Howard Putnam
Former CEO,
Southwest Airlines
Howard Putnam’s ultimate objective is “bottom line improvement.” He believes cultures that place people as their number-one priority have the greatest long-term impact and success.
He is the former CEO of the highly successful Southwest Airlines, whose foundation and culture placed people first. Later, when recruited to be the CEO of failing Braniff International, Putnam was the first CEO to successfully restructure a major airline into, through, and out of Chapter 11. Earlier he spent more than twenty years with United Airlines, his final position there being Group VP of Marketing.
He has been an entrepreneur and has served as a director of several startup technology companies. He is an author, speaker, and advisor on business issues, change, leadership, and ethics. HarperCollins published his first book, The Winds of Turbulence, and Harvard University wrote a case study on his Braniff experiences, “The Ethics of Bankruptcy.” Putnam has an MBA in Marketing from the University of Chicago and attended Harvard’s Advanced Management Program.
Putnam grew up on an Iowa farm and learned to fly out of a pasture. His wife Krista is a native of Ohio and a former flight attendant. Their son Mike is an airline captain based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and daughter Sue is in public relations and advertising in Reno.
Howard and Krista live in the mountains near Reno and Lake Tahoe.
Dr. Gene Stanaland
Economist
The Will Rogers of Economics—that’s what Dr. Gene Stanaland has been called, because he has the ability to make a complex subject like economics understandable and entertaining.
Stanaland is now the president of GSE, Inc., an economics and management consulting firm. For 20 years, he was a member of the economics department of Auburn University in Alabama, and head of the department for the last eight of those years. His business involvement is far-reaching, and he serves on the boards of Huntingdon College, The Jules Collins Smith Museum of Art, and The Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
In demand as a public speaker, Stanaland has a list of clients that reads like a Who’s Who in business. Some of his clients include Teledyne, General Electric, Burlington Industries, Georgia Pacific, DuPont, Kraft, Dow Chemical, IBM, and World Business Council. His expertise also puts him in demand at such educational institutions as the Foreign Service Institute, the University of Dallas, and Mercer University’s Executives Forum.
He received his BS degree in 1959 in business from Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama, and his MBA in 1960 and Ph.D. in economics in 1972, both from the University of Alabama.
Stanaland was born August 30, 1934. He is married and resides with his wife in Auburn, Alabama.
Joe Tortorice, Jr.
Chief Executive Officer
Jason’s Deli
Speaker: General Session
Joe Tortorice, Jr. is the chief executive officer of Jason’s Deli, a deli fast-casual concept he founded in 1976 in Beaumont, Texas. Today the brand generates a half billion dollars in revenue annually from 220 delis in 28 states.
Ranked number one in the U.S. by QSR magazine in August 2008 in a list of restaurants with less than 300 locations, Jason’s Deli is recognized as a keen operator with corporate and franchise stores.
It is also well-known as a food innovator. The chain removed all artificial trans fats from its menu years before New York City or the state of California banned these fats.
Staying true to his style, Joe would say that Jason’s Deli is in the people business and just happens to sell sandwiches. His staff—now more than 9,500 employees in the U.S.—must agree with Joe’s assessment: Jason’s Deli has low turnover for the industry, and, in fact, of his top senior 100 employees, more than 90 percent have been with the company for 10 years or more.
Cheryl A. Bachelder
President, Popeyes® Louisiana Kitchen
CEO, AFC Enterprises, Inc.
Speaker: General Session
Cheryl Bachelder was named chief executive and president of AFC Enterprises in 2007, after more than 25 years in executive management positions in the foodservice industry.
In her first two years at the helm of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen she and her veteran leadership team re-engineered the brand with a new marketing campaign, customer feedback program, refreshed logo and several product launches. Despite a blistering recession Bachelder has guided the nearly 1,950-unit, global brand to outperform both QSR and chicken QSR categories with a sales increase for fiscal 2009.
Her framework for moving the needle at Popeyes centers around four strategic goals: building a distinct, relevant brand; running great restaurants; growing profitably and aligning people and resources.
QSR magazine recently named Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen one of the top ten franchise deals in the industry. In addition Bachelder was recently cited by veteran foodservice journalist Peter Romeo as one who “can hold her own” with the likes of other highly successful industry titans.
