SPEAKERS



Craving Clarity: Decoding Consumer Mindsets
& Food Choices


Join this session to learn about the top findings from the 2022 Food and Health Survey, gaining a current snapshot of Americans’ perceptions and behaviors when making food-related decisions.

Silvia Dumitrescu
Senior Vice President, Operations and Engagement at the International Food Information Council (IFIC)

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Silvia Dumitrescu is the Senior Vice President, Operations and Engagement for the International Food Information Council (IFIC), working with subject-matter experts to raise awareness and improve understanding of food science from farm to fork. Silvia leads external engagement with partners and stakeholders and leverages her previous work in technology and innovation to develop growth strategies and drive transformation.

Before joining IFIC, Silvia held several leadership roles in communications, operations, and strategy. She was a global strategy advisor at a startup working on science, technology, and innovation as growth engines for urban environments. Also, Silvia was part of the executive team for one of the leading commercial real estate associations and a corporate relations specialist for the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development in the District of Columbia.

Silvia holds an MBA from American University and executive certifications from Harvard Business School and Columbia University. She is a member of CHIEF, the only private network specifically designed for the most powerful women executives. Silvia is also a certified Institute for the Future Foresight Practitioner.

Keynote Speaker


Don’t miss the opportunity to hear from Brendan Foley, President and Chief Operating Officer of McCormick & Company.

Brendan Foley
President and Chief Operating Officer, McCormick & Company

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Brendan Foley is McCormick’s President and Chief Operating Officer. In his role, he is responsible for all of McCormick’s business units and its supply chain worldwide. Mr. Foley oversees the business across the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and Asia. He has global leadership of the Consumer Segment and is a member of McCormick’s Management Committee.

Mr. Foley joined McCormick in June 2014 as President, U.S. Consumer Products Division and was promoted to President, North America in June 2015. He was named President - Global Consumer and Americas in June 2018, and to his previous role as President Global Consumer, Americas, and Asia in February 2020. Prior to his tenure at McCormick, Mr. Foley served as Zone President for H.J. Heinz North America. During his 15 years at Heinz, he served as President for the U.S. Consumer Products business and the U.S. Foodservice business. He also held various leadership roles in Marketing and General Management across a wide portfolio of products. Prior to joining H.J. Heinz, Mr. Foley worked in Marketing for General Mills, Inc., and for Ketchum Advertising.

Mr. Foley holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Miami University of Ohio. Mr. Foley has served on the Maryland Food Bank Board of Directors since 2016 and completed his role as Board Chair in 2021.

The Big Deal About Big Data


Is there a more frequently used term than Big Data these days? It’s changing the world, but we may not know how it will sell, operate, learn, and determine big decisions. In this session, audiences get a quick framework by which to identify and understand Big Data (hint: it’s more than Facebook “likes”) and how it's being used across industries to transform the norm. Zikopoulos will leave you with a great understanding of Big Data and how you can change the world with it.

Paul Zikopoulos
Future Trends Expert, and VP of Technology Group Skills Vitality & Enablement at IBM

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In a rapidly transforming world, data has become the new competitive advantage. And according to future trends expert Paul Zikopoulos, “Every day we walk by solvable problems, leaving opportunities untapped.” The VP of Technology Unit Skills & Enablement at IBM, Zikopoulos discusses how working these “solvable problems” creates disruption in the marketplace and how golden signals of opportunity can be found within mountains of noise.

Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau for lectures, Paul is changing the way audiences are looking at their businesses in terms of potential sales, obstacles, potential for growth, and how they utilize technology, such as cloud applications, to support their organizations. Paul shares future trends that are starting to happen in real-time and have multiple applications: from garbage cans that alert sanitation departments when they need collection – saving cities millions – to shampoo brands that are connecting weather forecasts with personal consumer profiles to suggest the right mix of hair products for the day. He easily discusses the next generation of technological change from the power of machine learning and voice-to-text, to the opportunities in reading digital body language and joining the Internet of Things trillion sensor economy, and more.

Incredibly energetic and easy to follow, Paul is the antithesis of what many people think of when they consider a big data expert. Using incredible visuals, including a hashtag aggregator that instantly creates examples of perfectly segmented consumers live on stage, Paul amazes audiences with the amount of information available to change the conversation about your industry. By sharing his insights on where big data comes from and the idea that “If you aren’t paying for it, you are being sold,” Paul breaks apart the roles of data collection and decision making for executives seeking the opportunities for disrupting their industry and leap-frogging the competition.

