CONFERENCE PROGRAM
Schedule-At-A-Glance | Session Descriptions
The 2014 FMI Financial Executive Conference is a learning experience designed for financial leaders in the food retail industry. Our education program is intended to encourage a collaborative, open environment where like-minded professionals can share ideas and best practices and find solutions to the most pressing problems they encounter in their professional lives. We aim to achieve this through interactive sessions, roundtables and idea exchanges
Download the final agenda
AGENDA-AT-A-GLANCE
SUNDAY, MAY 4
| 2:00 pm - 2:10 pm | Welcome Remarks |
| 2:10 pm - 3:10 pm | Guest Keynote Speaker Fire Them Up: The Seven Secrets of Inspiring Leaders Carmine Gallo, Communications Coach and Author |
| 3:10 pm - 3:20 pm | Networking Break |
| 3:20 pm - 4:10 pm | Mergers and Acquisitions: Snapshot of the Marketplace, Past, Present and Future Ken Tuchman, Vice Chair Investment & Corporate Banking, BMO Capital Markets Corp. |
| 4:10 pm - 5:00 pm | Driving Profitability Through Customer-Centric Demand Planning Has Dosanjh, Founder and CEO, EYC Ltd |
| 5:00 pm - 5:30 pm | First-Timers Reception |
| 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm | Vendor Showcase and Cocktail Reception Hosted by PRGX |
MONDAY, MAY 5
| 7:00 am - 8:00 am | Breakfast sponsored by Epicor |
| 8:00 am - 8:50 am | Talent Magnetism: How To Create a Workplace That Attracts The Best Roberta Matuson, President, Matuson Consulting |
| 8:55 am - 9:45 am | Understanding Capital Equipment Finance- Best Practices, Economic Benefits And Tax Implications Jud Snyder, President, BMO Harris Equipment Finance Company Tom Sbordone, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Large Corporate Market National Sales Manager, BMO Harris Equipment Finance Company |
| 9:45 am - 10:00 am | Networking Break sponsored by Balance Innovations |
| 10:00 am - 11:35 am | Roundtable Discussions |
| 11:40 am - 12:30 pm | A View From The Hill: What The 2014 Congress Means For Your Business Andy Harig, Director, Government Relations, FMI Hannah Walker, Director, Government Affairs, FMI Jeff Kummer, Director, Tax Policy, Deloitte Tax LLP |
| 12:30 pm - 1:45 pm | Lunch at The Top of the Mark Hosted by NCH Marketing Services, Inc. |
| 1:45 pm - 2:45 pm | Guard Your Exits: How To Retain Top Talent in Turbulent Times Roberta Matuson, President, Matuson Consulting |
| 2:50 pm - 3:45 pm | Tax Tangible Property Regulations – Opportunities (and Pitfalls) for Retailers Jeremy Watkins, Senior Manager, Quantitative Tax Services, Ernst & Young, LLP Alison Jones, Principle, Ernst & Young, LLP Mike Booher, Director of Finance and IT Support, Publix Super Markets, Inc Cloud-First – Is This The Right Strategy For Your Company? Marc Dietz, Director, SaaS Strategy and Marketing, IBM Software Solutions Group |
| 3:45 pm - 4:00 pm | Networking Break |
| 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm | Guest Keynote Speaker Why We Make Mistakes Joe Hallinan, Pulitzer-Prize Winning Journalist Sponsored by Apex Analytix |
| 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm | Offsite Networking Event: Mixology at Infusion Lounge hosted by Flextecs North America |
TUESDAY, MAY 6
| 7:00 am - 7:50 am | Breakfast sponsored by Connolly Consulting, Inc. |
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| 7:50 am - 8:50 am | Accounting Update | |
| 8:55 am - 9:45 am | Employee Benefit Solutions in The Age of PPACA Kate Hubben, CSFS, Client Advocate, Human Capital Practice, Willis Group |
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| 9:45 am - 10:00 am | Networking Break | |
| 10:00 am - 10:50 am | Zeroing in on Payments 2014 and Beyond Mark Horwedel, CEO, Merchants Advisory Group Kathy Hanna, Director Enterprise Payments & Store Support, The Kroger Co. |
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| 10:55 am - 11:45 am | Information Security & Privacy: Are You Ready For a Data Breach? Andy Obuchowski, Jr., Director, Security & Privacy Consulting, McGladrey LLP |
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| 11:50 a.m. - 12:40 am | Using Predictive Analytics to Identify, Measure and Counter The Impact of Non-Traditional Channels Deborah Weinswig, Chief Customer Officer, Profitect |
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| 12:40 pm - 1:45 pm | Lunch hosted by Inmar, Inc. |
