Speakers

Jim Bitticks is the President and Chief Operating Officer for Dave’s Hot Chicken. He oversees the day-to-day operation of the company with direct oversight over operations, training, procurement, construction, and technology. Jim joined the Dave’s team when there were just four restaurants and has helped grow the brand to 150 locations across the U.S., Canada, and the Middle East. Prior to his current role, Jim was the Chief Restaurant Officer and EVP of Operations, Training, and Construction for Blaze Pizza, and oversaw the successful growth of that brand from two restaurants to three hundred seventy-two restaurants before making the move to Dave’s.

Erin Cohee is the Vice President of Digital Customer Experience at OneUnited Bank, America's largest Black-owned bank and first Black-owned digital bank. OneUnited's mission is to use technology to close the racial wealth gap, provide best in class financial services and to make financial literacy a core value of the Black community. At OneUnited, Erin is responsible for increasing customer engagement and enhancing new product innovation. She spearheaded the expansion of the Bank’s ATM network to 100,000+ surcharge-free ATMs, the largest network in the country. Cohee implemented the OneUnited Customer Success team, a staff of dedicated professionals who are responsible for providing proactive data-driven customer service. She also launched Card Command, an innovative and simple to use card management solution. Erin has a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and a Master's in Management, Information Systems and Digital Innovation from the London School of Economics.

Arman Oganesyan is one of the original founders of Dave's Hot Chicken. In early 2017, Arman and two childhood friends started Dave's Hot Chicken in a Hollywood parking lot. In less than a year's time, they opened their first brick and mortar location. Restaurants number two and three followed soon after. Today, there are 150 Dave's Hot Chicken restaurants open with many more coming soon. Prior to co-founding Dave's Hot Chicken, Arman was an aspiring actor and stand-up comedian.

Mark Stutzman serves as chief technology officer (CTO) for AREA15, the world’s first purpose-built immersive entertainment district located minutes from the Las Vegas Strip. Offering live events, immersive activations, monumental art installations, extraordinary design elements, unique retail, ground-breaking technology, bars and eateries and much more, AREA15 continues to grow in Las Vegas and across the globe. Welcoming nearly 4 million visitors since opening its doors in 2020, AREA15 Las Vegas will soon expand across 20 acres to its north. In addition, AREA15 announced its first licensed pop-up location as part of Riyadh’s Boulevard World and its second permanent location coming to Orlando in 2024. As CTO, Stutzman establishes and implements AREA15’s technical vision and infrastructure to bring the immersive entertainment and retail complex to life. Working collaboratively and cross-functionally with development and construction, design, marketing, production and operations, he built the technology infrastructure that enhances the visitor experience at AREA15.

Jerone Abueva is responsible for Business Development and creating new solutions to our customers’ real world problems. With experience in Business Development and Strategy globally across B2B verticals such as technology, finance, and government; Jerone brings a wealth of knowledge and of experience in Co-creating solutions with clients to drive their business growth. She recently joined Samsung B2B Mobile in 2022. Prior to Samsung she created and launched VCCP Singapore’s B2B offering, where she led strategic go-to-market strategies for global, regional and local B2B clients.

Sean Albertson has been a customer experience leader for over 20 years, helping great companies like Charles Schwab and others in Telco and Financial Services create great CX for their customers. Sean specializes in the intersection of survey programs, text and journey analytics with operational metrics and the use of AI to bring out the power of those programs.

Bob Andersen is highly regarded as a restaurant industry leader with a successful track record in growing emerging restaurant brands. He has developed a unique and diverse perspective in all aspects of the restaurant business. His experience spans C-level and senior executive positions; to launching a restaurant start-up; to owning, developing and operating restaurants as a multi-brand franchisee; and serving as an area developer/representative. Brands he has worked with include: Jimboy's Tacos, Sunny Street Cafe, Cowboy Chicken, Twin Peaks, MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes, and Boston Pizza. At The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill, Bob is helping the brand carve out a niche in the "fine fast casual" space. The concept currently has 30 locations in 12 states with 48+ units in active development.

Gary Ash serves as Working Solutions’ Senior Vice President and is responsible for Sales and Business Development. Gary focuses on solving CX challenges for large and mid-sized companies and was instrumental in delivering more than 30% organic growth for Working Solutions in 2022. Prior to Working Solutions, Gary served as the Vice President of Network Solutions for Bearcom, a privately held communications company as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Spok, a publicly traded software and telecom company, where he was responsible for Customer Experience and Call Center Operations. Previously, he was with Coopers & Lybrand early in his career.

