Mark Bonchek is Senior Vice President, Communities and Networks for Sears Holdings, the nation’s fourth largest broadline retailer.  Mark is responsible for improving the customer experience through community and network-based initiatives.  His work spans the organization to increase associate and customer engagement and effect transformative change through the use of social, mobile, and local media.

Prior to Sears Holdings, Mark served as the Founder and CEO of the Truman Company, a consulting practice helping companies build collaborative communities and make the transition to social business.  His client list included IBM, Citi, Manpower, Adobe, and the U.S. Department of Education.  Mark also held senior positions at McKinsey & Company, Strategos, and iXL, and served as a Research Associate at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab.

Mark holds a doctorate in Political Economy and Government from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Princeton University.  His doctoral thesis, completed in 1997, predicted the rise of social networking, citizen journalism, and online campaigning.

Sears Holdings is the parent company of Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Kmart Corporation, with over 4,000 retail stores in the United States and Canada.  Sears Holdings’ market-leading brands include Kenmore, Craftsman, DieHard, Lands' End, Jaclyn Smith, and Joe Boxer.  Sears Holdings is the nation's largest provider of home services, with more than 11 million service calls made annually.

 

Mr. Brown joined CHS Capital (f.k.a. Code Hennessy & Simmons), a Chicago-based private equity firm, in 1994.  After holding numerous positions at the firm, he was promoted to Partner in 2003.  Mr. Brown currently leads the firm’s investing activities within the Consumer arena.  Prior to joining CHS, Mr. Brown was employed by Heller Financial, Inc. in Chicago, Illinois where he held various positions within Heller's commercial leveraged lending and real estate departments. He holds a B.B.A. from the University of Michigan and an M.B.A. from Northwestern Kellogg Graduate School of Management. Mr. Brown currently serves on the Board of Directors of American Laser Centers and TricorBraun.  He is a past Board member of Weasler Engineering, Monona Wire Corporation, Norse Dairy Systems, Otis Spunkmeyer, Waddington North America, CII Technologies, and Cerex Advance Fabrics. 

Mr. Brown has played a leadership role within his church and has participated in numerous other community and social organizations.  He is a board member of the Illinois Policy Institute a nonpartisan research organization dedicated to supporting free market principles in the State of Illinois.  He is also a board member and Chairman of the Finance and Strategic Issues Committee of Catalyst Schools, a charter school operator on the west side of Chicago.  Steve has been married to his wife Carolyn for 13 years and has three children; Audrey (11), Mitchell (9) and Eleanor (6).

 

Shawn Clancy is the Vice President of Real Estate Administration for Big Lots! Currently he oversees the Store Design, Energy and Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Property Management, Lease Administration and Lease Audit functions for Big Lots!

Big Lots! is the nation's largest broad line closeout retailer, a growing segment of the retailing industry. Our goal is to build upon this leadership position by expanding our market presence in both existing and new markets. We believe that our strengths in merchandising, purchasing, site selection, distribution and cost-containment well-position us for continued growth as a low-cost, value retailer.

Shawn received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts and is a Certified Public Accountant. He resides in Columbus, Ohio with his wife and four children.

 

Jonathan Colehower is Manhattan's vice president of global marketing. Mr. Colehower joined Manhattan Associates from McKinsey & Company in 2009 and has responsibility for formulating and executing the Company's global marketing strategy. Mr. Colehower has over 15 years of supply chain experience in management consulting and applications software. At McKinsey & Company, Mr. Colehower managed strategic consulting engagements primarily in the areas of supply chain planning and process manufacturing. Prior to McKinsey, Mr. Colehower was President & CEO at Optiant in Boston, MA and Vice President, Worldwide Applications Marketing at Oracle. Mr. Colehower began his career at Accenture. Mr. Colehower received his MBA from Vanderbilt University and bachelor's degree from the University of Richmond.

 

The GfK Group offers the fundamental knowledge that industry, retailers, services companies and the media need to make market decisions. It offers a comprehensive range of information and consultancy services in the three business sectors of Custom Research, Retail and Technology, and Media. The no. 4 market research organization worldwide operates in more than 100 countries and employs over 10,000 staff.

GfK Executive Vice President Lisa Gudding has been with GfK for 20 years. Lisa is currently responsible for key GfK CPG and retail client relationships in North America. She also has significant experience in the telecom and financial services arenas. Lisa regularly manages programs associated with event and promotion evaluations, category and line optimization efforts, retailer/shopper/category segmentations, satisfaction and loyalty, service and product feature optimization, new product development, brand equity and tracking, and advertising evaluation.

