Thom Blischok
Chairman and CEO at The Dialogic Group, LLC
Michael Brener
Advisory Managing Director, Internal Audit & Enterprise Risk, KPMG LLP
Michael Brennan
Director, Baker Tilly
Mike is a director in Baker Tilly’s risk advisory practice and he has been working in the internal audit profession for over 35 years. He has extensive experience in performing/managing internal audits as well as enterprise risk assessment activities in the retail, manufacturing, distribution, healthcare, higher education, real estate and financial services industries.
Tom Cosgrove
Director, Industry Relations, FMI
Tom Cosgrove is the Director of Industry Relations at FMI – The Food Industry Association, where he facilitates professional, non-competitive collaboration among member communities across the topic areas of asset protection, technology, risk & safety, private brands, and supply chain.
Prior to joining the Industry Relations department, Tom worked for the FMI Foundation and FMI’s Health and Well-being department. Before joining FMI, Tom spent 7 years at Gonzaga College High School in varying roles including Director of Annual Giving and served as a rowing coach, which he continues to do today.
Lari Harding
SVP, Healthcare Industry Affairs & Strategic Partnerships, Inmar Intelligence
Andy S. Harig
Vice President, Tax, Trade, Sustainability & Policy Development, FMI
Andrew S. Harig currently serves as Vice President, Tax, Trade, Sustainability & Policy Development at FMI-The Food Industry Association. In this position, he is responsible for lobbying Congress and the Administration on behalf of FMI members, with a primary focus on agriculture, taxes, trade, sustainability, food waste, and pensions. Prior to joining FMI, Andy was an associate trade advisor and speechwriter for the Senate Finance Committee under its Chairman, Max Baucus (D-MT). From 1999-2001, he was the senior research associate for the Global Economic Policy Project at the New America Foundation, a Washington, DC-based think tank. Andy holds a B.A. from the College of William and Mary and an M.A. from DePaul University in Chicago, IL.
Dave Haronik
Risk Consulting Manager, RubinBrown, LLP
Dave Haronik is a Manager in RubinBrown’s Business Advisory Services Group with more than 20 years of experience in auditing, in both public accounting and large public companies in the technology, pharmaceutical, medical devices, manufacturing, distribution, food and beverage, financial services, and real estate industries.
A majority of Dave’s career has been dedicated to Enterprise Risk Management, Internal Audit, Sarbanes-Oxley, and FCPA Audits.
Catherine Heben
Managing Director, Audit, KPMG LLP
Tom Henry
Data & Information Officer, Schnuck Markets, Inc.
Tom Henry is the Chief Data and Information Officer at Schnuck Markets, Inc. where he leads Schnucks' Data and Information Technology organization and is also a member of the company's Strategy Team. Schnucks' high-performing Data and IT teams create and maintain a world-class technology ecosystem, delivering innovative solutions that empower teammates to achieve strategic goals and to live the company's mission to nourish people's lives. Tom brings an innovative approach to not only data and analytics, but also in creating unique customer experiences and operating efficiencies.
Prior to joining Schnucks in 2019, Tom served as Chief Data Officer at Express Scripts where he led the company’s enterprise analytics strategy to embed accurate, timely, and actionable business insights into the decision-making processes.
Dean Hobbs
Principal, Consulting, US Operations Leader for Finance & Performance, Deloitte
Dean is a principal in the Finance & Enterprise Performance practice of Deloitte Consulting LLP. He has more than 20 years of experience in Retail, Consumer Products, and Financial Services, drawing on C-level executive and board roles in industry and consulting. Dean has helped build Deloitte’s practice helping CFOs drive margin and productivity improvements using digital core, advanced analytics, and operating model solutions. His experience spans corporate & finance strategy, board restructurings, financial modernization, enterprise performance management, finance business partnering, large-scale system implementations, and digital finance tools including robotics / cognitive automation blockchain.
David Kopsch
Senior Principal, Mercer
Diana Krawisz
Senior Internal Audit Manager, Topco Associates
Chris L'Hommedieu
AI Workforce Technical Director, Microsoft
Chris is a member of Microsoft's Retail and Consumer Packaged Goods enterprise business unit, and as an AI Workforce Technical Director, he and his team are responsible for the technical aspects of Microsoft 365 including Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Agents and Cloud Endpoint technologies. He is passionate about helping customers understand how to leverage Microsoft AI capabilities to drive business transformation and to provide amazing experiences for employees and customers.
Michael T. Lockard
SVP, CFO and Treasurer, Weis Markets, Inc.
Steve Markenson
Vice President, Research, FMI
In his role at FMI, Markenson oversees the research & insights practice. He leads the discovery process on the latest industry trends and operational insights that champion FMI as a credible voice of the food retail industry. Markenson is a market research executive with 30 years of progressive experience in his field. His diverse experience includes research design, information/data collection and analysis and strategic planning. Markenson was formerly the president of WBA Research, a national market research firm founded in 1987, where he oversaw more than 30 full-time professionals, along with a part-time staff of more than 100 telephone interviewers, field interviewers and support staff. Earlier in his career, Markenson worked at Snyder Communications, where he directed all aspects of more than 90 annual market research studies and presented results to brand management, market research departments, advertising and promotion agencies.