Justin Bartek recently joined Dog Haus Worldwide as the Vice President of Marketing where he will specialize in building brand identities through data-driven decisions and highly valued partnerships and collaboration within organizations. Justin will handle strategic brand management, conduct market research, and help take Dog Haus and The Absolute Brands to the next level. Prior to joining the Dog Haus team Bartek has spent nearly 20 years in marketing for various restaurant concepts such as JINYA Holdings, The Halal Guys, Veggie Grill, Qdoba Mexican Grill and Baja Fresh. Bartek has played a key role in helping grow them from regional sensations into national and international brands. Justin currently lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife Rebecca and daughter Olivia.

Robyn Breshears is the Executive Director of Sales Service and Support at Arvest Bank. She and her teams support 220 branches within the Arvest network by managing sales, products, services, and associate development for the Arvest Bank retail support system. Robyn is passionate about leading and mentoring associates to help them achieve their career goals. She’s instrumental in working with retail teams to delight and exceed customer expectations. When not at work, Robyn finds joy in spending time with her family and friends, riding motorcycles, caring for her parents and playing with grandchildren.

Brad Browder is the Chief Executive Officer of HTx Services. HTx is a multi-vendor ATM and IT services provider based in New York. The company provides technical resources across the country to support financial institutions in their branch, headquarters and operation center facilities. With more than 30 years of industry experience, he leads HTx Services with a passion for customer engagement, service excellence, and HTx’s employees. Prior to joining HTx, Brad served as the Chief Executive Officer of Pendum, the nation’s largest third-party service organization for ATM and self-service devices in the retail (ISO/IAD) and financial institution markets. Before Pendum, Brad had a 15-year career with Diebold, most recently as Vice President of Sales Operations. Brad holds a B.A. in Economics from Indiana University in Bloomington, IN and earned his MBA from Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH.

Daniel Brown is a member of the ICXA Advisory Board. He is also the editor of Digital Signage Today, a contributing editor for automationandselfservice.com, and an accomplished writer and multimedia content producer with extensive experience covering technology and business. His work has appeared in a range of business and technology publications, including interviews with eminent business leaders, inventors and technologists. He has written extensively on AI and the integration of technology and business strategy with empathy and the human touch. Brown is the author of two novels and a podcaster. His previous experience includes IT work at an Ivy League research institution, education and business consulting, and retail sales and management.

Marbue Brown is the author of the book Blueprint for Customer Obsession and founder of The Customer Obsession Advantage, a firm dedicated to helping companies achieve extraordinary business results through Customer Obsession. He is an accomplished customer experience (CX) executive with a track record of thought leadership and signature business results at some of the most iconic companies on the planet, including JP Morgan Chase, Amazon.com, Microsoft Corporation, and Cisco Systems. Marbue's book, Blueprint for Customer Obsession, was featured in the Forbes article The Top Ten Business Books for 2022 by Shep Hyken. He co-authored oft-cited classic articles about customer experience measurements. His expertise has been featured on some of the largest radio stations and networks across the country as well as on some of the most widely distributed syndicated radio programs, including The Wharton Business Daily, This Morning with Gordon Deal and America in the Morning with John Trout.

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.

Kristi Carlson is the Vice President of Ecommerce, Marketing and Data Warehouse Technologies at Kendra Scott. As a diverse, data-driven executive leader with extensive experience in the retail and finance sectors, she has led global teams through multiple market transformations, and has built high performing technology and business teams from the ground up. Prior to joining Kendra Scott, she spent 14 years at Whole Foods Market, managing teams across digital technology, operations, retail systems and logistics. She is passionate about mentorship, diversity and collaboration and is a strong champion of women’s advancement.

Shelly Chandler is a senior customer experience strategist and leader delivering proven results that increase revenue, reduce costs and make things easier for customers. In a specialized profession that requires more than measuring and monitoring data, her career as a customer catalyst has helped companies to drive action within organizations that are ready for this type of change. Shelly specializes in transforming the highest-level blue-sky visions into tangible programs to support it, creating strategic change with others to enhance customer experience. Shelly has worked in many different industries, adding strategic value and broad understanding of the CX profession over the past 25 years. Key verticals include B2B and B2C, Hospitality, Automotive, Transportation, Manufacturing SaaS, and Financial Services, with brands such as PNC Bank, Wells Fargo, Moen, Penske, Walmart, Forsta, and American Tire.

