Melissa Abbott, Hartman Group’s Director of Culinary Insights, dishes up the latest in food culture and its impact on the food industry. Hartman Group is a leading consumer culture consultancy and primary research firm utilizing a multidisciplinary approach to understand consumers, identify growth opportunities, re-energize brands, create relevant experiences and fuel strategic thinking.

Suzy Badaracco is a toxicologist, chef, and registered dietitian. She holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Criminalistics, an Associates degree in Culinary Arts, and a Masters of Science degree in Human Nutrition.

Cherryh Butler has been a reporter for nearly 10 years, writing on a variety of topics ranging from the restaurant industry to business and health and fitness news. Before joining FastCasual.com as editor, she oversaw KioskMarketplace.com and PizzaMarketplace.com and contributed to RetailCustomerExperience.com. She's also written for several daily newspapers, magazines and websites, including The Kansas City Star and American Fitness magazine.

Cherryh Butler has been a reporter for nearly 10 years, writing on a variety of topics ranging from the restaurant industry to business and health and fitness news. Before joining FastCasual.com as editor, she oversaw KioskMarketplace.com and PizzaMarketplace.com and contributed to RetailCustomerExperience.com. She's also written for several daily newspapers, magazines and websites, including The Kansas City Star and American Fitness magazine.

Rick has spent more than 25 years serving the restaurant industry, both as a service provider and participant. Currently, Rick is vice president of sales for Valiant’s Restaurant division, where he leads a team of sales consultants who perform risk mitigation audits for restaurant operators.

Rob Connelly is the President for Henny Penny, the leader in high quality foodservice equipment designed for easier operation, greater flexibility and lower operating costs. For more information on the company, visit www.HennyPenny.com

Betsy Craig brings 20 years of food service industry experience to MenuTrinfo, LLC a menu nutritional labeling Company. Her commitment to the betterment of the food industry and her desire to affect the dining public are the driving forces behind her new company Kitchens with Confidence, LLC.

Bradley K. Cyprus has more than 20 years experience in the security industry. He manages the development of in-house solutions to validate compliance, and he is a resource that Vendor Safe customers can rely upon to help interpret the PCI standard.

Nate DaPore, PeopleMatter President and Chief Executive Officer As the spirited leader of PeopleMatter, Nate is passionate about providing team members, including his own, with a rewarding workplace experience that values creativity and innovation.

Erle Dardick is a 15-year catering veteran, business turn-around expert and author, and is best known for helping multi-unit restaurant executives create successful catering revenue channels. Erle founded MonkeyMedia Software to provide catering solutions to multi-unit restaurant operators. He also is the author of “Get Catering and Grow Sales! One Monkey’s Perspective: Catering Defined for the Multi-Unit Restaurant Executive.”

Janet Eden-Harris is the CMO and SVP of Strategy for Market Force Information. She joined Market Force from J.D. Power and Associates, where she was VP of its Web Intelligence unit.

Don Fox has 30+ years experience in the restaurant industry. He joined Firehouse Subs in 2003 as director of Franchise Compliance, and was promoted to the position of CEO in 2009.

Jeff is executive vice president at Barkley, an advertising agency in Kansas City, Missouri. He is also the lead editor of MillennialMarketing.com and a co-author of Marketing to Millennials: Reach the Largest and Most Influential Generation of Consumers Ever, which will be available July 17, 2013.

Noah Glass is the Founder & CEO of online and mobile ordering pioneer OLO. Since 2005, OLO has raised $13.75M from PayPal and leading venture capital firms. OLO has been featured on “Good Morning America,” The Wall Street Journal, and ABC World News.

Jitendra Gupta is CEO of Punchh, the only mobile-centric marketing platform for restaurants that uses the power of mobile devices and social networks to drive and measure repeat visits, word of mouth, and referrals.

As VP of marketing, Jason Hamilton makes sure hourly employers are aware of Snagajob's solutions that make it easier for hourly employers to recruit, hire and retain a stronger workforce. He also keeps tabs on the hourly marketplace, analyzing trends and staying one step ahead. Oh, and he had a cameo in a Bollywood film.

Henry Helgeson is the CEO and founder of Merchant Warehouse. He is responsible for driving its future vision and leading day-to-day operations. With decades of experience in the industry, Henry is a recognized expert on the future of retail and payments.