Brent Alvord
President
Lenny’s Franchisor, LLC
Panelist: The Silver Tsunami
Alvord was a key member of the private equity team that acquired Lenny’s Sub Shop and has been instrumental in Lenny’s rapid growth. He is a Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) with the International Franchise Association. He has helped establish the foundations for world-class departments in the areas of finance, marketing, operations, purchasing, information technology, restaurant construction, and franchise sales. Alvord helped sell hundreds of restaurants and is also responsible for the creation of a proprietary point of sale software that networks all restaurants to provide business intelligence and marketing information. He currently oversees the finance, IT, and marketing departments. Prior to Lenny’s, Mr. Alvord worked at LNR Properties in Miami Beach, where his duties included planning and strategy, investor and rating agency relations, and work on a variety of complicated financial transactions. Before LNR, Mr. Alvord worked for AOL, where he was involved in the launch of an international division, and worked on international consolidation and planning, online business intelligence systems, and marketing. Prior to AOL, Mr. Alvord held several positions dealing with finance, strategy, marketing, and technology at Burger King and FedEx. He has a bachelor’s degree in social work and an MBA in finance from the University of Memphis.
Mike Amos
President
Perkins and Marie Callender
Panelist: The Silver Tsunami
Mike "Famos" Amos is a seasoned industry executive whose experience spans owning and operating his own properties, including serving as managing partner for an Applebee's franchise. He has also served as a training, development, and operations executive for many successful foodservice companies and brands.
Mike is also president and lifetime member of the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers (CHART), which focuses on the development and advancement of hospitality training professionals.
Matt Andrew
President
Uncle Maddio’s Pizza Joint
Panelist: The Price is Right
Matt Andrew founded Uncle Maddio’s Pizza Joint in March 2008, and serves as the company’s president and chief pizza maker. Before that he served as the Moe’s Southwest Grill President. Matt’s leadership was instrumental in the transition of the entire Moe’s team in September of 2007 to Focus Brands.
Todd Bertagnole
Franchise Owner
Subway and TCBY
Panelist: The Franchisee/Franchisor Relationship
Todd Bertagnole has been in franchising for 12 years, both as a TCBY and Subway owner. As an owner of as many as 12 locations, Todd has been involved in every aspect of the business. For the past 8 years he has served on the TCBY Franchisee Association Board of Directors and been its president for several years, and he also serves as a market advertising representative for Subway. In addition to the franchising business, Todd serves as managing member of several other family-owned businesses, including a construction venture and a commercial and residential real estate company.
Keisha Carter
Carter Political Group & RaZors Consulting
Panelist: Legislating Foodservice
Keisha Carter operates both Carter Political Group and RaZors Consulting to focus on state and federal legislative affairs. She developed her “out of the box” strategies while working in key leadership positions for Kentucky Congressman Ben Chandler; Kentucky Lt. Governor Daniel Mongiardo; and the presidential campaign of Senator Hillary Clinton.
Scott Carter
Managing Member
Supply Chain Associates
Panelist: Your Brand on Store Shelves
Scott has 20+ years of management, finance, operations, and consulting experience. He has worked in executive positions in industry and consulting and has successfully built two global business strategy and operations consulting firms, UPS Consulting and Supply Chain Associates, LLC (SCA). He serves as an advisor to many Fortune 100 companies and additional Fortune 500 companies seeking strategic advice. He is currently serving through SCA as a member of the board of directors for two quick-service restaurant co-operatives representing more than 13,000 North American store locations and is serving as the interim CEO of another in a $1.2 billion restructuring effort.
Scott began his career working in the McDonalds system, serving in roles responsible for physical distribution including transportation and warehousing, strategic sourcing, and customer service in the United States, Brazil, and Mexico. He was recruited into Ernst & Young’s former global supply chain practice where he served as a consulting manager for fortune 100 clients operating globally. Because of Scott’s global operating experience, he was asked by United Parcel Service (UPS) to join them in building a supply chain consulting business unit. Scott served as part of the seven member launch team and as Vice President of Consulting for the Retail and Consumer Products Sector for UPS Consulting. After recognizing the gaps in focused improvement projects that failed to tie benefits to service levels and costs to serve, he and key UPS Consulting founding members founded Supply Chain Associates, LLC. SCA delivers both strategic and tactical consulting services and operates key components of their client’s supply chains to improve operational performance.
