Glen Ryniewski is currently the Assistant Commissioner of Concessions for the Chicago Department of Aviation, with oversight of the O’Hare and Midway Concessions Programs, which has annual sales exceeding $600 million. He has held other positions within the City of Chicago that have included the Chicago Park District as Lakefront Director and Sponsorship Director for the Mayor’s Office of Special Events. Additionally, he has experience in advertising, publishing, real estate, the Executive Branch of the Federal Government, and is an Adjunct Professor at DePaul University and member of their Hospitality Advisory Board. He has a M.A. in Marketing, B.S. in Accounting, B.A. in Economics and is a licensed C.P.A. in Illinois.

Luke Saunders is the Founder & CEO of Farmer’s Fridge. An entrepreneur at heart, Luke started Farmer’s Fridge while working as a traveling salesman after struggling to find fresh, healthy and accessible food options on the road. Since 2013, the rapidly expanding business has grown to more than 500 Fridge locations across the country, launched a home delivery service in 40+ states, and forged partnerships with leading retailers including Target and Amazon Go. Based on their pioneering approach, the company was included as a TIME Top 100 Invention in 2019 and has been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Good Morning America, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Inc., Chicago Tribune, Crain’s, USA Today, NBC Nightly News, Women’s Health, CBS, O! Magazine and many more. As a leader on the rise, Luke was honored as a Forbes “30 under 30” in 2016, a Crain’s Chicago Business “40 under 40” in 2018 and one of Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business” in 2019. Luke graduated from Washington University in St. Louis.

Marcos Acuña is the Founder & CEO of QU!CK Scan&Go, a Miami company whose mission is to bring buying and selling experiences to the 21st century through the use of technology. Marcos is an entrepreneurial leader with 20 years of executive experience in the food and beverage industry. Before founding QU!CK, Marcos led the FAN ID technology project for Latin America. He was Vice President of the Banfield Athletic Club, Chairman of the members subcommittee and Assembly member of the Argentine Soccer Association (AFA).

Gary Arwin founder of Gator Vending, recently rebranded as Gator Refresh, is an innovator in the vending industry having been one of the first vending companies in the US to bring the use of cell phones to the vending industry. In early 2012 Gary began beta testing a new platform called Vuwi (Coin Free) on vending machines that allowed you to use your cell phone to make a purchase. Since then, Gary has used technology throughout his business to increase customer service, improve sales, increase efficiency, reduce costs and continually provide the best end user experience possible. Gary is passionate about using technology to it’s fullest for Gator Refresh and helping others to do the same.

Amanda A Atan is the award winning founder of Vibes Mastery Global Advisory and has multiples awards under her. She has helped many professionals and businesses build themselves as profitable brands with her 20 years of experience and expertise in brand strategy. Her extensive travel and networks in the UAE and globally enhances her portfolio to assist businesses. One Halal Nation is a new brand started in 3 Dec 2019 formerly known as VIBES Gold Vending Retail by VIBES Mastery. Amanda founded and launched the world’s first vending machine that sold Islamic and Halal related products in 2017. The expansion of the vending machines’ distribution into major retail malls grew as Amanda was passionate to assist micro business owners scale up their brandings This project saw extensive media coverage both locally and internationally. Singapore’s Book Of Records recognized the achievement in 2018. Amanda received the Top 50 Asia Pacific Women Leaders Award in 2018.

Louis Baresh holds his bachelor's degree in business management from Oklahoma State University, where he held several leadership positions and interned for two companies in foodservice distribution and software. After graduating in 2019, he worked for Ben E. Keith Food as a DSR before getting promoted to a Supply Chain Specialist. Beginning in April of 2020, Louis changed jobs and came to work for the family company Executive Refreshments. Even though covid had just started, he always says, “I joined the industry at the perfect time.” Since coming on, Louis helped reshape the company’s marketing strategy through a partnership approach and innovative technology, helped diversify their customer base, and strengthened the company culture. With these efforts, Executive Refreshments was able to survive 2020 and see significant growth in early 2021. From his success, he was able to speak at the 2021 NAMA convention about preparing the next generation of leaders in our industry.