Arthur Cooksey serves as the Chairman and CEO of Let’s Talk Interactive, Inc. (LTI), leading the corporate strategy and development to drive the adoption of LTI’s suite of products and services. He founded the technology platform in 2001 as a way to provide consumers with access to qualified and licensed behavioral health professionals, which he later evolved into customized services and telehealth technology that LTI is known for today. The platform, a recipient of The 2020 Zoom ISV Inaugural Trailblazer Award, No. 496 on the 2022 Inc. 5000 list of Fastest-Growing Companies, is having a major impact on expanding access to care for many organizations including schools, skilled nursing facilities, nonprofits, child welfare organizations, and more. For example, in the Florida Panhandle region, championed by Florida’s First Lady Casey DeSantis and her Hope for Healing Initia-tive, LTI’s telehealth program placed telehealth kiosks in 63 public schools throughout the region.

Bradley Cooper is the editor of ATM Marketplace. He was previously the editor of Digital Signage Today, Kiosk Marketplace and Blockchain Tech News. His background is in Information Technology, Advertising, and Writing.

Ruth Crowley is a retail veteran with diverse experience across functions with some of the most Iconic Global Brands in the industry. Brands include Harley-Davidson, M&M Mars, Universal Studios, Lowe’s Home Improvement and Nascar. Today she is VP over Brand Strategy for Hudson Group, a division of Dufry, Together the largest Travel Retailer in the world. Ruth is a Customer Experience advocate continuing work to elevate the Customer Experience at all touchpoints along the Customer journey including concepts and mixed use solutions in Travel Retail. Ruth is a member of the ICXA Advisory Board and serves on the Board for UNT College of Retail, Merchandising, Tourism and Hospitality.

Devin Cygnar serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Northwest Bank, a $14 billion regional bank serving Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and Indiana. Devin is a passionate career marketer focused exclusively in banking and financial services. His experience spans consumer, small business and mortgage banking segments within firms of varying sizes, including PNC Bank and Fifth Third Bank. Active in his community, Devin serves on the board of the Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestra, Ohio DECA and is a graduate of Leadership Pittsburgh.

Alex DeJesus is the Vice President of Member Experience for Addition Financial. He represents the voice of the members and of the Addition Financial work force, to help identify and eliminate areas of friction throughout the Credit Union. Alex also leads to the overall goal of membership and asset growth of the Credit Union and manages the contact center of the organization. In addition, he dedicates time to research new technologies and consumer trends for a proactive approach to any necessary pivotal change. Alex brings over 24 years of experience in the financial industry with a bachelor’s degree in business management and a certification in executive coaching. Alex is motivated by mentoring and coaching anyone who wants to excel in their careers and strives to make a positive impact in the lives of the people he interacts with.

Since childhood, Evan Ellis has been passionate about technology and seamlessly integrated this love into his sales profession. With 13+ years in the tech industry, his current focus at Creatio is empowering Banks with their One platform to automate banking workflows and CRM with no-code. He finds true purpose in assisting clients to overcome challenges and pain points through innovative technological solutions like Creatio. When not working with banking thought leaders, you can find him boating/fishing out on the ocean with his wife (Bree) and two daughters, Ozzie (2) and Zadie (7 going on 17). He also enjoys building things (furniture), watching/playing any sport, and being outdoors.

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.

Dan Fisher has been involved in call center leadership for the past 30 years in a wide range of operations capacities. Dan started his career leading customer service operations for a commercial lending division of CitiGroup in 1993. Over the past 30 years, Dan has worked with organizations in the Financial Services and Automative industries deploying call center operations, leading global workforce management and managing international site operations. Currently, Dan leads call center operations for the connected services division of the world’s largest automative OEM.

Mike Guinan has worked in many roles since he started at White Castle more than 39 years ago. He began his career in the castle learning all aspects of customer service while he was still in high school. Mike rapidly moved up into more prominent roles, his current role is Vice President Operations Services. As the Vice President of Operations Services Mike’s responsibilities include overseeing  Destination restaurant (Castle)  locations, the Real Estate, Construction, Engineering  teams  as well as being responsible for leading the restaurant divisions company work plan  Mike currently leads projects such as Robotics (Flippy at the Fryer)  as well as Automations (Julia our drive Thru AI). Mike revels in helping people to be all they can be and says that is one of his greatest rewards at White Castle.