Bill Cross
Vice President for Restaurant & Food Brand Licensing
Broad Street Licensing Group
Moderator: Your Brand on Store Shelves
Broad Street Licensing Group develops and implements licensing programs at retail for restaurant brands, both in the United States and overseas, and was named for the second year in a row to License! Global’s Top 25 World Licensing Agencies based on retail sales. His company is the only licensing agency to deploy a complete retail program for a major restaurant brand across multiple categories, channels of distribution, and dayparts. He’s not afraid to push back with skeptical restaurant executives to prove licensing their brand to retail will not adversely impact quality, sales, franchisees, or consumer confidence. In addition to his activities bringing restaurant brands to retail, Bill is a contributor to restaurant industry publications, including QSR magazine, and is often called on for background on articles about licensing and the retail food and foodservice sectors in publications like The Wall Street Journal. He writes a daily blog about the food industry and edits a newsletter for clients, the press, and private equity companies.
Kenneth Cutshaw
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, Secretary, and Chief Compliance Officer Cajun Operating Company
Church’s Chicken
Moderator: Legislating Foodservice
Ken Cutshaw manages the legal affairs, government relations, and global expansion of Church’s Chicken and Texas Chicken, recognized brands in the quick-service sector with 1,700 locations in 22 countries and system sales of $1.3 billion. He was formerly a partner with Holland & Knight, LLP, a global law firm focusing on global business transactions. Cutshaw co-founded Cheers Funeatery; Red, Hot & Blue; and Let’s Go Back, LLC, the first franchisee of Flying Biscuit restaurants in Atlanta. Mr. Cutshaw served as honorary consul for India in the United States and on several India chambers and groups. He is a co-founder and owner of Georgian American University, founded in 2004 in Tbilisi, Georgia. He has served as an adjunct professor at Emory University, Georgia Tech, and Georgia State University, teaching global business to graduate students. He has consulted with the Bureau of International Expositions, a treaty organization in Paris responsible for sanctioning World Expositions, and served on the Bush Administration Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy, among other political appointments.
Rick Desai
Partner
Saffron Group
Panelist: Welcome to the BRIC Countries
Ritesh (Rick) Desai is a serial entrepreneur and a passionate community leader. He is managing partner of the Saffron Group, LLC, a public affairs company focused on helping companies from around the world establish a lasting presence in the U.S. Rick is also chairman of the Georgia Indo-American Chamber of Commerce.
Gregg Dorazio
Corporate Licensing Manager
General Mills, Inc.
Moderator: Your Brand on Store Shelves
Gregg is part of External Partner Development within General Mills. In this role he develops integrated licensing plans aligned with each brand’s strategies and consistent with the company’s long-range plan. Gregg works closely with current and potential licensing partners to drive innovation, revenue and brand growth. Gregg also manages international, online and apparel licensing initiatives.
Gregg joined General Mills in 2004. He has held marketing positions in Old El Paso, Progresso Soup and Big G cereals. Prior to General Mills, Gregg spent four years with Honeywell Aerospace as a manufacturing engineer and Six Sigma Black Belt. He has an MBA from Indiana University and a degree in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University.
Barry E. Flink
Executive Vice President and Partner
FlexHR
Panelist: The Silver Tsunami
Barry Flink has more than 33 years of management experience in multiple industries. Although concentrated in the hospitality and transportation industry segments, he has developed and implemented successful organizational change in a wide range of enterprises. As one of the Southeast’s leading consulting organizations, FlexHR specializes in managing change, human capital issues, and providing executive level human resource leadership to small and medium sized organizations. Barry has also served in a number of corporate executive positions, including vice president, human resources for Wells Fargo Armored Service Corporation, and chief personnel officer of LEP Profit International, a global freight forwarder, where his leadership produced more than $1 million in savings to the corporation, resulting in the North American operation’s first profitable year in over a decade. He has also served as COO for Hoffman & Company, an engineering firm, and held senior management positions with Service America Corporation, The Greyhound/Dial Corporation, Westin Hotels & Resorts, Intercontinental Hotels, and BellSouth Corp.
Don Fox
Chief Executive Officer
Firehouse of America
Moderator: The Franchisee/Franchisor Relationship
A 30-year restaurant industry veteran, Don joined Firehouse Subs in 2003 and quickly rose to the rank of CEO. He oversees Firehouse of America, a subsidiary created to manage franchisee operations for the company. He is the liaison between Firehouse Subs and its franchise community and wears many hats. Don is known for his forward-thinking attitude and sharp management skills. He is also a musician and a published author, having written Patton’s Vanguard, an in-depth study of the 4th Armored Division during WWII.