Hospitality industry veteran Steve Byrne has developed his experience through many years of travel to locales across the world opening restaurants in Bahrain, Dubai, Amman, Nagoya, Barcelona and Copenhagen to name a few. Fast casual, container parks, fine dining, back stage catering, arenas and casual dining include the variety of different cuisines and service models represented to round off his experience. Steve has had the opportunity to work at a number of high-profile celebrity events and concerts. These exclusive VIP events include a BBQ for Nelson Mandela in Cape Town, South Africa, The launch of MTV into Europe and the Berlin wall concert in Berlin, Germany. Steve studied culinary and hospitality at Hounslow Borough College and Westminster College in London. At 26 took the reigns of an American restaurant in Bahrain where he learned some of the finer arts of Lebanese food. He then worked with Hard Rock Café where he ran food and beverage worldwide, Tavistock Restaurant Collection where he played a major role in the development of several ground up concepts.

Before joining Networld Media Group as Vice President of Events, Cherryh Cansler spent several years as VP of Editorial managing the Networld’s nine B2B publications. Throughout her 20-year career as a journalist, she’s written about a variety of topics, ranging from the restaurant industry and technology to health and fitness news. Her byline has appeared in a plethora of newspapers, magazines and websites, including Forbes, The Kansas City Star and American Fitness magazine. She also serves as the managing editor for FastCasual.com.

Jeremy Cauble is focused on leveraging the latest technology to create new ways to delight customers and provide insightful data to clients through unattended retail stores. With a background in marketing and over 10 years of experience in the industry, he has seen how quickly technology, customer preferences and client expectations change and evolve, especially during the last two years, which is why he emphasizes continuous learning, active listening, unrelenting exploration, and an open mind to see beyond an innovation’s face value and discover all the underlying possibilities for how it can be used within daily business operations.

As Director of Marketing for Innisfree Hotels, Scott Ford oversees all marketing, communications, and public relations for a portfolio of 25 hotels, 20 food & beverage outlets, a mini-golf course, and several philanthropic projects championed by Innisfree. A native of New Plymouth, Idaho, and a U.S. Army veteran, Scott studied International Business at Cal State-Fullerton before founding a successful medical software sales company and co-founding Web Comet, an Internet Service Provider that was acquired by a large, publicly traded tech firm. He is recognized as a top pay-per-click marketer in the country and an expert in the affiliate marketing space. Scott joined Innisfree’s Pensacola Beach Hilton in 2017 and was promoted to Regional Marketing Manager for Pensacola Beach in 2019 and Director of Marketing for all of Innisfree in 2020. After navigating a challenging pandemic year followed by the explosive growth of 2021, Scott helped Innisfree create a new guest experience in 2022 by using QR codes in Innisfree restaurants to show interactive videos of chefs preparing their signature dishes.

Ray Friedrich is a proven entrepreneurial leader with 35 years executive experience in the food and beverage industry. Ray started and grew a food service management company into one of the largest independent operators in Michigan when sold in 2019. Ray is a recognized national industry leader receiving many accolades for creating new and forward-thinking innovations related to the dining and convenience services industry. Ray now works with CEOs and business owners to help their organizations successfully identify, define and execute high-level strategic initiatives designed to meet their long-term goals. Ray is also experienced in executive team building and coaching. He helps to create a team culture of responsibility, collaboration and accountability. Throughout his career, Ray has demonstrated the power of new technologies to significantly transform an organization.

Hank Green is the VP Food & Beverage for AMC Theatres. Hank oversees Food & Beverage execution, innovation and technology, and product development for 600 locations across the US. Over his 25 year career in exhibition Hank has worked in the Food & Beverage area, Dine In Operations and Film Programming.

Lori Haggart has over 20 years’ experience in delivering transformational growth in industry 4.0 top technology and fortune 500 companies. At Honeywell, Lori has created market share, growth and revitalization through the development of a clear strategic vision to deliver results through lean profitable and scalable portfolios including, most currently, vision technology solutions that allow businesses to optimize their workflows and become more productive. Lori is customer focused and a performance driven innovator. Under her leadership, Lori has helped Honeywell’s customers realize continuous business improvement, profitability and increased customer loyalty. Lori has a passion for innovation and exploring what is possible through next generation technology to delight her customers.

Bryan Hebert is currently the EVP of Sales for Nayax and has been involved in the payments industry in various roles since 2004. Prior to serving the unattended market, he had an extensive career in restaurant management, food service and sales. He owned and operated several businesses including a full-service restaurant and banquet service, vending and snack stand business, and a consulting firm. Bryan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from West Chester University of Pennsylvania.

Kevin Hutcheson is a Programs Coordinator with Second Harvest of the Big Bend, a food bank that supports neighbors across an 11-county service area. He specializes in coordinating mobile distributions, as well as running the newly founded, innovative grocery locker program that greatly expands access to food for neighbors in need.