I’ve been passionate about pizza technology since my start in 1994. Since then I’ve worked in marketing and development for several pizza tech firms, founded FireFly Technologies, and now work as Marketing Director at Granbury Restaurant Solutions.

Alicia Kelso is editor of QSRWeb.com and PizzaMarketplace.com.

Harold L. Kestenbaum is an attorney who has specialized in franchise law and other matters relating to franchising since 1977. He is a partner with the national law firm, Gordon & Rees, LLP and is engaged exclusively in the practice of franchise distribution and licensing law, representing exclusively franchisors, both start-up and established. He is a member of the Gordon & Rees Franchise, Distribution and Hospitality Practice Group.

As the founder of P-O-P Content & Communications, Valerie Killifer brings her passion for creative thinking and relationship development to the forefront of her business. She spent 15 years as a professional journalist and continues to write about the brands, people and trends impacting the restaurant industry.

Barry Klein is best known for creating the Ronald McDonald character and led the "You Deserve A Break Today" advertising campaign for McDonald's. In his current occupation as a marketing consultant, Klein has developed business-building concepts, new products and more for Coca Cola, Pizza Hut, Quiznos, Cadillac, Ruby Tuesday, Friendly’s, Perkins, Pay Less Shoes and others. He has been a key contributor to such projects as Stuffed Crust Pizza for Pizza Hut, Prime Rib Subs and Torpedoes for Quizno

John Krebs is a dynamic, seasoned executive with experience in building and growing multi-million-dollar organizations through strategic visioning, expert leadership, and strong operational expertise. Krebs has helped hundreds of foodservice organizations achieve a focus on exceptional results by using his operational and supply expertise in distribution, purchasing and operational management.

D.B. “Libby” Libhart has more than 30 years of experience in the loss prevention industry. He has provided security and safety leadership in retail settings such as department stores, drug stores and quick-service restaurants. Before launching his own company, LossBusters, Libby served as the Senior Director of U.S. Security and Safety for McDonald’s Corp. He entered the QSR industry with Taco Bell and subsequently YUM Brands.

Chris Luo is the VP of Marketing at FiveStars, a loyalty automation platform for small and medium businesses. Previously, he was Head of Global SMB Marketing at Facebook, where he built the global team responsible for SMB adoption of Facebook Ads and Pages. He has also been the Head of Acquisition Marketing, APAC for Google.

Paul McGinnis is the VP of Marketing for Ecolab's Food Safety Specialties division (formerly Daydots). He is an author and a speaker, and currently serves as editor-in-chief of Food Safety Solutions magazine.

As SVP of Product and Marketing, Amanda manages product development of Snagajob's business solutions making it easier for hourly employers to source, hire, manage and train workers. She is also responsible for business development efforts. Oh, and she loves brunch.

Nate Riggs is a content and social media marketing strategist who specializes in the restaurant industry, and leads content marketing programs for the Karcher Group an Ohio-based digital agency. Nate keynotes conferences and private corporate events, and his blog {nateriggs.com} is ranked in the top 100 most influential blogs on social media for business by Junta42, and among the top 500 marketing blogs by Advertising Age.

Vertigo Group USA president Scott Sharon has decades of experience in the sign and menu board industry, and nearly another decade in digital signage. He’s a longtime proponent of, and innovator in, expanding the deployment of digital menu boards in QSRs.

Jon Sooy is VP of Sales and Marketing at Golden Pacific Systems. Dedicated to driving savings with next generation supply chain management solutions, Golden Pacific is revolutionizing the way multi-unit concepts do business.

Darrel Suderman, Ph.D., is president of Food Technical Consulting and founder of Food Innovation Institute. He has held senior R&D;/QA leadership positions at KFC, Boston Market, Church's Chicken and Quiznos and led KFC’s development team of “Popcorn Chicken”, now a $1B international product –invented by Gene Gagliardi.

Marla Topliff, president of Rosati’s Pizza, has helped grow the Chicago franchise from 60 stores in 1999 to the 170 national brand that it is today. She supervises all aspects of marketing, customer service, store communications and vendor relationships.

Lori Walderich is chief creative officer at IdeaStudio, a chain restaurant marketing and promotions firm. Her company helps restaurant clients align their branding and implement strategic marketing plans to achieve consistent, sustainable growth.

Ed Zimmerman is a pizza industry veteran and President of The Food Connector. His almost four decades of foodservice experience includes food manufacturing and distribution leadership, food industry technology, marketing services and restaurant and grocery operations management.