Dr. Govind Hariharan
Professor and Chair of the Department of Economics, Finance, and Quantitative Analysis
Coles College of Business, Kennesaw State University
Panelist: Welcome to the BRIC Countries
Dr. Govind Hariharan has consulted for numerous organizations, both public and private, such as the World Bank, the Council for Quality Growth and M&T Bank. His research is extensively cited in policy debates, congressional testimony, and the media in a wide range of fields including economics, personal finance, regulation, environment, medicine and law. One of his papers on the economic costs of regulations was chosen as among “key papers by leading scholars” and reprinted in Classics in Risk Management. His current research studies the effect of different health shocks on portfolio allocation by the elderly, cloud computing, and medical technology. He has taught a wide range of courses at universities across the globe, including stints in India, China, and Singapore and has received numerous awards for his teaching.
Charles Hoff
CEO, general counsel
Law Offices of Charles Y. Hoff
Panelist: Legislating Foodservice
Charles Yale Hoff serves as Georgia Restaurant Association (GRA) Interim Chief Executive Officer, General Counsel of the GRA, and a founding member of the GRA Executive Committee. Charles’ contributions and industry dedication were acknowledged at the 2008 GRACE Awards Gala where he was honored as Industry Partner of the Year.
Timothy Howes
Principal
Spyglass Strategies
Panelist: Welcome to the BRIC Countries
As principal and founder of the management consulting practice, Spyglass Strategies, Tim Howes works with companies in a wide range of industries, helping them to survive and prosper by improving individual and organizational performance. A contrarian at heart, Tim provides a unique combination of consulting services that use his expertise in business finance and training, his ability to think holistically across the distinct functional components within organizations, and his substantial experience in migrating best practices between the 25+ industry sectors in which he has advised companies over the past 15 years. In addition to his consulting and speaking duties, Tim is an assistant professor of Management at Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, where he designs and develops seminal courses in finance and entrepreneurship. He is an avid writer with publishing credits in several trade publications and industry websites.
Madison Jobe
Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Pizza Inn, Inc.
Panelist: Welcome to the BRIC Countries
In his role at this international restaurant company, Madison is responsible for all aspects of franchise development and restaurant operations worldwide. He has over 35 years experience in the restaurant and franchise industry. Prior to joining Pizza Inn in 2009, he spent time with Stockade Companies, Ruby’s Diner, Shakey’s Pizza, Red Robin, and Fuddruckers. He began his career in the restaurant industry with a franchisee of Whataburger and has extensive experience on both the franchisee and franchisor sides of the business. He has been a panelist for the International Franchise Association, the Franchise Leadership & Development Conference, and the Southwest Foodservice Expo, and a reference source for franchise and restaurant trade media.
Bob Kaufman
Vice President, Business Development
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Panelist: Welcome to the BRIC Countries
As the vice president of business development for The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Mr. Kaufman is responsible for domestic and international franchises, in both traditional and non-traditional locations. The company currently has more than 510 franchised locations in 22 countries and has been aggressively growing under his leadership. Prior to joining the company, he spent 12 years as the senior vice president of business development and managing director of international at Tower Records. At Tower, Bob created and grew franchise business, oversaw all international operations, and was responsible for all new and non-traditional revenue initiatives, including gift cards, consumer electronics, video games, digital music, Latin music, rack jobbing, and media sales.
Leslie Kerr
President and Founder
Intellaprice
Panelist: The Price is Right
Leslie Kerr founded Intellaprice to meet restaurants’ needs for pricing support. While building Dunkin’ Donuts’ pricing capability, she realized that no firm specialized in this area. Intellaprice is the cost-efficient solution for companies seeking to grow profit through pricing. She works with clients including Applebee’s, Baskin-Robbins, Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s, Quiznos Sub, Olive Garden, and Red Lobster. Working on the Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins brands, Leslie held roles in pricing, strategy, finance, and brand management. Her projects included automating tools to evaluate and improve franchisee profitability, from strategy through implementation. Her experience also includes roles in operations at PepsiCo Food Systems, and in finance for Disney Consumer Products. It was in Coopers and Lybrand’s Compensation Consulting practice that she gained her pricing and research foundation. Leslie earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing and entrepreneurial management from the Wharton School and her MBA at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Her career spans over 20 years of consulting, pricing, and restaurant experience.