Josh Halpern is the Chief Executive Officer for Big Chicken. Josh is a dynamic, partnership-focused, thought leader with a robust career in streamlining efficiency, driving innovation, building diverse engaged teams, and growing economic results across the CPG, retail, and restaurant verticals. Most recently, Josh served as the Chief Sales Officer for FIFCO USA, the 8th largest US brewing company, where he was responsible for commercial operations and building top and bottom-line results for Off-Premise, On-Premise, and company-owned brewpubs. Prior, Josh led the Anheuser-Busch InBev, On-Premise and Small Format channels in the US, and Shopper Marketing globally.

Eric Healy is a highly motivated and results-driven CEO with over 20 years of experience in leading and scaling organizations; delivering successful growth strategies; and empowering teams to reach their full potential. Across his career, Eric has pioneered new businesses, new technologies and new markets. He is a seasoned sales, marketing, strategy, and business executive who has worked with globally recognized brands across worldwide advertising, digital marketing, and technology organizations. Here, he has found great success in the application and use of emerging growth technologies to transform businesses, while deepening levels of customer engagement in today's increasingly, convergent world. In 2022, Eric was appointed as CEO and Board Member of customer intelligence software provider, Stratifyd bringing a wealth of enterprise software experience from leading cybersecurity, digital marketing, e-commerce, and technology-led, customer engagement services organizations to his new role.

Amy Hom is the Chief Operating Officer and Chief People Officer at Bluestone Lane. She is leading and driving the culture within the organization, the human resources team as well as other departments such as training and development. In addition to serving as a Chief People Officer, she has led operations in large organizations as well as food safety, training, and culinary teams. Amy has more than 25 years of experience in the restaurant industry and has served in operations leadership roles for fine dining, casual dining and fast casual brands. Before joining Bluestone Lane, Amy led the North America retail and restaurant operations leadership team for REEF Technology Global, served as the Vice President of Operations with Sweetgreen, Red Robin and was the Senior Operations Director of Wolfgang Puck Catering. She has served in operations leadership roles for California Pizza Kitchen where she built a strong management foundation from where to continue to learn, grow and develop others.

Troy Hooper joined Pepper Lunch as one of the three global business unit CEO’s for the brand, and oversees Pepper Lunch’s parent company in North America, Hot Palette America. Troy brings 30 years of unparalleled experience in hospitality, operations management and executive leadership to this role, which has fueled Pepper Lunch’s infrastructure development, growth efforts, and brand deliverables, creating a fruitful franchise model for the North American market. Throughout his career, Troy has successfully built new concepts, rebranded existing restaurants, and improved well-established venues for iconic brands. Troy’s decades of experience and business acumen brings a breadth of knowledge to the rapidly growing global brand, Pepper Lunch.

Elad Inbar is the founder and CEO of RobotLAB, a unique company dedicated to making robots smart and useful in multiple industries, including education, hospitality, restaurants, hotels, assisted living facilities, etc. His current ventures in robotics and education have received wide publication and recognition in Time Magazine, The New Yorker, Tech Crunch, IEEE, NBC, Financial Times, Fast Company, CNET, San Francisco Chronicle and other media outlets. He shares his experience as a keynote speaker in many events such as SxSW, National Restaurant Association, Florida Lodging and Restaurant Association, and TCEA, ACTE, FETC and many others. Elad also sits on the Forbes Technology Council. With parallel careers in academia and technology, Elad is uniquely qualified to bridge the cutting-edge robotics industry and the educational and retail markets.

Winston Kelley is Executive Director of the NASCAR Hall of Fame and Vice President, Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority. Prior to joining the CRVA in 2006 when development of the NHOF began, Kelley spent more than 27 years with Duke Energy in a wide variety of managerial and executive capacities including Vice President, Government and Business Relations and Vice President, Economic and Business Development. Kelley began his motorsports career in 1981, joined the Motor Racing Network radio broadcasting team in 1987 and served as lead pit reporter for 18 years before stepping away full time at the end of the 2020 season. The NHOF serves as the recognized home for honoring NASCAR’s legends, evolving history and celebrated heritage and family-oriented traditions; drives economic impact for the Charlotte Region as a signature, must-experience iconic landmark; delivers memorable customer experiences and provides inspiring education and public program experiences through the sport’s legacy of innovation.

