issues discussed.
    Led by members of the Future Connect Committee

• 11:30 am - 12:45 pm Lunch

• 12:45 pm - 1:00 pm Opening Remarks

  • Dave Dillon, Chairman and CEO, The Kroger Co.
    Chair, 2013 Future Connect Conference

• 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Opening General Session

  A Rallying Session on Getting to Level Next

  • Following an artistic epiphany, acclaimed concert pianist Jade Simmons changed her mission from simply impressing audiences, to using the piano as a vehicle to provide inspiration, information and entertainment in order to profoundly move audiences. To date, her career has taken her from renowned concert halls, to the Miss America stage, to a performance at the White House and most recently to receive a Medal of Excellence at the U.S. Supreme Court. At Future Connect 2013, in a presentation peppered with riveting performances at the piano that exemplify her avant garde approach, Jade will offer attendees powerful tools to maximize their talents in the most effective and fulfilling ways.
    Jade Simmons, Concert Pianist

• 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm General Session

  Global Food Culture 2.0: Changing Times, Changing Consumers, Time for a New Way of Thinking

  • In this presentation, we will explore the nexus between cooking and eating in a new global food culture and make the case for why the time is ripe for a new way of thinking in a re-imagined marketplace for tomorrow's food retailers. As part of this thought-provoking presentation, results will be shared from research conducted by The Hartman Group exclusively for FMI. Get new insights on global food trends, eating occasions, tools for building engagement and how to build retailer brand loyalty.
    Laurie Demeritt, President and CEO, The Hartman Group

• 3:00 pm - 3:30 pm Break

• 3:30 pm - 4:00 pm General Session

  FMI Speaks: The State of the Food Retail Industry

  • In this presentation, What are shoppers thinking and doing today that will shape retail direction for the future? Will the face of your competition be changing soon and what will they be doing to attract customers? To make better forward-facing decisions that drive profitability, you need an informed vision of what your customer wants, what your competitors offer, and how manufacturers are evolving. In this session, the results of FMI's latest consumer and retailer research will be revealed.
    Leslie G. Sarasin, President and Chief Executive Officer, Food Marketing Institute

• 3:30 pm - 4:00 pm General Session

  A Leader’s Role in Educating Our Elected Officials

  • Federal, state and local governmental decisions are having an increasing impact on the competitiveness of the grocery business. As company and industry leaders, you can be the most effective educators of your elected officials on issues that impact your company. This panel will explain the importance of your role and responsibility in the area of political advocacy and how you can make a difference that could impact your company, associates, customers and industry.
    Facilitator: Jennifer Hatcher, Senior Vice President, Government and Public Affairs, Food Marketing Institute
    Bradford Fitch, President & CEO, Congressional Management Foundation
    Israel O'Quinn, Director of Government & Community Affairs, K-VA-T Food Stores, Inc.
    Teross Young, Vice President, Government Relations, SE, Delhaize America

• 5:00 pm - 5:30 pm General Session

  Store Manager Awards

  • A successful store manager excels in leadership, financial stewardship, and customer and community service. Join us as FMI honors the finalists and announces the four winners of the 2013 FMI Store Manager Awards (including a new International category). Celebrate these outstanding store managers - representing the most important position in food retailing.

• 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm Reception

"Future Connect is the best leadership event I've ever attended. I'll be bringing 200 people from Kroger, from my key leadership team to my top store managers."