Lisa is on the University of Wisconsin Nielsen MBA program advisory board. She has served on the American Marketing Association’s Research Council and Nominating Committee. She is quoted multiple times in Len Berry’s book The Soul of Service, and in an Inc. article written about GfK. She is a frequent speaker with organizations such as Argyle, the AMA, ARF, Frost & Sullivan, IIR, MSI and at the GfK Summit.

 

Buck Hendrix joined Starbucks Coffee Company in August 1993, and is in the process of retiring from the company over the next few months. In his most recent role as president, Europe, Middle East and Africa, which he assumed in February of 2009, he was responsible for the overall strategic planning, growth, and management of Starbucks operations in EMEA.  In this role, Buck led the significant turnaround of the business in the EMEA region, leading one of the most successful periods ever in the region in 2010.  Under Buck’s leadership the business was also awarded most ethical coffee shop chain in Europe for 2010 in addition to several other country level recognitions. 

Buck transferred to the EMEA region from Starbucks Latin America where he was senior vice president and president of that region for almost five years (2004-2009).  In this role, he led the development the business in Latin America, establishing a strong foundation of success that the region continues to build on today.

Previously, in his role as senior vice president, International Supply Chain, he was responsible for all Supply Chain Operations and Strategy that are part of Starbucks International Business. He led teams based in Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Miami and Seattle in support of global markets.

Until January of 2003, as vice president of Starbucks Procurement, Buck was responsible for forecasting, demand and inventory planning and management of all coffee and many non-coffee products. In addition, he oversaw procurement of all of the Starbucks production materials, non-coffee-related products, fresh food and supplies.

Before that, Buck was vice president and general manager of Starbucks Direct Response Business Unit where he was responsible for the division’s profit and loss accountability, inventory planning and management, financial management, marketing, merchandising, order management, customer service and operations. 

Buck brought 12 years of experience in direct marketing management and operations to Starbucks. Prior to joining the company, he was the manager of the Communication Services Division of Milliman and Robertson, Inc, and senior vice president of Gulf American Financial Services marketing division, both Seattle-based consulting companies.

Buck currently resides in Miami, Florida with his partner Maria; and from where he also manages a consulting business part time.  Outside of work, Buck enjoys working in the community, as well as skiing and golf with his son. He is a graduate of Seattle Pacific University, with a Bachelor of Arts in General Business and Marketing.  Buck currently resides in Miami, Florida with his partner Maria.

 

Jon has been a senior marketing, merchandising and advertising executive for over 30 years. His management experience includes Boscov’s Department Stores, Whitney automotive group, Bass Pro Shops, Foster & Gallagher, The Bradford Group, Fingerhut, World Book Encyclopedia, Marshall Field & Company and Ambassador International.

Jon’s executive skills include Online / Offline marketing, new business / new market development, strategic planning, brand management, merchandising, advertising, print production, program management, data base management and business analysis. Committed to community involvement, Jon has served on several community advisory boards. Jon received his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Arizona State University.

 

Carl Johnson is the Founder & President of Great Point Strategy Partners, a strategy and marketing consulting company serving both established and start-up companies.

Previously, Johnson served as Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at Campbell Soup Company, from April, 2001 until April, 2011. In this capacity, he had direct responsibility for Corporate Strategy, Global Research & Development/Quality, Corporate Marketing Services and e-business. 

Prior to joining Campbell, Johnson was a top executive at Kraft Foods, where he ran three successively larger Kraft divisions from 1993-2001.  When he left Kraft in early 2001, he was Executive Vice President, Kraft N.A. and President of the $2.5 Billion New Meals Division. 

Prior to Kraft, Johnson was a senior partner and director of the consumer goods and services consulting practice at Marketing Corporation of America. Before that, he was vice president of worldwide advertising at Polaroid Corporation.  He began his career at the Colgate-Palmolive Company, where he held a series of management positions culminating in Category Manager, Oral Care Products, Colgate’s premier business. 

Mr. Johnson serves as the non-executive Chairman of Nautilus, Inc., pioneer and leader home fitness equipment. In addition to Nautilus, Johnson serves on the boards of directors of Avedro, Inc., a pioneer in vision correction technology and C.P. Kelco, a major supplier of food ingredients. He is an Advisory Board Member of the Agricultural Sustainability Institute, University of California, Davis and a past Executive Committee member of the Board of the Food Products Association. 