David Kepron is the VP – Brand Experience and Design Strategy at the Montreal-based architecture, design and strategy firm aedifica. He brings together his background as an architect, artist, educator, author, podcast host and builder to the making of meaningful and empathically-focused, communitycentric customer connections at brand experience places around the globe. David is a former VP - Global Design Strategies at Marriott International. While at Marriott, his focus was on the creation of compelling customer experiences within Marriott’s “Premium Distinctive” segment which included: Westin, Renaissance, Le Meridien, Autograph Collection, Tribute Portfolio, Design Hotels and Gaylord hotels. In 2020 Kepron founded NXTLVL Experience Design, a strategy and design consultancy, where he combines his multidisciplinary approach to the creation of relevant brand engagements with his passion for social and cultural anthropology, neuroscience and emerging digital technologies.

Steven King is an associate professor of innovation and emerging technologies at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill holding a joint appointment with the Hussman School of Journalism and Media and Kenan-Flagler Business School. He combines computer science concepts, human-centered design and storytelling to create new ways to present information through emerging technologies such as virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and other interactive media forms. Steven is the Chief Innovations Officer of UNC Blue Sky Innovations, which leverages emerging technologies to solve difficult problems for corporations and is working to invent the future of higher education. The joint program with Kenan-Flagler Business Schoool and the Hussman School includes ground-breaking research in applied uses of Emerging Technologies. He is an award-winning journalist and former Editor of Innovations and Director of Video for The Washington Post with a master’s in computer science.

EJ Kritz is a seasoned strategist, trainer, and keynote speaker with extensive experience working for some of the finest brands in Financial Services, Retail, Call Center, Franchising, and Media. As the Executive Vice President of apc's Training, EJ supports banking organizations of all sizes to build and deliver world-class training solutions focused on such critical topics as Customer Experience, Leadership, Management, Needs-Based Sales, Employee Engagement, Problem Resolution, and more.

With over 30 years of industry experience, Jean-Pierre Lacroix has garnered a reputation as a visionary design thinker, strategist, author, and speaker. Through an unwavering focus on future-proofing brands, Jean-Pierre is driven to produce measurable results through strategic insights that help brands own the at-purchase moment. Since the opening of Shikatani Lacroix Design (SLD), Jean-Pierre has grown his company into one of the most respected multi-disciplinary strategic design agencies in the world. Along the way, he has served as a board member of numerous associations and councils, as well as authored four books: The Business of Graphic Design, Belonging Experiences, Desire by Design, Think: The Future of Retail Banking, and most recently, Think: Inspiring the Future of Retail.

Alicia Lavay is the executive director of the ICX Association and brand director for Networld Media Group. She is the former president and publisher of Vending Times, and as a seasoned executive and business owner, Lavay brings more than 35 years of strong media and communication skills with a demonstrated history in publishing, customer relationship management, media buying and media relations, along with 20 years of experience in digital strategy centered around the customer experience.

Amber LeGrett manages the Voice of Client program that encompasses Bank of America’s 3,900 financial centers that serve more than 68 million U.S. consumer and small business clients. She is responsible for driving client experience initiatives and programs designed to improve overall client satisfaction, leveraging survey analytics and feedback processes. Amber started her career at Bank of America in 1998 as a financial center manager. She has since held multiple roles in the consumer bank from leading the company’s financial centers in Atlanta to developing national strategies to ensure a consistently exceptional experience for every client who visits a financial center.

Melissa Li is a consumer VC focused on commerce and web3 startups at seed stage. Having advised entrepreneurs across CPG and media on community-building and GTM strategy, Melissa is interested in how mature fast casual players can too experiment with leveraging new media (including web3 experiences) and alternate channels for viral growth. Melissa brings extensive knowledge on the Gen Z consumer, having frequently delivered marketing workshops on building iconic brands and Gen Z customer communities. She has also served as Head of Community for Dorm Room Fund (backer of Snackpass, Bevspot, VERB Energy, Proper Good, Spyce Kitchen, Bevi, and The Rounds — all of which got their start on university campuses), helping portfolio companies devise retail activations and community flywheels.

Steve Lieber is an expert in designing restaurant concepts, the art of pizza making and is a certified pizzaiolo from Italy. As Vice President of Franchise Development, 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 built systemwide restaurant sales of $100+ million USD in under 5 years. Steve was on opening restaurant teams for 10+ states in the United States. He 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.

Joe Loparco has dedicated his entire 45+ year career to the vending industry, showcasing his versatility and entrepreneurial spirit. He started by selling coin and currency counting machines in New York City before working for Bally Manufacturing in Chicago. Returning to Connecticut, he founded a business selling used vending machines and built a successful amusement operating company. In the 1980s, Loparco recognized the growth potential in the Southeast US and acquired Service America's refurbishing center in Charlotte, NC. However, in 1995, he decided to explore new horizons and headed to Russia to pioneer the vending industry there. His accomplishments in Russia include developing the first bill validator for the Russian ruble and securing a contract to install machines in Moscow schools. After divesting his interests in the operating company in 2005, Loparco returned to Southern California to establish new roots in the industry.