Dave Dillon, Chairman and CEO, The Kroger Co.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1

• 6:45 am - 7:45 am Breakfast

• 8:00 am - 9:30 am General Session

  The Fully Engaged Leader

  • Energy is our most critical human resource, but most people fail to manage energy effectively. Great leaders begin by effectively managing their own energy. And great leadership results from the capacity to mobilize, focus, invest, channel and renew organizational energy in the service of the corporate mission. Learn how to effectively manage energy in four dimensions (physical, emotional, mental and aligned to one's mission or purpose). This session will examine the challenges people face and offer time-proven strategies on how to view and manage energy as one way to improve the health and performance of your entire team.
    Dr. Jack Groppel, Co-founder, Human Performance Institute

• 9:30 am - 10:00 am Break

• 10:00 am - 11:30 am Track Breakouts

  STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP
  The Fully Engaged Leader, Part II

  • While employees are working hard and are very busy, many are simply not aligned with the organization. Learn how change can take place within individuals, teams, leadership and the organization. Select a training mission and learn how to maximize performance and increase productivity in all aspects of both business and personal life. Discover how to tap into a deep reservoir of energy and purpose and turn that increased energy into increased effectiveness.
    Dr. Jack Groppel, Co-founder, Human Performance Institute

  • OPERATIONS LEADERSHIP
    Transforming from Manager to Leader

    Attend this session if you're ready to become a leader - not just a manager. Changing times require flexible leaders. Drawing on research and proven initiatives, this workshop outlines the ten non-negotiable leadership principles that will help you achieve a 21st century leadership breakthrough. Through this highly interactive workshop, take home knowledge that you can apply to your daily work activities and use to achieve higher performance goals.
    Trudy Bourgeois, Founder and CEO, The Center for Workforce Excellence
  
  

  • INDUSTRY COLLABORATION
    Insights Transform Collaboration

    Competition in food retailing now comes from a new and growing range of channels and formats. And with the value-seeking shopper trend now permanent, both retailers and manufacturers are searching for new ways to create growth opportunities. This session will focus on two powerful trading partner alliances who will share their success stories of reinventing collaboration through shopper-centric insights and innovation. Learn how these trading partners jointly defined new growth opportunities by aligning their thinking and execution around innovative go-to-market ideas.
    Rick Brindle, Vice President, Industry Development, Mondelez International
    Steve Henig, Vice President, Corporate Merchandising, Wakefern Food Corporation
    Tim Hassett Senior Vice President, Sales, Campbell North America
    Rich Tarrant, CEO, MyWebGrocer

  • TECHNOLOGY
    Engaging Your Teams

    This session is not so much about technology as it is about true business transformation and how we, as business leaders, can no longer separate technology from our business strategy. An integrated approach to business strategy, people strategy and supporting technologies are required to support the future of work. During this interactive presentation, attendees will learn how to execute changes and deploy technology within their organizations to better recruit, retain and communicate with their people.
    Jason Averbook, Chief Business Innovation Officer, Knowledge Infusion, an Appirio Company

• 11:30 pm - 12:45 pm Luncheon

• 12:45 pm - 3:00 pm Track Breakouts

  STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP
  Architecture to Develop Leadership for Now and Any Future

  • The key to delivering high performance in challenging times is to develop a rich concentration of leaders who are capable of operating in volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environments. Now more than ever, companies need to be more effective in attracting, identifying, developing and retaining leaders. Join us for an informative and interactive session to learn about competency-driven talent management practices you can use to build a strategic and diverse talent pool to support your business strategy in a changing environment. This session is for strategic leaders in operations and human resources and anyone who coaches, mentors or evaluates the performance of others.
    Heather Barnfield, Director, Intellectual Property Development, Korn/Ferry International
    Krag Swartz, Senior Manager, Training and Development, Lund Food Holdings, Inc.

  • OPERATIONS LEADERSHIP
    Leading at the Speed of Trust

    Companies with high trust earn almost three times the financial return as companies with low trust. Imagine the confidence in their relationships with their stakeholders - customers, employees, and suppliers. In this compelling interactive session, explore how building your personal credibility will give your stakeholders someone they can trust. Learn how to engage your team even more power-fully by practicing the 13 Behaviors of High Trust Leaders.
    Barry Rellaford, Co-founder, FranklinCovey's Speed of Trust Practice, and Co-author, A Slice of Trust