Jonas Melton
Principal, RSM US LLP
Jonas Melton provides strategic thinking and accounting and finance advice to help clients transform and automate their accounting and finance processes. By leveraging his broad experience in accounting, finance and technology, Jonas assists clients with identifying and architecting technology solutions that drive more efficient, scalable business processes. Jonas has over 15 years of progressive accounting and finance experience in public accounting, consulting and industry.
Scott Moses
Partner and Head of Grocery, Pharmacy & Restaurants Investment Banking, Solomon Partners
Scott Moses is Partner and Head of Grocery, Pharmacy & Restaurants Investment Banking at Solomon Partners and a member of the Firm’s Operating Committee. Specializing in mergers, acquisitions, sales and divestitures of traditional and specialty grocers, he has advised on over $50 billion in transactions, working on major deals for Kroger, Albertsons, Sprouts and dozens of family-owned grocers. Recognized among the “Top 50: Americas M&A Dealmakers” by Global M&A Network, Scott has also appeared on “40 Under 40” lists by IDD (2011) and The M&A Advisor (2015). Quoted widely in media such as Bloomberg, WSJ and Yahoo Finance, Scott also writes a quarterly column in Supermarket News. A graduate of UPenn, he holds a JD/MBA from Columbia. Scott sits on the Board of UpLift Solutions, which was founded to expand grocery access in underserved areas, and is a Fellow of the Culinary Institute of America. He is the author of the acclaimed book, A ‘Grocery’ Christmas Carol: The Ghost of Supermarkets Future.
Robert Moskow
Managing Director, Consumer - Packaged Foods, Beverages, Household & Personal Care, TD Cowen
Hayley Psaltis
Corporate Internal Audit Director, Alex Lee, Inc.
Hayley is the Corporate Internal Audit Director at Alex Lee Inc, one of the largest grocery retail and wholesale distribution companies in the southeastern United States operating more than 140 retail grocery stores and supplying over 1,900 independent supermarkets. Hayley has 25 years of internal audit, risk and assurance experience, having previous led global internal audit functions for large public companies in the United Kingdom and Australia across the retail, energy and telecommunications industries.
Katelyn Rattner
Manger, IT and Risk Company, RubinBrown, LLP
Angie Springer
Principal Solution Engineer, Dynamics 365 for Finance and Supply Chain, Microsoft
Angie Springer is a Director‑level Specialist at Microsoft, where she helps finance leaders modernize accounting, auditing, and financial operations using ERP and AI‑driven technologies. With over two decades of experience in finance transformation, Angie specializes in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Copilot for Finance, working closely with CFOs, controllers, and audit teams to improve accuracy, efficiency, and business insight through automation and AI. Angie’s work focuses on applying AI responsibly within core finance processes such as reconciliations, variance analysis, forecasting, and controls—bridging the gap between traditional accounting practices and emerging intelligent systems. She is known for translating complex technology into practical, real‑world outcomes that resonate with finance professionals. Angie brings a practitioner’s perspective on how AI is reshaping the future of accounting and auditing, and what skills finance professionals need to stay relevant in an increasingly intelligent enterprise.
Jeffrey Strasser
General Manager – US Retail & Consumer Goods, Microsoft
Jeffrey oversees Microsoft’s cloud productivity, communications, security, BI and devices businesses for the US Retail & Consumer Goods enterprise customer segment. He focuses on improving how people work, organizational health, employee engagement and cost optimization, as well as bringing these technologies to the frontline worker. Lately, he has been driving the conversation about the innovative use of generative AI to enhance the speed and quality of work and decision making, while increasing job satisfaction, in collaboration with customers and industry leaders. Before his current role, Jeffrey was Microsoft’s Director of Worldwide ISV partnerships with the top global telecom network operators, and Director of Technical Sales for the US Operator Channel segment, leading the technology planning, sales, and support of Microsoft mobile platforms for the US market in partnership with US mobile operators. Mr. Strasser has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration/Decision Sciences from the University of Florida.
Dr. Ricky Volpe, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Cal Poly
Ricky Volpe received his Ph.D. in Agricultural and Resource Economics from UC Davis in 2010. He then spent four years working as an economist at the USDA Economic Research Service in Washington DC. There he researched a variety of topics, including food price formation, competitiveness in the food industry, and the healthiness of grocery purchases in the U.S. Ricky was also responsible for forecasting retail food price inflation at the national level.
Now at Cal Poly, Ricky teaches courses on food retail and supply chain management, transportation and logistics, and data analysis. He also maintains an active research agenda using a variety of large data sets to study issues related to market structure, firm performance, food prices, consumers’ food choices, and health outcomes. He also works closely with industry leaders in food retailing, wholesaling, and distribution to facilitate collaboration on public-private partnerships, student internships, and scholarships. Ricky has also studied at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst earning a M.S. Resource Economics and a B.S. Mathematics and Economics.