Andrew Kartiganer, owner of Professional Vending Services in Deerfield Beach, Florida, has been in the vending business nearly all of his life, being a second generation vending operator. A graduate of Farleigh Dickinson University in Rutherford, N.J., Andrew served as senior vice president and director of operations for All American Hero, a restaurant franchisor, before owning and operating shopping mall restaurants on his own. He later sold his restaurants and re-entered the vending business with bulk vending. By 2000, he expanded his vending business to include office coffee service and water service. In 2011, he became a Canteen franchisee through an acquisition.

Charles Lee started Palmetto Superfoods in 2018. Palmetto is a Build your own acai bowl & superfood smoothies concept. With his Brazilian born partners Amanda and Thais Moreira who are the creators of the most authentic and delicious açaí, Charles helped introduce healthy California flare in superfoods to compliment their açaí, and brought on a QSR format that focuses on technology innovation to dominate the market and expedite growth, while maintaining profitability. Throughout his time growing Palmetto Superfoods, Charles fueled the technology side by implementing online ordering and operations during their initial launch in 2019. This helped prepare the company during COVID-19 and achieve a successful 2020. That same year, Charles also implemented a self-ordering system touch screen kiosk station by partnering with KIOS. In 2022, Charles and Palmetto Superfoods invested in tech startup, ROBOjuice and beta launched the very first robot making acai bowl & smoothie kiosk.

Steve Lieber is an expert in designing restaurant concepts, operating restaurants and the art of pizza making. Steve won Best Pizza in the USA in 2009 and was the Executive Director of the United States Pizza Team. As Vice President of Franchise Development at BURGERFI International Steve represents both BURGERFI and Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza & Wings brands. Steve leads the team who sold over 150 franchises to over 50 franchise groups. His team has sold franchises in 20+ states and international deals in Kuwait and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Our teams operate close to 200 restaurants in 23 states for both the BURGERFI and Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza & Wings brands. Steve has taught franchisees recruiting techniques, training and operating systems, professionalism, food ordering and preparation, inventory controls, labor controls, local store marketing to increase sales and profitability of all locations. Steve is currently exploring the applications of NFTs for restaurants.

Michael Lovett is CEO of Capital Provisions, a breakroom food services provider in Southern California and also serves as a partner at Legend Capital, an investment fund focused on the convenience services industry that has made investments into over 100 vending operators. Michael’s work has included founding and serving operational roles at Vagabond, a technology provider, Legend Foods, an operator, and Capital Provisions. Prior to his time in the industry, Michael founded CirrusWorks, a network performance optimization company, and Critical Network Productions, a telecom systems integration business that was acquired by Swisscom, where Michael led the global enterprise solutions group.

Todd Madlener’s career spans 30 years in the restaurant industry working for both publicly and privately held companies. Todd joined Coolgreens, a salad forward, down the line fast casual brick and mortar restaurant company in early 2018. An innovative, strategic, and results-driven leader, Todd is driving growth at Coolgreens through 3 different channels. Coolgreens operates corporate restaurant locations in Oklahoma and Florida, as well as franchise locations in Nebraska and Texas. With Coolgreens Market, Todd is leading a team that produces fresh healthy product offerings through their smart fridge kiosk program in the Dallas / Ft. Worth area. Coolgreens Markets places kiosks in high end office complexes, hospitals, and airports, providing freshly made sandwiches, salads, wraps, and healthy snacks to guests that may not have the ability to get away for a meal.

Elliot Maras brings a background covering the retail, foodservice and payments industries, having served as the editor of Automatic Merchandiser Magazine for 20 years and as the founding editor of VendingMarketWatch.com. He is a graduate of the National Automatic Merchandising Association/Michigan State University Executive Development Program, a former board member of the International Foodservice Editors Council, and a winner of the Journalism Award of the Office Refreshment Development Foundation.

Laura McLaughlin is the Vice President of Specialty Leasing for Brixmor Property Group. Laura is responsible for the national specialty leasing efforts focusing pop up & emerging brands/ seasonal retailer stores, Out Of Home advertising/experiential marketing and parking lot community events throughout the portfolio. Brixmor owns and operates nearly 380 retail centers across the country – centers where retailers and communities connect and thrive.

Ryan McWhirter is the VP of Product Management at 365 Retail Markets, located in Troy, Michigan. A graduate of Michigan State University with a degree in Telecommunications, he has a decade of experience in the interactive self-service technology field. Ryan is a solution-oriented professional who has implemented kiosks, digital menu boards, mobile apps and much more across the restaurant, airport and casino industries.