John Kittredge
Vice President of marketing
Fabri-Kal Corp.
Panelist: Does Sports Marketing Really Work?
John Kittredge is vice president of marketing and part-owner of Fabri-Kal Corporation. Headquartered in Kalamazoo, Mich., Fabri-Kal is a leading provider of made in the U.S.A. plastic foodservice and custom packaging solutions. As head of Fabri-Kal’s marketing group, he oversees the company’s new product innovation and marketing communication efforts.
Honey Konicoff
Vice President of Marketing
Phillips Foods, Inc and Seafood Restaurants
Panelist: Your Brand on Store Shelves
Honey Konicoff has been with Phillips for 18 years and runs its corporate marketing department across all channels of business from restaurants to retail product, to foodservice and franchising. Before Phillips, Konicoff worked as an account executive at a regional public relations firm specializing in the hospitality industry.
Mike Kuzminsky
Sr. Vice President of Franchise Operations, US
Church’s Chicken
Panelist: The Franchisee/Franchisor Relationship
As SVP of franchise operations, Mr. Kuzminsky is responsible for the strategic direction, financial performance, and operational execution of Church’s domestic franchise system for 975 restaurants. He has more than 25 years of experience in the quick-service and full-service restaurant industries, ranging from restaurant start-ups to leading more than 950 restaurants. Prior to joining Church’s, Mr. Kuzminsky served as regional director of operations for Pizza Hut from 1984–2006, where he was responsible for more than 100 restaurants in the central Georgia region. Mr. Kuzminsky led several growth initiatives focused on operations and profit improvements. Prior to his role as regional director, Mr. Kuzminsky held numerous other positions at Pizza Hut and East Side Mario’s.
Ellen Ryan Mardiks
Worldwide Director of Consumer Marketing
Golin Harris
Panelist: Your Next Target Market
Ellen Ryan Mardiks leads a global team of Golin Harris’ branding and marketing experts, and serves as a catalyst for the development of strategies and tools to advance the practice of marketing public relations. She has led the development of communications strategies for iconic, yet game-changing companies and brands such as McDonald’s, Walmart, and Unilever.
Harry M. Rifkin
Partner
Franchise & Business Law Group
Panelist: The Franchisee/Franchisor Relationship
Harry M. Rifkin joined the Franchise & Business Law Group in 2009, bringing with him nearly three decades worth of practicing experience in the area of franchise law and distributions. Since 1983, Mr. Rifkin has been representing national and regional franchisees engaged in arbitration. He is a long-time, active member of the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising as well as the Maryland State Bar Association Franchise & Distribution Law Committee. He has written several articles and spoken on the issue of franchising for many trade publications and organizations and is currently teaching law courses as an adjunct professor at Stevenson University.
Bonnie Riggs
Restaurant Industry Analyst
The NPD Group
Panelist: Breakfast Innovation: Creating New Menu Wins
Bonnie Riggs started working with information for the foodservice Industry in 1981, the year she joined The NPD Group. Before her current role as The NPD Group’s restaurant industry analyst, she was director of client development, servicing a broad range of clients including both foodservice manufacturers and restaurant operators.
Arjun Sen
President and Founder
Restaurant Marketing Group
Panelist: Does Sports Marketing Really Matter?
Arjun Sen is president and founder of Restaurant Marketing Group, a division of the marketing research consulting firm, ZenMango. Mr. Sen has 18 years of experience in marketing, branding, consumer research, strategic planning, and operations in guest experience–oriented companies. His diverse background includes restaurants, aeronautics, steel companies, charities, launching one of the largest online businesses in the country, teaching marketing at a university, and working with Butch Harmon, the Yoda of golf. Mr. Sen also co-chairs the Colorado Governor’s Small Business Council. His diverse experience has earned him championship titles from top senior executives such as “The Towering Research Giraffe,” by Richard Davis, VP of culinary innovation for Boston Market, and “One of the most ‘marketing-intelligent’ minds in the business today,” by Blaine Hurst, former president of Papa John’s.
