Jenifer Brinkman began her professional career in marketing and guest experience with over 6 years of experience in the field, where she has consistently delivered results by crafting customized marketing solutions in the higher education world and creating memorable guest experiences. Recently, Jenifer has pivoted careers to the contract management side of things as Associate Director overseeing food service operations at Nova Southeastern University. Jenifer is passionate about creating innovative solutions and fostering a collaborative work environment to achieve business objectives. She constantly strives for excellence and believes that the key to success is driven by a customer-centric approach and a strong focus on quality.

Kurt Pahlitzsch is Vice President of Operations for Doherty Enterprises, overseeing 83 Applebee’s locations and two Chevys Fresh Mex restaurants. He leads over 4,800 team members across four states. During his 28 years of service with Doherty, Kurt was also responsible for the design, development, and operations of the concepts Spuntino Italian Tapas & Wine bar, Shannon Rose Irish Pub, Chevys Fresh Mex , and Quaker Steak & Lube. During his tenure he has overseen the opening of more than 45 new restaurants. Kurt has been selected to serve on several counsels in multiple brands. Most currently, he serves on the Franchise Operations Counsel, Beverage Counsel, and Restaurant of the Future with Applebee’s. Kurt has been recognized with the following awards, Operations Partner of the Year 2018, Operations Partner of the Year 2020, and Beverage Champion 2022, with recognition for his performance excellence and innovative contributions to the Applebee’s Brand.

Melanie Endres as CEO of Code Factory SL from Spain has been with the company for 15 years. She has helped shift directions from a development company for the world´s first screen reader for mobile devices for the blind and visually impaired to a company that will now bring a revolutionary product to the kiosk world. Taking advantage of the company's expertise in voice enabled products, voice controlled food ordering is the future vision for this company and will take customer experience in the self ordering market to a new level. As a German living in Spain having graduated with a MSc in Scotland, doing business worldwide comes naturally.