Johnson is a Trustee of the Adelphic Educational Fund, Wesleyan University, which grants scholarships and supports educational programs.  He is also a member of the Steering Committee of the Kilts Center for Marketing at the University of Chicago Booth Graduate School of Business, which provides scholarships to top marketing students and helps the school steer its marketing curriculum.  He also serves on the Dean’s Advisory Board of the LeBow College of Business at Drexel University.

Johnson received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Wesleyan University and his MBA from the University of Chicago. 

 

Mr. Kahler is our Senior Vice President Corporate Development. Prior to joining TreeHouse Foods, Mr. Kahler served as Managing Director of Dresdner Kleinwort Securities, LLC. Mr. Kahler has also held senior investment banking leadership roles at Citigroup, Inc., as Director - Mergers and Acquisitions Citigroup Global Markets Holdings Inc. and Wasserstein Perella & Company, Inc., where he was Vice President - Mergers and Acquisitions. Mr. Kahler holds a BA from Colorado College and a MBA from JL Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University.

 

Dan brings more than twenty years experience in client management, technology commercialization and marketing to Siemens, where he leads the marketing and client services function for Retail & Commercial Services business segment.  Prior to Siemens, Dan was Director of Marketing for ClearOrbit, a leading supply chain software company, and Vice President of Marketing at Tanknology-NDE, which provides technology-based environmental services.  Previously he was Technology Marketing Manager at the IC2 Institute, managing business strategy and market analysis for high-tech firms employing federal R&D in commercial applications. Kubala also worked as a Brand Manager for Gatorade Sports Drink.  His technical background comes through experience as project leader on a software development team at Image Sciences Incorporated (acquired by Xerox) and as a software consultant to IBM. He holds a BA in Mathematics from the University of Dallas and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.

 

Mr. Levin is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Casual Male Retail Group, Inc.   Prior to Casual Male, Mr. Levin spent the past 30 thirty years in the retail industry.  He was President of Designs, Inc. and was President of the Coleman Company’s and  Revlon, Inc.'s retail divisions.  

 

Laure Levin, of Infogroup, brings 25 years of retail, catalog, and online consumer marketing experience to today’s panel.  Her 13 years of experience as a merchant began at Macy’s within their Executive Development Program and extended to a specialty store chain, a national catalog business, and online store.  She spent 12 years with Abacus, a division of Epsilon Targeting, most recently as the VP of Analytics, where she consulted with national retailers and direct-marketers on their multi-channel marketing efforts and guided them on statistical and analytical methods for targeting their best customers and prospects across all media and channels.  Today at Infogroup, she is a Strategy Director and supports retailers’ efforts to improve their customers’ experience by evaluating and impacting the brands, channels, and products which they rely upon for success. Ms. Levin holds a BBA from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in both Marketing and Small Business Management and Accounting. 

 

Mrs. Toni Miller joined Boscov's in June 2009 after spending over 27 years with Bass Pro Shops, serving since 2000 as their Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mrs. Miller is a graduate of Southern Nazarene University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. She also attended Missouri State University with a concentration on Finance and Accounting. She completed her MBA from Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri and is a Certified Public Accountant.

She has over 30 years of retail experience in finance and operations, having started her career primarily in direct marketing and from there her experience grew into retail stores, food services, hospitality and manufacturing.

She also serves on various retail industry advisory councils including the NRF and NJRMA.  She has served on several non-for-profit and church boards with a passion for organizations working to eliminate poverty from the inside out. She currently serves on the Southern Nazarene University Foundation Board and is an honorary board member with the Victory Mission in Springfield, Missouri.

 

Jim Murphy is a Director of Mergers and Acquisitions at The Coca-Cola Company.  He has been with Coca-Cola for fifteen years, having spent twelve of those years in The Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions Group and previously three years in the Foodservice Division of Coca-Cola in North America.  Currently, Jim is currently responsible for M&A activity in the European Union and certain initiatives and strategic projects globally.  Before this assignment Jim was responsible for Africa and has led transactions in North America, South America and Asia.  Jim has also worked at the Boston Consulting Group, Taco Bell/PepsiCo Restaurants, and First American Bank.  He holds an undergraduate degree from Georgia State University and an MBA from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University.

 

4R helps leading retailers including Family Dollar Stores, The Vitamin Shoppe and Crate and Barrel drive significant profit improvement by applying an investment approach to their inventory and supply chains.  At 4R, he led a strategic shift to a Solution-as-a-Service model that helps 4R clients quickly raise profitability by 100's of basis points by "Profit Optimizing" their inventory and supply chains.

Prior to joining 4R Systems, he was the Chairman, President and CEO at INTERLINQ Software Corporation, a publicly traded software company that served the mortgage banking industry.  With over 2000 lenders as clients, INTERLINQ’s MortgageWare platform processed $300-500 billion of mortgages annually and is now a subsidiary of Harland Financial Solutions.

