Alysson Breske
Accounts Payable Solutions Executive, Transcepta AP Automation
Scott Brown
Vice President of Client Services, PRGX
Scott Brown is the Vice President of Client Services at PRGX,
bringing 29 years of expertise in the Recovery Audit Industry. As an
accomplished Operations Leader and Client Relationship Manager, Scott
specializes in the Retail and Grocery sectors. He has been instrumental in
developing PRGX's construction audit practice, scaling it to over 200 audits
annually.
Suneel Chirunomula
EVP, Head of Growth, Viewpost
After more than a
decade leading B2B payment solutions and working capital strategies for
American Express and C2FO, Suneel joined Viewpost to grow enterprise sales and
accelerate channel partnerships. With a client-focused mindset, Suneel draws on
a unique combination of card, B2B payments, and working capital experience that
helps payment leaders solve problems, increase efficiency, and add value to
their organizations.
Barret Cook, CPA
Senior Manager - Deals, Capital Markets Accounting and Advisory Services, PwC
Barret is a Senior Manager in PwC's Deals – Capital Markets Accounting and Advisory Services practice, based in Seattle. With eight years at PwC, including two years in the Frankfurt, Germany PwC office, Barret specializes in helping companies navigate complex accounting changes under US GAAP—whether due to transactions like IPOs, acquisitions, or divestitures, or shifts in their products or regulatory environment. He has advised clients ranging from early-stage startups to Fortune 50 companies across a wide variety of industries, including aerospace and defense, and consumer markets.
Peter Cooke
Co-Founder, Ratio Institute
Ben Crabtree
Senior Manager, Transformation Solutions, UHY Consulting
With over a decade of experience in professional services as both a CPA and trusted consulting advisor, Ben delivers results-oriented project leadership with a focus on modernizing legacy systems for large-scale organizations. He specializes in guiding clients through complex technology transformations by redesigning and optimizing current-state processes into future-state architectures that align with strategic business goals. Ben also develops customized database solutions that streamline operations throughout the project lifecycle—designing ETL tools for data migration and implementing automated reconciliation processes that improve data integrity and reporting accuracy across enterprise technology ecosystems.
Sherif Fahmy
Vice President, Retail Sales-Martech East, Inmar
Gabriela Foster, CIA, MBA
Internal Audit Manager, SpartanNash
Gabriela joined the Corporate Audit department at SpartanNash in 2019. Gabriela has extensive experience working in the consumer goods industry, putting her risk analysis and internal control assessment skills to good use.
Gabriela has a BA in Accounting from Davenport University and a MBA with emphasis on Strategic Leadership from the same university. She holds a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) designation, COSO Internal Controls certification, and is Yellow Belt certified (Lean Six Sigma).
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.
Gary Hawkins
CEO & Founder, CART
Gary Hawkins has led the consumer goods retail industry toward the future by pioneering technology-driven innovations in shopping. Founder and CEO of CART (Center for Advancing Retail & Technology), Hawkins aims to connect retail with emerging technologies through education, events, and strategic programs. CART helps retailers, wholesalers, brands, and providers foster innovation with strategic development, tech roadmaps, and systems assessments. Hawkins serves on boards and advises select companies introducing transformative market capabilities. His personal blog, Retail Mindsteps, captures insights from his articles and papers, simplifying retail tech innovation. Hawkins is the author of three books, including Retail in the Age of ‘i’, exploring tech's role in retail’s future. A frequent keynote speaker, he is also a guest lecturer at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.
Diana Krawisz
Senior Internal Audit Manager, Topco Associates
Michael T. Lockard
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, Weis Markets, Inc.
Michael T. Lockard is Weis Markets, Inc.’s SVP, CFO and Treasurer. Founded in 1912, Weis Markets, Inc. (NYSE: WMK) is a Mid Atlantic food retailer operating 197 stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Virginia and West Virginia.
Michael joined the company in January 2021 overseeing the day-to-day management of the accounting, auditing and financial functions. Prior to Weis Markets, Inc. (Sunbury, PA), Michael worked in Finance & Accounting leadership roles at K-VA-T Food Stores, Inc. (Abingdon, VA), Walmart Inc. (Bentonville, AR), and United Parcel Service, Inc. (Louisville, KY).
Michael earned a BA in Accounting and Business Administration and an MBA from Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Certified Finance Manager (CFM), and Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA). He is a frequent conference attendee and speaker regarding relevant finance, accounting, and technology topics impacting organizations.
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.
Marco Monge
Deloitte Advisory Senior Manager, Deloitte Risk & Financial Advisory
Mark Monocello
Risk & Regulatory Director, PwC
Mark is a Director in PwC’s Risk & Regulatory – Enterprise Risk & Controls practice, based in Seattle. Mark specializes in delivering Compliance, Risk Management and Internal Audit services to companies in the Consumer Markets sector. Mark has worked with multiple Fortune 500 companies where he was responsible for building and executing their SOX compliance / internal audit programs. Mark also has extensive experience with assisting companies with their IPO readiness activities, including SOX 404 and other regulatory requirements.
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.
James Robilotta
Leadership Author & Motivational Speaker
James Robilotta, CSP, is a leadership author, motivational speaker, emcee, and trained improv comedian. After years of building, training, and leading teams, James followed an entrepreneurial dream and built two successful businesses. The first is an organization that incorporates freestyle rap into improv comedy (a success story for another day). And the second is his speaking and coaching business (a success story for today).
James has been speaking internationally to willing and unwilling audiences since 2009 and has found that quality humor is the secret to hosting powerful conversations that make a genuine impact. His attendees leave feeling recharged, introspective, and ready to get out of their own way.
With years of research (and a few too many real-life case studies within his work), James has learned everything he can about fighting apathy and building strong company cultures. He uses this insight to help leaders manage and retain talent and give feedback that sticks, and to help organizations create community buy-in using curiosity.
James’ cornerstone concept is that we as humans can’t learn from people who are perfect, we can only learn from people who are imperfect. And companies like American Express, GE, Accenture, and Afterpay have gravitated toward this message and found the insights to be invaluable in shifting the way their people show up for each other. James is working to bring humanity and community back into the workplace. He is on a mission to ensure that people are seen, heard, respected... and giggling a little, too.
Jennifer Ruckman
Director of Accounting, Schnuck Markets, Inc.
Richard Sigmon
CPA, CFF, CGMA, Corporate Internal Audit Director, Alex Lee
Jeffrey Strasser
General Manager – US Retail & Consumer Goods, Microsoft
Jim Sweeney
Managing Director, the Stores Consulting Group
Jaclyn Teinert
Director of Accounting at United Supermarkets, LLC
Michael Wolf
Global Economist, Senior Manager, Deloitte