Stratis Morfogen was the partner/owner of several establishments in New York including Club Rouge, Gotham City Diner, Seagrill of the Aegean, Hilltop Diner, Kids Kingdom Amusement Park, Aubar, Sessa, The Grand, Philippe Chow and Jue Lan Club to name a few. Stratis made his most significant mark in the hospitality industry by creating, designing and developing Philippe, a chic and sophisticated yet unpretentious Chinese restaurant on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, with chef Philippe Chow in 2005. With partners Robert “Don Pooh” Cummins and Dave Thomas, Stratis created Brooklyn Chop House. Today, the hard-working third generation restaurateur is flourishing. His new concept Brooklyn Dumpling Shop is the only restaurant that was able to franchise before even opening its flagship store, in addition to being the first contactless restaurant. He’s now gearing up to open a massive Brooklyn Chop House in Times Square in addition to a Greek restaurant called Pappas in Greenwich Village.

Drew Munro is the co-founder and CEO of UpMeals, a Vancouver food tech start-up on a mission to make healthy food accessible 24/7 through technology solutions, such as customized healthy SmartVending machines powered by proprietary management software. Prior to starting UpMeals, Drew founded an award-winning catering company based in Vancouver. He has 12 years of experience curating corporate event experiences, working with organizations such as Facebook, Ferrari, and Amazon to create memorable food experiences. Drew is passionate about the intersection of wellness and technology, food waste reduction, and sustainability.

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.

Drew Patterson has been in the culinary field for over 30 years with experience ranging from private county clubs, corporate restaurants and healthcare. He has participated in and won multiple contests on a local and national level. Drew currently holds an Associate’s Degree in Culinary Arts and a Bachelor’s Degree in food and beverage management. Drew has helped lead teams and has personally participated in The Ohio State Fair, FCCLA, Prostart, ACF Presidents Gala, ACF golf outing, ACF Clambake, Kids in the Kitchen, Skills USA, Taste to Remember, Taste the Future. Drew also currently serves on the board of directors for The Columbus ACF Chapter, Chefs Food advisory committee, Ohio School Nutrition Association and the Association of Healthcare Foodservice. Drew was most recently awarded Columbus Ohio’s “Chef of the Year” award for 2016. Drew is currently a Regional Accounts Manager for Zink Foodservice in Columbus, Ohio focusing on Healthcare and Education facilities.

Jilbert Petrosian has been in the frozen dessert industry for 22 years. He was educated as a Master Gelato Chef in the prestigious Gelato University in Bologna. Since 2001, Jilbert started his business with 19 locations of Gelato stores in the Middle East operating his business from Dubai. In 2012, Jilbert decided to return to the United States and at first started consulting for other gelato / ice cream shop owners. Later he introduced one of the largest Italian ingredient manufacturers, MEC3 to the American market. In 2016 Jilbert decided to create his own line of equipment for the frozen dessert industry. After 7 years of RND, development of prototypes and plenty of trial and error, Jilbert and his team designed the first commercially viable intelligent soft serve vending machine. Together with angel investor Matevos Keleshian, Jilbert founded Golden Goose Enterprises Inc. and iCream Inc. and started installing and operating the iCream vending kiosks and later Pinkberry by iCream Frozen Yogurt machine.

As an Operations Excellence Manager for Aramark Refreshments, Jeff Ping is responsible for driving operational efficiencies for vending and micro markets, as well as strategic partnerships with third party vendors across the US. He is integral in identifying impactful ways to leverage innovation and technology to deliver value and experience to both internal teams and external customers. In his 13 years with Aramark Jeff has held positions of increasing responsibility in both field operations and operational leadership for Aramark Refreshments. Jeff has been recognized as one of Aramark’s Route Sales Manager of the Year. Jeff resides in Cleveland, OH with his wife Patricia and son Killian.

C. J. Recher is Vice President of Marketing for Five Star Food Service, a full-line unattended retail and foodservice operator based in Chattanooga, Tennessee serving the Southeast US as a franchisee of Canteen. C. J. leads a team of marketers that build and support revenue growth programs through new business, same store, and customer retention. He is Co-Founder and Business Manager for Feeding the Future, Inc., Five Star’s non-profit foundation aimed at ending childhood hunger in the Southeast via fundraising and local food bank partnerships. C. J. serves as Vice Chair for Tennessee Automatic Merchandisers Association and is former Chair of National Automatic Merchandisers Association’s (NAMA) Emerging Leaders Network.