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| 1:45 pm - 2:45 pm | Idea Exchanges Download the topics Download the discussion groups |
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| 2:55 pm - 3:45 pm | Guest Keynote Speaker
Why Training and Compliance Programs Don't Prevent Ethical Lapses and What You Can do About it. Professor Marianne M. Jennings, Emeritus Professor of Legal and Ethical Studies in Business, W.P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University |
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| 3:45 pm - 4:00 pm | Networking Break | |
| 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm | Guest Keynote Speaker
Big Data: is it a Boon or Bust for Your Cyber Security Efforts? |
Big Data: is it a Boon or Bust for Your Cyber Security Efforts?
Marketing databases, customer analytics, behavioral patterns are so much easier to manage with big data. But will these data elements be safe from hackers? Payton will provide you with advice and examples on how you can harness the power of big data to improve your cybersecurity posture and how to build your big data so it achieves the business goals while adding in safeguards to fight back the cybercriminals.
Theresa Payton, Former White House CIO, Cybersecurity Authority and Identity Theft Expert
Fire Them Up: The Seven Secrets of Inspiring Leaders
Fewer than 10 percent of employees look forward to going to work. It doesn’t have to be that way. We all have the ability to influence, persuade and inspire everyone in our personal and professional lives—if we learn the language of motivation. Communications coach, Carmine Gallo reveals this language through extensive research and interviews with entrepreneurs who started Google, Starbucks, and Travelocity as well as top educators, business leaders and branding experts like Suze Orman. Gallo helps individuals become “Chief Inspiration Officers” for the people in their personal and professional lives. Fire Them Up! has been featured in BusinessWeek.com, Forbes.com, Investor’s Business Daily, Selling Power Magazine and CNBC’s “Big Idea with Donny Deutsch.”
Carmine Gallo, Communications Coach and Author
Why Training And Compliance Programs Don't Prevent Ethical Lapses And What You Can Do About It.
Not all ethical issues can be fixed by training and not all compliance programs address every ethical issues. Discover how analyzing and understanding the varying types of ethical issues companies face can help you put the right prevention and correction tools in place. Learn how applying the correct antidote to the different classifications of ethical issues can get to the root cause of ethical lapses.
Professor Marianne M. Jennings, Emeritus Professor of Legal and Ethical Studies in Business, W.P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University
Why do otherwise intelligent people make obvious mistakes? Why are we so easily distracted? Why do we often miss what's right in front of our eyes? Why do we make mistakes? And could we do a little better? Joe Hallinan sets out to explore the captivating science of human error--how we think, see, remember and forget. In this session, chock full of anecdotes, relevant studies and tips you can use immediately (such as how to remember where you left your keys, and why multi-tasking is a bad idea), Hallinan will reveal why some of the same qualities that make us efficient also make us error-prone. How to prevent these errors--how to anticipate and then "outsmart" them--are at the heart of this engaging, entertaining and interactive session. Attend this session and receive a FREE copy of Joe's book courtesy of Apex Analytix
Joe Hallinan, Pulitzer Prize-winning Journalist, Author of "Why We Make Mistakes"
Mergers and Acquisitions: Snapshot of the Marketplace, Past, Present and Future
2013 was a watershed year for food as well as grocery mergers and acquisitions. Reflecting on his over 30 years in providing M&A services to major and regional grocers, Ken Tuchman will review M&A activity in 2013 and discuss the underlying fundamentals including today's robust capital markets. Get an overview of the inherent risks found in these transactions, where valuations are moving and the overall issues that can tie up transactions. Gain insight into what may lie ahead in 2014 and beyond on the M&A front.