At IBM, Paul leads from the front, owning accountability and strategic direction in a “tech years are like dog years” world for the entire IBM Technology Unit’s (all IBM software and hardware) sales, tech sales, and partner ecosystem learning journeys, and upskilling programs.

Paul is an award-winning tech thought leader and writer who has shared his expertise on AI and big data on the popular TV show, 60 Minutes, as well as in publications such as Technopedia and Analytics Week. He has published 21 books, including Cloud Without Compromise: Hybrid Cloud for the Enterprise and three ‘For Dummies’ titles, and more than 360 articles during his, as he calls it, accidental 28-year career as a data nerd — which he began with no prior coding experience. Among the leading voices in tech and big data, Paul has been named in dozens of global “Experts to Follow” & “Influencers” lists, including Analytics Insight’s “Top 100 Global AI & Big Data Influencers” and SAP’s “50 Big Data Twitter Influencers.” Currently, he is writing an O’Reilly book on Hybrid Cloud. An expert in harnessing the power of big data, Paul brings real world experience from his at time managing more than 1,400 professionals to help groups build influence and affect change in their organization.

Paul has taken an active role in bolstering Women in Technology, LGBT and general workplace inclusivity (completing an intensive D&I certificate at Cornell University), and Coding for Veterans. In addition to being the first and only male ever to be recognized as an IBM Canada “Women in Technology Ally of the Year” award winner, he is a seated board member for Switch (formerly known as Women 2.0), a global network and social platform for aspiring and current female founders of technology ventures, as well as on the world-recognized Masters of Management Analytics and AI program boards at Canada’s prestigious Queen’s University.

Green Drives Green: Sustainability for Profitability, Resiliency, & Impact


The pressure for sustainability is multi-faceted and rapidly increasing; it comes from investors, policies, and consumers. Historically, it’s been viewed as an obstacle – we would argue it’s your greatest opportunity. In this session, Foresight Vice President, Mike Troupos, will clarify sustainability terminology, unpack industry-specific trends, and shed light on how sustainability provides an opportunity for marketplace differentiation and profitability. He will cover how to build a value-driven sustainability strategy that lowers operating costs, increases sales, and builds a more resilient company.

Mike Troupos
Vice President, Foresight Management

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Mike Troupos is a Vice President at Foresight Management with Certified Energy Manager (CEM) and Certified Procurement Professional (CEP) designations from the Association of Energy Engineers. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering. Mike is a self-declared "energy nerd" who has spent the last ten years learning everything he can about the energy management industry. He thrives off the complex, rapidly changing nature of energy and sustainability. Mike is in his element when empowering industrial companies to strategize reductions in energy consumption and utility costs.

The Supply Chain Crisis: Unpacking the Disruption of the Past and Navigating the Path Ahead


Explore supply chain issues impacting the food industry. This presentation will uncover how factors such as geopolitics, tariffs and trade barriers, and logistics disrupted the market in 2022. Looking ahead, participants will uncover how key supply and demand-side factors affecting the food industry could evolve in a post-COVID world.

Frank Hoffman
Associate Director, Global Intelligence & Analytics Consulting, S&P Global Market Intelligence

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Frank Hoffman is an Associate Director in the Global Intelligence & Analytics Consulting practice at S&P Global Market Intelligence. Frank brings expertise in econometric modeling and analytics, market analysis, and price forecasting to both market planning and supply chain-related engagements. He also has extensive data visualization experience and specializes in using data, modeling, and forecasting to drive strategy and operations and help clients make more informed data-driven decisions.

Frank has also worked as a Senior Economist with Pricing & Purchasing service where he covered building materials, nonferrous metals, healthcare, and services. Before returning to the company, Frank worked as a senior operations manager at Uber Technologies. His areas of focus included incentives strategy and investment allocation for the US and Canada rides business. Frank has also worked as a federal consultant on analytics and data science-related engagements. He has been featured in media outlets such as American Metal Market, Bloomberg Television, Forbes, Metal Bulletin, and Mining Technology.

He has a Master's degree in International & Development Economics from the University of San Francisco and a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Illinois.