  • INDUSTRY COLLABORATION
    Great Partnerships Deliver Great Results

    The power of collaborative platform-based merchandising at retail has never been more in demand or more effective than today. During this session, three collaboration partnerships will be featured, each illustrating the power of selling "Ideas versus Items" successfully. Participants will learn the power of rethinking how industry partners can drive growth not through a focus on pricing and deals, but instead, through creating events, additional purchase opportunities, and innovator merchandising.
    Mary Anne Hogan Johnson, Clorox Customer Team Manager, The Clorox Company
    Shawn Sinicrope Vice President, Hardlines GM, Meijer, Inc.
    Tom Hobt, Vice President, Perishables, Hy-Vee, Inc.
    Kerry Henning Master Cheese Maker, Henning's Cheese
    Marty L. Pullin, Director, Channel Management Programs, Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board PepsiCo Representative and Retail Partner to be announced

"My experience at FMI was amazing. I learned more at Future Connect than any other conference I have attended. I was able to bring back the information and present it to the other managers in our region and to my store colleagues. I truly believe we are a better operation because of that training."

Kristi Masterson, Hy-Vee Store Director, FMI Store Manager of the Year 2011

• 12:45 pm - 3:00 pm Track Breakouts Cont'd.

  TECHNOLOGY
  Engaging Your Customer

  • FMI's Trends study and numerous other industry reports have highlighted consumers' increasing use of wired and mobile Internet devices as shopping aids. How can retailers capitalize on this trend to engage their customers before, during and after their visits to the bricks and mortar store? This session will explore several real-world cases of technology-facilitated consumer engagement.
    John Caron, Vice President, Marketing, Catalina
    Suzan Kereere, Senior Vice President, National Client Group, American Express
    Peter Muratore, Vice President, WSL Strategic Retail
    Kaila Schmidt, Sprint Wholesale and Emerging Solutions, Sprint

• 3:00 pm - 3:30 pm Break

• 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm General Session

  Adapting to the Changing Consumer

  • The FMI Speaks presentation offered an overview of where consumers are heading over the next few years and how retailers and manufacturers can prepare to meet their needs. This session takes a deeper look at several key shopper forces facing food retail as we move through the first quarter of the 21st century. Emphasis will be placed on the capabilities and core differentiators that retailers and manufacturers can begin building to respond to the changing shopper landscape. Presenters are the developers of this year's FMI Trends research study, a groundbreaking, industry-wide perspective on the future of food retailing.
    Thom Blischok, Chief Retail Strategist and Senior Executive Adviser, Booz & Co.
    Joe Crafton, Chief Executive Officer, CROSSMARK
    Todd Hale, Senior Vice President, Consumer and Shopper Insights, Nielsen
    John Miles, Chief Technology Officer, Catalina

• 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm General Session

  Leadership Lessons from the C-Suite

  • The road to the c-suite is fraught with challenges - and full of opportunities. Listen to a revealing roundtable discussion on the hard-won leadership lessons learned by a panel of successful industry executives on their journey to the top. You'll leave with insights on how to navigate your own career path, find mentors in your organization, work effectively with others, and make choices that are right for you.
    Moderator: Joan Toth, President and CEO, Network of Executive Women
    Panelists Include:
    Marnette Perry, Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives and Operations, The Kroger Co.
    Stacy Pugh, Chief Customer Care Officer, Coca-Cola Refreshments Andy Callahan, President, Hillshire Brands Company

"I was very pleased with the sessions that I attended and was able to obtain a lot of knowledge concerning leadership, workforce diversity, building a culture and assessing talent for the future."

Comment from a 2011 Future Connect Attendee. 10-12 May. 2011.