Ken Tuchman, Vice Chair Investment & Corporate Banking, BMO Capital Markets Corp.
Attend this informative session to get crucial updates on upcoming financial reporting revisions and stay current on changes in the regulatory environment. Get an overview of recently issued accounting standards, proposals and exposure drafts and hear SECs views on accounting and reporting issues. Discuss proposed changes to private company standard setting and reporting.
John Scheffler, Senior Client Service Partner, Deloitte and Touche LLP
Sara Brown, Assurance Senior Manager, Deloitte and Touche LLP
A View From The Hill: What The 2014 Congress Means For Your Business
See what Capitol Hill and the Administration have in store for your business and the retail food industry. Get an overview of the current legislative and regulatory changes that will impact your operations in 2014 and beyond. Hear which legislative issues Congress is likely to consider, the prospect of passage and the challenges 2014 presents as a midterm election year. Get updates on critical issues such as market fairness, pensions, swipe fees, data security and breach notification and health care. Hear the latest updates on tax reform and examine the issues that lawmakers grapple with such as whether a tax code overhaul should be revenue neutral or raise revenue for deficit reduction, which corporate tax expenditures should be modified or eliminated to pay for a lower corporate tax rate, and how best to transition from the current code to a new one. Gain the insight you need, as financial executives, to stay on top of the debate and ensure you are positioned to actively participate in the tax reform process and thrive in a post-reform era.
Andy Harig, Director, Government Relations, Food Marketing Institute
Hannah Walker, Director, Government Affairs, Food Marketing Institute
Jeff Kummer, Director, Tax Policy, Deloitte Tax LLP
Driving Profitability Through Customer-Centric Demand Planning
The food retail industry has been collecting data since before the advent of the bar code. Today, retailers understand the power that information can wield to deliver improvements in distribution, logistics, merchandise planning and store operations, and ultimately provide better financial analysis and planning. Consumer insights drive the world of retail today and customer loyalty is recognized as a tangible asset. How can financial executives in the food retail industry incorporate insights on customer preferences and behavior into the financial planning process to enhance profitability? Discuss how retailers can gain competitive advantage by applying customer-centric demand planning to the 4 Ps of retailing and incorporating the 5th “P” of Personalization.
Has Dosanjh, Founder and CEO, EYC Ltd
Cloud-First – Is This The Right Strategy For Your Company?
Cloud computing and specifically software-as-a-service (SaaS) has transformed many industries with new cost models and functional capabilities, to the extent that some companies are now employing a "cloud-first" strategy. Join this session and learn how to evaluate whether a cloud-first strategy is right for your retail company based on financial advantages of the SaaS financial model, the IT operations model and key functionality that drives business results.
Marc Dietz, Director, SaaS Strategy and Marketing, IBM Software Solutions Group
Understanding Capital Equipment Finance- Best Practices, Economic Benefits And Tax Implications
As a CFO, what do you need to know to negotiate and close an equipment lease? What are the structural and economic benefits of tax leasing and why are so many companies making this an integral part of their overall capital strategy? What is the current state of FASB/IASB accounting convergence deliberations and how might they impact balance sheet treatment of operating leases going forward. Find the answers to all these important questions in this informative session that will equip you with best practices for using loan and lease financing for capital equipment acquisitions.