Prior to INTERLINQ, Mr. Nechleba held executive management positions at AC Nielsen and Information Resources/Management Decision Systems.  He has also served on a number of boards including Aetna Industries and FibreGlass Evercoat.

 

John is a partner in the Transaction Services practice at PwC.  He specializes in providing strategic, financial, economic and accounting advice impacting deals to both private equity and multi-national corporate clients.  He also has extensive experience in the capital raising process, which provides an integral connection throughout the deal process. 

His experience includes both buy-side and sell-side transaction advisory work, with substantial experience in the Retail & Consumer sector across the value chain.

John spent three years working in our London office, and is currently based in Chicago and Minneapolis.

John earned is Masters in Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management,  Northwestern University and his Bachelors of Business Administration at the University of Notre Dame.

 

Jan-Patrick Schmitz was named President and Chief Executive Officer of Montblanc North America in August 2003. Mr. Schmitz oversees the North American business, including sales and marketing, a retail network of 37 boutiques, and a wholesale distribution of 850 points of sale, including 100 Shop-in-Shops. 

Mr. Schmitz’s vision has taken Montblanc to new heights in the luxury market. A charismatic individual with a sixth sense for innovation, he has sponsored projects such as “The 24-Hour Plays” on Broadway, as well as partnering with and supporting The Juilliard School with their numerous events and programs. He has expanded Montblanc’s commitment to Culture and the Arts through the Foundation d’Enterprise Montblanc de la Culture, which supports and recognizes modern-day art patrons who give their time, energy, and resources to support cultural programs. Mr. Schmitz is also dedicated to supporting Montblanc’s on-going efforts against global illiteracy through The Signature for Good initiative with UNICEF. 

He has been instrumental in positioning and shepherding Montblanc into the 21st century and elevating it from a household name, known for its dominance in the world of fine writing instruments, to a luxury brand. The company expanded into fine time pieces and jewelry and has built a strong female clientele who recognizes the cache of Montblanc. In 2007, the brand introduced the new Haute Joaillerie collection which includes the world’s most precious Montblanc star cut diamond necklace. In 2008, with the Nicolas Rieussec collection, Montblanc launched its first own movement, thereby entering the world of true watch making. In addition, with the acquisition of Villeret 1858, Montblanc has an exclusive position in the world of Haute Horlogerie. 

Mr. Schmitz joined Montblanc in 1994. He was appointed Director of the International Executive Committee in 2002. Before his promotion to the U.S. Market, he was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Montblanc Japan, where he led the Montblanc subsidiary to six impressive years of growth. 

Mr. Schmitz holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Southern Illinois University and is a Member of Beta Gamma Sigma. His Bachelor of Arts degree (BA) is from the International Business School in Lippstadt, Germany. He serves on the Board of Directors of Jewelers for Children as well as other non-profit organizations. 

 

Ralph P. Scozzafava is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Furniture Brands International (NYSE: FBN), one of the world’s leading home furnishings companies.  Mr. Scozzafava joined Furniture Brands in 2007 with the mandate to launch a new strategic direction and return the company to a position of industry leadership.  Furniture Brands is now transforming from a manufacturing holding company into a unified consumer products company with iconic brands, including Thomasville, Lane, Broyhill, Drexel Heritage, and Hickory Chair.  Mr. Scozzafava and his leadership team have stabilized the company during the current recession and delivered higher gross margins, the lowest non-operating costs in more than a decade, and the strongest balance sheet in the company’s history.  He has also spearheaded product development, brand architecture, and consumer testing best practices that are new to the home furnishings industry.

Prior to joining Furniture Brands, Mr. Scozzafava was the Vice President - Worldwide Commercial Operations for the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, one of the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of confectionary products.  In this role, Mr. Scozzafava served on the Company’s Executive Leadership Team as well as the Strategic Business Planning Committee.  He was responsible for the company’s entire $5 billion global business in 180 countries and more than 8,000 employees.  Before assuming global responsibility, Mr. Scozzafava was Vice President & Managing Director of Wrigley’s $2.4 billion North America & Pacific business unit, where he led all functional areas.  His joined Wrigley in 2001 as Vice President – U.S. Sales and Customer Marketing

Mr. Scozzafava’s background in the consumer goods industry spans nearly 30 years and includes progressive general management and sales & marketing assignments with Campbell Soup, Clorox, and Johnson & Johnson.