Chris Lorenzo is an experience optimizer who has spent nearly three decades committed to one philosophy: Product and technology are not enough – you must place the customer at the heart of every decision. His track record includes leadership in design, development, and delivery of world class omni-channel journeys across retail, formal wear rental, and custom clothing. Grounded in a belief that life’s most meaningful moments should involve high-quality, convenience and affordable options, Chris has recently joined Generation Tux. Founded by George Zimmer, GenTux has earned a reputation for shaking-up the men’s fashion industry through innovation on everything from inspiration to fit to delivery, all from the comfort of your own home.

Jason Mariasis is a results-driven entrepreneur and human-centered product leader with a track record of building, shipping and scaling disruptive products globally for Fortune 500 companies and startups. He currently serves as the Vice President of Digital Product Management & Customer Experience for Credit One Bank, one of the fastest-growing financial institutions with 15M+ customers, where he is responsible for leading digital product strategy and transformation initiatives. Jason has successfully built and sold blank-page startup businesses as well as launched and managed multimillion dollar product lines and business units for some of the world’s leading companies such as Capital One, U.S. News & World Report, Vistaprint and Sterling. Jason has been recognized as a “Top 100 Innovator and Entrepreneur” by the Top 100 Magazine, and as a “40 Under 40” recipient by Business Elite. He has also been named as a Future Leader by a prominent Massachusetts newspaper, and featured in the New York Times.

Katie Meyers is an accomplished and driven professional with a passion to continuously innovate and enhance client experience in a rapidly-evolving financial landscape. She has been a valued member of the Manasquan Bank team since 2009 and has steadily climbed the ranks over the years. Her outstanding work ethic, creativity, and dedication to excellence have earned her multiple promotions within the company. She has extensive knowledge of brand management, internal communications, and marketing strategy, all of which is invaluable in her leadership position. With the recent completion of her Master of Arts in Communications from Monmouth University, Katie is well poised to further elevate the Manasquan Bank’s client experience practice. As the appointed CXO, Katie leads the charge of developing an overall strategy that will culminate in the continuous improvement of the Bank's service and experience.

Josephine Moran is the President and CEO of Ledyard Financial Group, Inc., headquartered in Hanover, New Hampshire. Josephine is a member of the Board of Directors as well as member of the Bank’s Executive Committee. With over twenty-five years of leadership experience in the financial services industry, Josephine Moran has substantial expertise in community banking, investment services, residential and consumer lending, business banking, small business and customer experience. She has a proven track record of developing and leading high-performing teams with the ability to initiate change, influence outcomes, and develop and execute strategic plans. Prior to joining Ledyard, she was the Executive Vice President, Chief Corporate Services and Consumer Lending Officer at Provident Bank, as well as EVP, Head of Retail. Ms. Moran has held various Executive Leadership positions in several organizations throughout her career including Wachovia /Wells Fargo, Santander, Columbia and Webster Bank.

Dan Morton is VP, Guest Experience, at Hilton, where he's responsible for guest-facing technologies like Digital Key, Connected Room, Messaging, Chatbots, and Payments for Hilton's many brands worldwide. Previously, Dan led Product and Partnerships for Bose, a class-leading consumer audio company. He has also worked as a co-founder at consumer technology startups, an Assistant Professor at Berklee College of Music, an engineer, and a composer. He holds an MS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a BS from Texas A&M.

Glenn Murray has worked in the payments industry for over 20 years in various roles. He currently serves as Vice President – Strategic Growth for Sutton Payments a division of Sutton Bank, the issuer behind several high-profile programs including Robin Hood, Door Dash, Instacart and many others. His team oversees business, product and partnership development for the division. He has held positions in business development, product marketing and relationship management at Discover, MasterCard, and PayPal. He is a native of Memphis, TN and has a BA from DePaul University in Chicago. He’s co-authored 4 books on various topics and enjoys travel including frequent trips to Napa Valley.