Jud Snyder, President, BMO Harris Equipment Finance Company
Tom Sbordonne, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Large Corporate Market National Sales Manager, BMO Harris Equipment Finance Company
Zeroing in on Payments 2014 and Beyond
Recent data security breaches in the retail industry have brought the issue of payment card security to the forefront with ensuing hotly debated discussions on EMV migration, chip and pin technology, merchant/bank dialogue and fraud liability. 2014 will see continued fluidity in the realm of payments security as Congress deliberates potential federal legislation on standards and merchants and bankers debate fiercely contested issues regarding mobile payments and payment card technology. Join the CEO of the Merchants Advisory Group, whose mission it is to establish collaborative relationships within the payments industry and a representative of a leading U.S. food retailer, to get an up-to-the-minute update on the status of the payment industry and discuss what’s in store for organizations across the entire retail industry as they consider the future of payments and payment security.
Mark Horwedel, CEO, Merchants Advisory Group
Kathy Hanna, Director Enterprise Payments & Store Support, The Kroger Co.
Tax Tangible Property Regulations – Opportunities (and Pitfalls) for Retailers
After more than a decade of controversy, litigation, and effort, the U.S. Treasury Department and the IRS have released new regulations related to the proper tax treatment of tangible property. The scope of these new rules is broad - as they affect any business that has real or personal property. This session will shine a light on the opportunities and pitfalls for retailers in the Tangible Property Regulations. Jointly led by Ernst & Young and Publix Super Markets, Inc., the discussion will focus on how many retailers are working through these new rules, focusing on compliance efforts, opportunities for cash tax savings and changes to internal practices such as implementing new accounting policies and procedures.
Jeremy Watkins, Senior Manager, Quantitative Tax Services, Ernst & Young, LLP
Alison Jones, Principle, Ernst & Young, LLP
Mike Booher, Director of Finance and IT Support, Publix Super Markets, Inc.
Employee Benefit Solutions in The Age of PPACA
Join Kate Hubben, a certified self-insurance specialist, specializing in the grocery retail industry, to discuss innovative and cost saving solutions for retail companies in the post-healthcare reform era. Hear about creative plan designs, healthcare captives, private exchanges and other healthcare cost control strategies for the small grocer to the mega-supermarket. Discover how to meet tougher compliance standards with fewer resources and get expert advice to help you plan your employee benefits strategy in the age of PPACA (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act).
Kate Hubben, CSFS, Client Advocate, Human Capital Practice, Willis Group
Using Predictive Analytics to Identify, Measure and Counter The Impact of Non-Traditional Channels
The growth of non-traditional grocery channels such as Amazon, Target, Walmart and Costco is putting pressure on the traditional grocery market, prompting a myriad of concerns and questions. To what extent will this growth have a negative impact on existing warehouse clubs? What can grocers do to mitigate the risks they encounter from these new competitors? How can technology change the landscape and even the playing field? Is social media having an impact on the bottom line and how can we exploit its full value? Join this session to find answers to these questions and learn how leveraging the power of predictive analytics can help retailers identify, measure and counter the impact of non-traditional channels on their business. Discover how this powerful tool can deliver timely, detailed and guided actions to correct business decisions and actions that negatively impact the bottom line and allow traditional retailers to remain competitive in the ever-changing and expanding retail grocery industry.
Deborah Weinswig, Chief Customer Officer, Profitect
Talent Magnetism: How To Create a Workplace That Attracts The Best
What if you could create the type of workplace that attracts the best workers? You don't have to have a Google-sized budget to create an exceptional work environment. Learn what it takes to create a culture of commitment where employees deliver high levels of service because they want to, not just because they have to. Discover five best practices that will help you cut your recruitment time (and budget) in half. Leave with actionable ideas you can immediately use to begin this transformation and achieve extraordinary results across your organization.
Roberta Matuson, President, Matuson Consulting
Guard Your Exits: How To Retain Top Talent in Turbulent Times
What's the point of hiring great people if you can't keep them? Your company is only as good as the talent you keep. How many of your top people are waiting in your departure lounge? Recent surveys indicate that many employees are ready to take flight. Learn how to identify and keep your "keepers"; how to create a workplace that is customer-centric; strategies to engage and retain top performers across the generations and why what you do today matters more than what you do tomorrow.
Roberta Matuson, President, Matuson Consulting
Information Security & Privacy: Are You Ready For a Data Breach?