Bruce Renard is a businessman, trade association executive, consultant, and attorney with over thirty years of wide ranging experience at the local, state and national level. Bruce began his career specializing in the telecom and related technology industries, where he participated in both governmental and private roles that helped shape and usher in competition across many areas of the telecommunications industry. In recent years, Bruce has turned his attention to the financial services industry, where he helped start and now serves as Executive Director for The National ATM Council, Inc. (NAC), a U.S. trade association representing the Independent/Retail ATM industry. Bruce also runs a legal/regulatory/business consulting firm financial services/telecom firm serving the financial services and telecom industries.

Ayman Rida has over fifteen years of experience in the ATM and Merchant Card Processing industries and more recently founded a cryptocurrency company. He serves as President of all his companies and is focused on driving growth using his real-world experience in deploying/managing self-serve kiosks. Ayman’s successful strategic planning has expanded his companies’ footprint nationwide and led to the startup of Cash2Bitcoin. Cash2Bitcoin started from humble beginnings in local Detroit, experiencing steady exponential growth in its short five-year existence, enjoying a footprint that expands into 17 states and growing.

Alejandro Rodriguez is the Founder and CEO of Pharmabox and its subsidiaries AmeriKiosk and SmartBox Retail. In 2014 Pharmabox was born out of the idea of providing customers with the best over the counter products using the latest technologies in the most convenient way. Seven years later and Pharmabox is more than an idea – it has grown into a huge success. Pharmabox is currently providing services to more than 100 locations around the US and has grown to include subsidiaries like AmeriKiosk – offering Hardware and Software solutions to brands and retailers in a variety of sectors – and SmartBox – an in-store robotic technology solution that addresses shrink while improving the customer experience and increasing ROI.

Josh Rosenberg is a former Executive in the Coca-Cola system, with over 18 years developing his skills from merchandising, service, call center management, sales, marketing, and operational roles. Josh left in 2013 to invest and lead as CEO at Accent Food Services. Josh led Accent from a single state operation to one of the largest multi-state operators in the Convenience Services industry. Over six years, Josh scaled Accent through top line revenue growth of more than 6x, by adding strategic acquisitions, strong existing customer retention, and building a strong culture before moving to an active advisory role in 2019. Since leaving Accent Josh has serviced both private and public boards, executive consulting, speaking, and fundraising.

Pat Sherry is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Liquid Outdoor Media, a technology focused boutique national out-of-home media & sponsorship company. Liquid’s core portfolio products include digital interactive smart kiosks and digital large-format spectacular displays in lifestyle centers, downtown developments and entertainment districts. With over 25 years of experience, and strong relationships with both national advertisers and premiere real-estate developers, Pat has been instrumental in Liquid’s growth and recognition as a leading national outdoor media company.

Chris Smith, owner of Zunzi’s and Zunzibar, has never been one to put off until tomorrow what can be done today. It’s that drive that led him to become a Five Guys franchisee while still in college, going on to open seven locations within eight years. And it’s that same spirit that, upon his first visit to the Savannah sandwich shop Zunzi’s in 2008, drove him to declare that he would one day own the restaurant—a goal he eventually realized in 2014. Smith quickly refined the Zunzi’s concept, narrowing its wide-reaching menu to home in on its South African influences. And as he set about planning an Atlanta location to showcase a new focus on fast casual dining in a fun and energetic atmosphere, he also set his sights on what he sees as a key part of Zunzi’s future success—a company culture founded on the principles of positivity, inspiration and community outreach. In 2021, Zunzi’s relocated its original Savannah location and added Zunzibar, its sister beach-bar concept, creating a model for where Smith aims to take the company next.

Christopher Smith is a Christ follower, a Husband, and a Father. Experienced in Management with a demonstrated history of working in the beverage industry. Skilled in Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Operations Management, Customer Service, Sales, and Sales Operations. Holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) focused in Management Information Systems, from University of South Florida and a Masters (MBA) focused in Executive Leadership from Southeastern University. Currently leads all vending and market operations for Coca-Cola Beverages Florida.

Bill Stutzman, Director of Strategic Initiatives is a networking industry change agent helping today’s Omnichannel Financial Institutions solve technology challenges and meet networking demand. Bill’s expertise in marketing and network services has allowed him to support FIs implementing the many transformational changes impacting the omnichannel branch and how it can positively enhance the customer experience. Bill holds an M.B.A from Columbia University and throughout his career, including senior roles at Time, Inc’s Fortune.com, Entertainment Weekly’s EW.com, and Sprint, he has demonstrated a talent for anticipating trends and capturing value at the right time.