Lindsey Ogan is the Marketing Director for Stride Bank, N.A. Stride is the bank behind brands like Chime, DoorDash, and Lyft. She has over a decade of experience in growth marketing and revenue optimization roles, and in 2021, she was named to American Banker’s Most Powerful Women in Banking: Next list. Ogan is an interdisciplinary professional that specializes in designing, optimizing, and scaling revenue strategies by aligning the disciplines of innovation, product management, marketing, and analytics in order to gain market share and maximize profitability. She sees modern marketing as a strategic driver of business outcomes and a cross-functional catalyst, breaking down silos and orchestrating processes across functional teams to execute more effective and efficient strategies in key growth areas.

Courtney O’Regan is SVP, Director of Marketing at Middlesex Savings Bank, one of the oldest and largest mutual banks in the country. In her time at the bank, Courtney has led exciting projects such as a rebrand, social media launch, digital marketing strategy, and most recently –the development of a formal customer experience program. She holds a BS in Mass Communications and Public Relations from Boston University.

Michael Pace wakes up each day envisioning how he can inspire companies to create environments, journeys, and actions that help make their customers more successful. He believes wildly successful companies start with successful customers and associates. His drive is to engineer monumental and awe-inspiring customer experiences; he builds cathedrals of customer experience. Starting with a solid foundation of Culture, the Best Talent, Process Management, the Right Technology, and Data Insights, he constructs the pillars of a customer experience strategy for contact center or customer care teams, and delivers awe-inspiring experiences. Currently, he builds those experiences for Virgin Pulse, as their Vice President of Global Member Services and Operations in Providence, RI. He is also the President of the NorthEast Contract Center Forum, New England’s Largest Community of Customer Service and Contact Center Professionals. He was the 2022 CCW Leader of the Year, 2022 CCW Best Culture winner, and 2022 Runner Up Best in Class Contact Center (100+ seats).

Sarah Rigsbee is the CFO at Farmer's Fridge with responsibility for finance, accounting, data analytics, legal and corporate HR. In her role, she leads development of the company's financial plans and forecasts, analysis and communication of performance, and interfaces accordingly with investors. She is also responsible for the full lifecycle of the corporate employee experience, from recruitment to retention and offboarding. Sarah started with the company in 2018 and prior to Farmer's Fridge, Sarah spent nearly 10 years at The Boeing Company, where she held several roles in financial and cost accounting, FP&A and corporate strategy. Sarah holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Masters of Business Administration from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She lives in Chicago with her dog and is an avid traveler.

Robin Robison brings more than 16 years of restaurant experience to her role as vice president of operations at Modern Market Eatery based in Denver, Colo. With past leadership roles at Red Robin, Bob Evans and Chili's, Robin's extensive experience has uniquely prepared her for creating and executing winning operations strategies across Modern Market Eatery's 30+ units. During her time with Brinker, Robin served as the project leader for the Leadership Principles for Women Task Force, which she formed to help create “best in class” women’s leadership and mentorship programs. This collaborative effort earned Robin the Women’s Foodservice Forum Leadership Award, which is given each year to a woman executive in the foodservice industry who shows exceptional leadership qualities within her company and the industry at large, and whose professional growth and achievements are recognized through career advancement. Robin believes in doing things the hard way such as building people, not restaurants and serving vibrant dishes passionately crafted from scratch.

Glen Ryniewski is Director of Soaring Strategies which specializes in business development within U.S. and international airports. He has over 20 years’ experience in the Aviation industry serving as the Assistant Commissioner of Concessions and Customer Service for the Chicago Department of Aviation with oversight of O’Hare and Midway International Airports. Additionally, he works with the Executive Branch of the Federal Government, and has experience in advertising, publishing, real estate, and is an Adjunct Professor at DePaul University and member of their Hospitality Advisory Board.

Darren Spicer is the CEO & Co-Founder of Clutch Coffee Bar, a premium drive-thru beverage brand based in the Carolinas. A transformative leader, Darren helps companies grow in a way that positively impacts society and cultivates a sense of community. Under his leadership, Clutch has grown rapidly to multiple locations and established a fanatically loyal, recurring customer base through unparalleled customer experience, speed, quality, and investment in local communities and charities. On a mission to bring the future of drive-thru coffee to the Eastern Seaboard, Darren specializes in culture building, business development, trend forecasting, and new product and technology innovations. Darren has a wealth of experience and a proven track record of success in the fast-casual food industry, having worked his way up the ranks holding management roles at drive-thru coffee chains such as Dutch Bros, where he successfully helped launch de novo locations in California before going on to found Clutch in 2018.