The statistics are scary. Security experts agree that nearly every industry and every type of data have been involved in a breach in the last 12–18 months. But the news isn’t all bad. Retailers can take measures to protect themselves and their customers. More than 80 percent of current breaches could have been avoided if reasonable security controls had been implemented. Get an overview of the current cyber threats that retailers face in today’s technology-dependent world and discuss strategies they can implement to help mitigate the risks and costs of a breach before it occurs. Learn to distinguish between data privacy incidents and data breaches and their respective legal ramifications and discuss best practices and common pitfalls to avoid in the realm of incident response management.
Andy Obuchowski, Jr., Director, Security & Privacy Consulting, McGladrey LLP
Trade Fund Transparency
Managing gross margin in today’s competitive retail grocery environment requires a higher level of product cost precision and visibility than ever. Supplier trade funds come in many forms and make item level cost visibility complex and difficult to achieve. Discuss the importance for trade fund transparency and share ideas on how a disciplined and structured reporting process can empower your teams with actionable information that could improve your supplier negotiations and help protect your margins.
Facilitators: Paul Dinkins, ATG Technology and John Franklin, Senior Vice President-Controller, Brookshire Grocery Company
An audit of pharmacy transactions helps procurement professionals protect their business interests in a dynamic marketplace with frequent disruptions such as product recalls or shortages. These disruptions impose significant unplanned costs on chain pharmacies, that are frequently underestimated. Discuss how a chain pharmacy can minimize the negative impact and improve predictability of results by regularly reviewing procurement policies, evaluating various scenarios and implementing contingency plans.
Facilitators: Mike Booher, Director of Finance and IT Support and Gary Giger, Audit Director, Connolly LLC
Budgeting/Planning
Harnessing the value of a centralized enterprise budgeting and planning system requires a quick turn around and delivery of easy to use managerial and financial plan vs. actual reporting for all stakeholders. Discuss the benefits of moving from a manual, excel and email based system to an integrated system that updates automatically, reduces errors and provides more granular reporting views. Hear lessons learned from a recent implementation as well as real world, tangible benefits achieved. Share your own experiences and determine how you measure up to your peers.
Facilitator: Chris Morris, Director of Managerial Accounting at Brookshire Grocery Company.
Discuss legislative and regulatory changes that may impact your company in 2014 and beyond. FMI’s government relations team will answer your questions and discuss how FMI represents the retail industry in Washington.
Facilitator: Andy Harig, Director of Government Relations, FMI and Hannah Walker, Director, Government Affairs, FMI
Benchmarking Audit Recovery Practices
Review the results of The Compass Benchmark Recovery Audit survey conducted among top retailers, including several of the largest grocers in the U.S. Discuss key sets of criteria and recommendations for improving insight into recovery audit practices.
Facilitator: Helen Tueffel, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing, APEX Analytix
Join us for a one-of-a-kind experience where you can catch up with old friends and mix and mingle with new acquaintances. At this fun, interactive offsite event, hosted by Flextecs North America, the highly skilled bartenders at SF Mixology will recreate the thrill and intensity of being behind a real bar, complete with time constraints and mixology challenges. You’ll not only enjoy the finest cocktails, but you you’ll also be part of the action yourself. Get a crash course in mixology and bartending basics and taste a chronological journey through cocktail history while learning new skills that can translate back to the professional and personal world. And, for even more networking fun, you’ll use the skills and knowledge you gain to go head to head with your peers to create, innovate, and present competition-level cocktails, with prizes for the winners. The evening will include an open bar (with non-alcoholic options for the teetotalers) and heavy hors d’oeuvres.
Located in the heart of San Francisco's Union Square, Infusion Lounge is the most successful 5-star nightclub in the city and was named by Condé Nast Traveler as one of the world’s hottest nightclubs shortly after it opened on New Year’s Eve in 2009. The venue is approximately 0.5 miles of the Mark Hopkins InterContinental.
RSVP required. Space is limited!