Bruce Skala
vice president,
Taco Mac
Panelist: Does Sports Marketing Really Work?
Bruce Skala is responsible for leading all strategic brand marketing efforts including in-store marketing, advertising, media, and sponsorships for the growing Atlanta-based chain, Taco Mac. A seasoned veteran, Skala brings more than 20 years of food service and brand marketing experience to the Tappan Street Restaurant Group. Bruce started his career at The Coca-Cola Company.
Starting out in sales, Bruce worked his way up to Senior National Account Executive, responsible for the Arby’s relationship, at the time, Coca-Cola’s fourth largest food service customer. Bruce then transitioned to brand marketing, working on the launch of Dasani water, and the integration of bottled water into the national quick service channel. After thirteen years with Coca-Cola, Bruce was recruited to join Heineken USA, as Marketing Director.
Dean Trevelino
Founder
Tevelino/Keller Communications Group
Panelist: Your Next Target Market
Dean Trevelino launched Trevelino/Keller in 2003 after realizing that food and beverage clients need senior level engagement, tight execution, and an ongoing base of creative concepting. During his nearly 20-year career, Dean has worked with Chick-fil-A, Bass Beers Americas, Pilsner Urquell, Kahlula, and The Coca-Cola Company.
Richard Ventura
North American Sales Manager – Retail Solutions
NEC Display Solutions of America, Inc.
Panelist: The Price is Right
Richard Ventura is responsible for managing business development and growth of market penetration within the restaurant and retail vertical markets. He manages a team responsible for designing and implementing solutions such as digital menuboards, interactive kiosks, digital signage, and in-store advertising systems for both customers and partners. Richard has spent 10 years within the NEC sales organization focusing on display solutions, display technologies, and projectors. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Minnesota – Morris and a master’s degree in business from Hamline University.
Michael Ward
Chief Legal Officer, President of International Operations, and Corporate Secretary
Mrs. Fields Famous Brands
Panelist: The Franchisee/Franchisor Relationship
Michael Ward has served in various capacities with Mrs. Fields Famous Brands and its affiliates for more than 18 years. Prior to his present appointments, Mr. Ward held the positions of co–chief executive officer, executive vice president and general counsel, senior vice president, and vice president of administration and legal. During Mr. Ward’s tenure, the company grew from one regional brand with a network of company-owned stores to a portfolio of internationally recognized brands with a robust licensing and e-commerce division, more than 2,600 franchised retail locations, and thousands of employees and franchisees worldwide. Mr. Ward oversees the company’s franchising segment, both domestic and international, and provides direction and insight into the company’s online and catalog gifting, manufacturing, and branded retail businesses. He and his management teams continue to work strategically to revitalize and grow the Mrs. Fields and TCBY brands.
Tracy White
Chief Sales Officer and Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing
Atlanta Spirit LLC
Panelist: Does Sports Marketing Really Work?
In his current role with the parent company of the Atlanta Hawks, Atlanta Thrashers, and Philips Arena, Tracy White oversees all marketing, advertising, branding, game operations, and ticket sales for the two teams, and under his guidance, in the 2009–10 season, the Hawks realized the highest ticket sales revenue in team history. In addition, White is responsible for negotiating and servicing both teams’ local radio and over-the-air television partnerships, and directs all premium seat and suite sales, and all corporate partnership sales and service for the two teams and the arena. Since joining the Hawks organization in 1987, White has served in multiple ticket sales, marketing and sponsorship positions prior to running the Hawks corporate partnership division in 1997. White ascended to the role of vice president of broadcast and corporate partnerships in 1999, taking on responsibility for the expansion Atlanta Thrashers’ inaugural corporate partnerships. He was the lead member of the team that sold out the Philips Arena partnerships prior to the building’s opening in 1999. White is a native of Scott Depot, West Virginia, and graduated from Marshall University with a bachelor’s degree in marketing.
Denise Lee Yohn
Brand as Business™ Consulting Partner
Moderator: The Price is Right
Denise Lee Yohn has been inspiring and teaching companies how to operationalize their brands to grow their businesses for more than 20 years. Denise shows business leaders how to transform brand-building from a costly, discrete, subjective activity into the most integral way of managing and growing a business. World-class brands including Burger King, Jack in the Box, Jamba Juice, Sony, Frito-Lay, and Nautica have called on Denise, an established speaker, author, and consulting partner.