Chris Stamper is currently Senior Vice President, Strategy, Transformation and Business Development with Hudson’s Bay. Previous to that Chris was the Interim leader of Marketing Technology, Analytics, Media, Targeted Marketing, and Marketing Operations for HBC. Chris works directly with the Executive team and business units to lead strategy operations, acts as a strategic thought partner for the omni Hudson’s Bay business including Zellers, identifying strategic opportunities to help drive the evolution of the business, accelerate results and reach HBC’s customer. Chris is known for leading transformative change in dynamic and fast paced environments to set businesses up for short term and long term success. Chris is a recognized champion, advocate and ally for diversity and inclusion. His people first approach attracts top talent, enables teams to develop and grow and drives strong followership. Chris is a former Senior Vice President with TD Bank. Chris held a number of progressively senior roles in a variety of areas across the bank.

Samuel Stanovich is part of the leadership team of Big Chicken. Prior to joining Big Chicken, Samuel worked with Firehouse Subs brand as an Area Representative and Franchisee. Samuel’s past experiences include: Director Partner Product Development & Industry Relations, National Restaurant Association, President & CEO of the Heritage Corridor Convention and Visitors Bureau, in addition, he is a 12-year veteran of Marriott International. In 2020 Samuel co-authored the top catering book “Catering Domination” and is co-host of the Takeout, Delivery and Catering podcast. Samuel is an alum Johnson and Wales University and adjunct faculty at the College of DuPage.

Tommy Terrell serves as Creative Project Manager for Taziki’s Mediterranean Café. Tommy joined Taziki’s in 2013 and has been instrumental in Taziki’s brand growth to over 100 stores in 17 states. Prior to his role with Taziki’s, Tommy was a director of marketing in the dental industry. He is directly involved with strategy and development for the marketing team at Taziki’s, where they are primed for aggressive growth in 2024 and beyond.

Mack Turner is the founder of Mack Turner Marketing Consulting and Insights and is the former Marketing Research and Insights executive for Bank of America. He has hands-on and leadership experience in marketing research, analytics, and customer satisfaction management experience. He has led research for global marketing, consumer banking, investment banking and advertising strategy. Mack also was the customer experience executive for NationsBank for the Carolinas. Mack’s professional interests include Consumer Psychology, Futurist Studies, Systems Thinking and Decision Risk Modeling. Mack has served as the chair of the Marketing Science Institute’s Advisory Council and is a member of the American Marketing Association. He has his MBA and BA from the University of South Carolina in Columbia.

Rick Welch is a results-driven Operating Manager with over 26 years of progressive management responsibilities in field operations, client services management, service sales, and business development. He has delivered strong performance against service level agreements and budget goals. Rick provided leadership, guidance, and direction to develop Kodak Moment’s services and solutions for a new customer. He developed new portfolio of service offerings that created unique value and drove operational enhancements and top-line improvements for the customer. He is the point of contact for any operational issues with Sr. Account Executives as well as the liaison between the Account and Kodak Moments planning and field teams. He is responsible for developing and driving operational efficiencies with internal and external constituents to drive cost efficiencies and promote overall Service revenue growth.

Dave Wurm, Chief Sales Officer at Networld Media Group (NMG), leads the entire sales team with an impressive 21-year journey, starting from an AE to now overseeing 10 online news sites and in-person and virtual summits. His fervor lies in customer-facing technologies like ATMs, Self-Service Kiosks, Digital Signage, Vending Machines, Automation, Robotics, and Restaurant Tech, all falling under NMG's diverse media umbrella. Dave takes immense pride in forging true partnerships with vendors and helping them grow their businesses. Collaborating for the betterment of each industry, NMG serves as your extended marketing team, offering unparalleled marketing and PR support without being on your payroll. With dedication and passion, Dave Wurm drives NMG's success and amplifies the potential of the media landscape.

Born and raised in Casablanca, Morocco, Mehdi Zarhloul immigrated to the United States at the age of 16 to live the American dream and pursue his culinary passion. After graduating from Sanz School with a computer science degree in Washington DC, Zarhloul spent over 35 years in the hospitality industry where he managed many casual and fine dining restaurants throughout the globe including ten years as the Assistant Food and Beverage Director of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. In 2006, Zarhloul moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where he opened “Crazy Pita Rotisserie & Grill”. Crazy Pita has been rocketed to popularity and cemented as Las Vegas’s favorite eatery for over 17 years due to its amazing fresh-casual Mediterranean cuisine, friendly service, and welcoming atmosphere. In 2022, Mehdi Zarhloul decided to expand his vision by developing a national franchise program. Currently the company operates 3 corporate in Las Vegas and 10 stores under development in the Houston Texas area.