Mr. Scozzafava earned his Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California and obtained his M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Rhode Island.  He has also completed executive programs at Cornell University and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Mr. Scozzafava currently serves on the St. Louis YMCA Board of Directors and is the former Chairman of the Board of Keep America Beautiful, the country’s premier anti-littering, pro-recycling organization.  Mr. Scozzafava resides in St. Louis with his wife, Liz, and their two children.

 

Brigid Sweeney is a reporter covering covering retail, the convention industry, foundations and non-profits for Crain's Chicago Business. She also regularly writes for magazines including Women's Health and Fast Company, as well as various architecture and interior design publications.

Most recently, Ms. Sweeney was an associate editor at Boston magazine, where she wrote about everything from retailing, higher education and architecture to New England travel destinations. Previously, she was a freelance writer for Chicago magazine.

Ms. Sweeney is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame. She has a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

 

Mr. David Taiclet has been President, Gourmet Food Group for 1800Flowers.com since September 2008.  1800Flowers.com is a leading consumer retailer of floral, food and gift products with revenues exceeding $700 million in 2010.  Mr. Taiclet’s current role includes responsibility for over 2000 employees, six consumer food brands, 95 company owned retail outlets, and six manufacturing plants and distribution facilities located throughout the United States.  

Mr. Taiclet was the co-founder of Alpine Confections that ultimately became known as Fannie May Confections Brands, Inc. when it was purchased by 1800Flowers.com in 2006.  Previously, Mr. Taiclet worked for Cargill, Inc in the Strategy and Business Development Group.  He also served four years of active duty in the U.S. Army.

Mr. Taiclet graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a B.B.A., Finance and also earned an M.B.A. from Harvard University.  He is married, has four children and lives in St. Louis, Missouri.  Currently, Mr. Taiclet serves on a number of industry, educational and non-profit boards. 

 

Jerry S. Wilson is a board elected senior vice president of The Coca-Cola Company, where he currently serves as Chief Customer and Commercial Officer. In this role he leads a global organization that is responsible for crafting and executing the company’s customer and commercial leadership strategy and agenda. He and his team lead the Company’s global system in building mutually beneficial customer relationships across all key channels, with a focus on best-in-class innovation, retail execution, consumer and shopper marketing, and revenue growth management.

Prior to this increased responsibility, Jerry served as President of the Global McDonald’s Division where he led a worldwide organization responsible for growing this important business alliance in 118 countries representing over 32,000 restaurants that served 52 million consumers a day.

During his twenty-two years with Coca-Cola, Jerry has risen from an area account executive, to regional management, to strategic brand and planning director, to vice president of the western USA foodservice business. Within The McDonald’s Division he has served as vice president of USA Operations and global Chief Operating Officer before being named operating President. He has distinguished himself as an inclusive leader who is committed to developing people, enhancing strategic alliances and driving innovative growth platforms.

Before his career with Coke, Jerry spent over eight years with Volkswagen of America where he held a variety of positions. He joined the company as a distribution analyst, moved up to district sales manager, and then was developed through business management, sales training, marketing management and franchise management responsibilities. Jerry was then promoted to brand manager for the USA, where he was responsible for developing strategies while liaising with the franchise leadership and company worldwide headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany.

Prior to joining Volkswagen, Jerry gained invaluable retail experience by leading a fleet sales department of a nationally recognized Ford agency.

He earned his MBA in Marketing from Mercer University and his BA in Economics from the University of Georgia.

Jerry is a noted speaker and co-author of the book, Managing Brand YOU-7 Steps to Creating Your Most Successful Self.

Jerry is happily married to his best friend Ginny and they have a daughter, Abby, who recently graduated from University of Georgia.

 

Jim Wright is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Tractor Supply Company, a $3.5 billion, NASDAQ Traded (TSCO), retail farm and ranch store chain based in Nashville, Tennessee.   He joined the company as the President and Chief Operating Officer in November 2000, was named CEO in 2004 and was appointed Chairman in 2007.

Before moving to Nashville, Jim was President and Chief Executive Officer of a 150-store chain of tire stores headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida.  Jim is a career retailer having held executive positions with Western Auto Supply Company in Kansas City, Missouri and K-Mart Corporation in Troy, Michigan.

Jim is a board member and lead director of Spartan Stores, a NASDAQ traded $2.8 billion food distribution and retailing company.  He is also a Board Member of the National Retail Federation.   Previously Jim was chairman of AAIA a 1,700-member trade association.

He and his wife, Susan, have been married for 41 years.  Their two grown children, Christopher and Samantha, have blessed them with 5 wonderful grandchildren.