Neil Thompson is Vice President, Digital for HMSHost, a global restaurateur and world leader in delivering innovative dining solutions in travel venues. HMSHost operates locations all over North America, and is part of Autogrill Group, the world’s leading provider of food & beverage services for people on the move. Neil joined HMSHost in 2012 as Vice President, Canada. In this position, he was responsible for the company’s operations in Canadian airports and motorways. In 2020, Neil was appointed Vice President, Digital and is responsible for overseeing the company’s digital strategy and vision. Prior to joining HMSHost, Neil worked as an executive for some of Canada’s most recognizable restaurant brands including Tim Hortons. Neil holds a B.A. from the University of Toronto, and his passion for food led him to attain a Culinary Arts Certificate from George Brown College. He also completed the Hospitality Managers’ Development Course at University of Guelph.

Richard Thompson is the Sales VP, Global OEM within Zebra Technologies which in turn is part of Zebra’s Global Sales & Services organisation. Richard is responsible for the sales of key component technologies which Zebra manufactures and sells to a hugely diverse range of customers around the world who build these components into their own final products. He has a team of 40 specialist sales and support people around the world. Richard has worked in the IT & Telecommunications Industry for almost 30 years and has held sales, management and senior management rolls in a number of global organisations, including Elcom International, Symbol Technologies, Panasonic Computer Products, General Dynamics and Motorola Solutions.

Ravi Venkatesan was appointed Chief Technology Officer in December of 2020. He is responsible for leadership of the company’s architecture, development, network operations and product teams. A proven technology leader with extensive expertise in product development, information systems, software development and program management, Ravi brings more than 20 years of experience in driving innovative change within technology environments. Previously, he was Head of Innovation at Bakkt. He held the dual roles of Chief Technology Officer and Chief Product Officer at Bridge2 Solutions, preceding its sale to ICE, the parent company of Bakkt. Prior to his position at Bakkt, he was the Vice President of Information Technology Strategy and Delivery at Cbeyond.

James Weaver is the Senior Director of Product Marketing Manager at Cradlepoint. With 25+ years of technology experience, James’ analytical-creative approach to marketing has earned him notable awards including the Presidential Award of Excellence, the Gold Award of Distinction, and the Gold Effie Award from the American Marketing Association. Prior to Cradlepoint, James held finance, marketing and product marketing roles at Nortel and Avaya. James has a finance degree from Weber State University and an MBA in Marketing from Vanderbilt University. When not at work, James enjoys outdoor recreational sports and is proud of the fact that he has only had to call search and rescue once.

As an executive producer in the experiential events space, Amy Williams leads projects from the ideation phase through to successful execution. She started her career in the creative field as a graphic designer and became a founding member of what is now the XD Agency. During her 20 years of experience in production, she has delivered live events for a wide variety of segments and brands including Lowe’s, Lego, Cox Communications, Porsche Cars North America, Kia, Caesars, Cartoon Network, and Adult Swim.

Anna Williams is the Vice President of Marketing for Dacra. As Vice President of Marketing, Williams oversees the implementation of the overall brand strategy for Dacra and its related businesses in the U.S. and abroad. This includes managing corporate communications, as well as all visual and verbal manifestations of the brand with external audiences. During the course of her tenure at Dacra, Williams has led the marketing and comprehensive branding efforts in the Miami Design District that distinguish the neighborhood as a major international destination for commerce and culture. Williams served as Vice President of Design Miami/ through 2020, overseeing the financial planning and contributed to the business strategy and expansion planning for the fairs that take place annually in Miami, Florida and Basel, Switzerland. She worked on Design Miami/ starting from its inception and was an integral part of the team that nurtured its international growth over a decade.

Alex Willis is an industry thought leader and author with over 25 years of experience across mobility, messaging and cybersecurity. As BlackBerry’s Vice President of Global Sales Engineering and ISV Partners, Alex leverages his past experience in leading the company’s Professional Services and Carrier Technical Sales organizations, to develop and execute strategies designed to provide the highest levels of cybersecurity protection. Prior to his tenure at BlackBerry, Alex was with Boston Consulting Group and EMC’s Microsoft Consulting Practice. Alex holds a B.A. in Computer Information Systems from Southern New Hampshire University and holds a Cybersecurity program certification from Harvard University. He is a published author, a frequent industry speaker and actively contributes to industry blogs.