THURSDAY, MAY 2

 

• 6:45 am - 7:45 am Breakfast

• 8:00 am - 9:30 am Track Breakouts

  STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP
  The Next Big Thing: Transformative Thinking

  • Rapid change requires creative thinking and an ability to link an organization to fast-paced trends. Companies must continually transition and reinvent by sourcing innovative ideas and focusing on corporate agility. Futurist Jim Carroll will take a look at the trends sweeping the food industry today, and how organizations are achieving success through aligning their strategies to those trends. Find out how some companies become "world-class innovators" by their ability to change through creative thinking and developing a mindset that looks for the opportunities of the future rather than the challenges of the past.
    Jim Carroll, FCA, Futurist, Innovation and Trends Expert

  • OPERATIONS LEADERSHIP
    Customers: Now and Forever

    Every manager wants to have the type of customer service that the community talks about, but many of us struggle with how to actually create a culture of genuine customer service. To achieve your company's customer service objectives in your store, you have to make it your own. Learn from those in our industry who have been successful in going beyond standard customer service efforts, with examples of superior customer service and activities to help you explore how you can create a new standard of customer service that is special for your store.
    Facilitator: Suzanne Gaker, Gaker Consulting

  • INDUSTRY COLLABORATION
    Collaborating in Tomorrow's Retailing World - An Interactive Session

    Attendees will discuss several "challenge scenarios" and make recommendations that will be captured, organized, and shared after the conference as a reminder of how to create lasting "win-win" collaboration relationships. Discussion topics include:
    
    A world where the value-seeking shopper (all ethnicities) dominates the market.
    A shopping environment where personal technologies change the rules of purchase location and pricing/value creation.
    A retail environment dominated by "great players on multi-channel retailing" coupled with market-making e-commerce companies redefining how shoppers purchase selected categories.
    The demand for merchandising and marketing innovation - how do partnerships create long-term strategic differentiation?
    Thom Blischok, Chief Retail Strategist, Senior Executive Adviser, Booz & Co. NOTE: To attend this session, one should have attended at least one of the previous Industry Collaboration sessions.

  • TECHNOLOGY
    Supporting Overall Operational Excellence in Your Organization

    Learn which technologies are driving a real ROI at store level and how best to evaluate the returns from the most common applications being leveraged today, such as decision support tools (including shrink tracking and fresh item management applications), workforce management modules, and electronic messaging at the point of purchase. Hear real success stories and discuss the challenges retailers face across the implementation road map.
    Speakers to be announced

• 9:30 am - 9:45 am Break

• 9:45 am - 10:45 am General Session

  The Road to Remarkable

  • The Road to Remarkable will spark your imagination, providing proven strategies to move your business from ordinary to extraordinary. Attendees will gain:
    
    A clear sense of why remarkable propositions are critical to success in today's highly saturated retail market.
    A view of consumer and competitive forces driving the need for unique and outstanding retail concepts.
    Concrete examples of businesses that have innovated in their category to create unique, engaging and extraordinary customer experiences.
    A systematic method of establishing uncontested market positioning in your category.
    A proven creative process aimed at discovering the remarkable spark in any business.
    Doug Stephens, President, Retail Prophet

• 10:45 am - 11:45 am Closing General Session

  The Happiness Advantage: Linking Positive Brains to Performance

  • Most companies follow this formula: if you work harder, you will be more successful, and then you will be happy. This formula is scientifically backward. A decade of research shows that training your brain to be positive at work first actually fuels greater success second. By researching top performers at Harvard, the world's largest banks, and Fortune 500 companies, Shawn Achor discovered patterns that create a happiness advantage for positive outliers - the highest performers at the company. Based on his new book, Shawn provides practical applications for reaping the Happiness Advantage in the midst of change and challenge.
    Shawn Achor, Founder and CEO, Good Think Inc. and Author, The Happiness Advantage

• 11:45 am - 12:00 pm Final Remarks and Conference Close

PRICING/REGISTRATION

Store Tours, Monday, April 29 from 12:30pm to 3:30pm $125
REGISTER ONLINE HERE or Download the Registration Form.

Contact register@fmi.org if you have questions about registration.

For more information about the store tours, contact Matt Grizzard at 202.220.0677 or mgrizzard@fmi.org

"The learning environment is a great networking opportunity for a supplier to meet with retailers across all levels in the industry."

Comment from a 2011 Future Connect Attendee. 10-12 May. 2011