The Society of Flavor Chemists Legacy Project


Cathianne Leonardi
President of the Society of Flavor Chemists (SFC) and Senior Flavorist at The Coca-Cola Company

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Cathianne Leonardi is a flavorist who helps refresh the world at the Coca-Cola Company. Her journey to becoming a flavorist began in her grandmother’s garden where she cherished sensorial encounters that led her to wonder how botanicals grow and why they taste the way they do. This experience blossomed into studying the natural sciences to realize a rewarding career creating flavors that become a memorable part of people’s lives. Cathianne has shared her love for flavors within the flavorist community by volunteering with the Society of Flavor Chemists (SFC) of which she is currently holds the office of President and Women in Flavor and Fragrance Commerce where she has serves as a board member.

Flavorist Panel


How has the role of flavorists evolved in the past twenty years? What does the future look like? What will be the impact of artificial intelligence and new technologies? Learn the answers to these questions and more as you hear directly from a panel consisting of flavorist and other industry representatives. This is a session you don’t want to miss!

Joan Harvey
SVP General Manager, Flavor Division at Bell Flavors & Fragrances

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Joan has worked in the Food, Beverage and Flavor Industries for 30+ years. She has an education in chemistry, while working in the restaurant industry. Joan started her career at Godiva Chocolatier in product development then she worked for Hershey Foods, and Cadbury (now owned by Mondelez).

Joan moved into the flavor industry and work at David Michael (now IFF), AM Todd (now ADM/Wild flavors), Frutarom (now IFF), IFF/International Flavors and Fragrances. Her career has now taken her to Chicago, home of a family owned flavor and fragrance company - Bell Flavors.

For the past 20 years Joan has been leading R&D teams to develop new flavors and products to surprise consumers appetites.

In the early 90’s Joan became a certified flavorist and served as past president for the Society Flavor Chemist and Chemical Sources Association.

Passion for flavors, people, and innovation are the driving forces in Joan’s career.

Dolf DeRovira
President & CEO at Flavor Dynamics, Inc.

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Dolf DeRovira is a certified flavor chemist and President & CEO of Flavor Dynamics, Inc. He authored The Dictionary of Flavors and has taught courses in culinary arts at The Culinary Institute of America, sensory evaluation at Rutgers University, and flavor chemistry at institutions throughout the world. Recently, he jointly presented a decision tree protocol to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for flavor safety. Dolf has been awarded the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Research Chefs Association, “The Golden Blotter” from the Society of Flavor Chemists, and the President’s Excellence in Service Award from FEMA. Dolf is a past president of the Society of Flavor Chemists and the Chemical Sources Association and is currently treasurer of the National Association of Flavors and Food-Ingredient Systems. He received a B.S. in Chemistry from The City College of New York.

Martin Ongteco
Vice President, Flavor Creation, ADM / WILD Flavors

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Martin is the Vice President of Creation, Design and Development at ADM working with an amazing team of flavorists, food product developers and food scientists. With over 25 years’ experience in the industry Martin started his career at Bush Boake Allen where he started as a technician in Dairy Applications and eventually had the very fortunate opportunity to train in Flavor Creation. Once BBA was acquired by IFF, Martin had the interesting and rather unique role as a research flavorist at their Flavor R&D facility. Working in Flavors provided many opportunities to travel and work with teams all over the world. Martin actually started his career in flavor technical leadership while working at IFF China for over 3 years. He eventually had the great pleasure of working with the North American Creation, Applications and Regulatory teams at Robertet Group before taking his current role at ADM where he has been for the last 4 years.

Jenifer Augelli
Sr. Flavorist II, Taste & Wellbeing, T&W Creation Innovation at Givaudan

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Jen is a Givaudan trained Senior Flavorist with 25 years' experience in the flavor industry. She is a Certified Member of the Society of Flavor Chemists.

She joined Givaudan 22 years ago and has held several regional and global roles in the organization ranging from Commercial to Science & Technology.

Her flavor creation expertise includes development of both characterizing (aroma based flavors) and taste flavor creation across sweet and savory end uses.

Her more recent focus has been on taste, which comprises the dynamic intersection of taste, mouthfeel, masking and other non-volatile aspects of flavors, food and beverage.

In her current role, on the North American Innovation Creation team, her focus is on developing and leveraging new technology into commercial solutions.

She loves to learn, laugh, seek opportunities to expand her horizons and share knowledge.