Mainstage Speakers
Jill Blanchard
President, Advantage Solutions
Jill Blanchard
President, Advantage Solutions
Jill Blanchard currently serves as the President of Client Solutions at Advantage Solutions, a sales and marketing agency providing business process outsourcing services. Prior to this, Jill serviced President of BrandLoyalty USA, a company that builds consumer engagement for the world’s leading retailers. Previously and beginning in 2013, Jill served as the Chief Executive Officer of SPAR Group, Inc., a publicly-held international merchandising and marketing services company. For seven years prior to that, Jill served as the Senior Vice President of Client Services and Business Development for HAVI, a global supply chain services company to the food service industry.
Jill began her career as a statistician at Monsanto, utilizing her undergraduate degrees in mathematics and statistics. She later spent 14 years at Nielsen in various analytics, client services, marketing, and business development positions.
Jill’s career has centered around two passions: building and service. She’s got a knack for understanding people’s goals, connecting dots and building strategies to help them accomplish their goals. She has been fortunate to work closely with some of the most admired brands in the world including Kraft, P&G, Apple, McDonald’s, Smucker’s, and Kroger, to name a few.
Michael Barkin
Co-Founder and President, Sommarøy Spirits
Michael Barkin
Co-Founder and President, Sommarøy Spirits
Michael Barkin gets his energy from being around people and is a successful sales-driven entrepreneur. Michael is best known as a co-founder and SVP of Sales for Trunk Club – a retail startup founded in 2010 with the goal of creating a better way for men to shop. Trunk Club was sold to Nordstrom in 2014 for $350 million.
In September 2018, Michael co-founded Stitch + Heart, a Chicago based apparel startup to raise money and awareness for cancer charities through the purchase of men’s custom clothing. Stitch + Heart sells directly to consumers and donates 10% of the retail sale to the cancer charity of the customer’s choice.
Additionally, Michael consults with a variety of direct-to-consumer industries to evolve the way they think about retail, the sales process, customer experience, leadership, culture and team building.
Michael is a graduate of Indiana University, a husband to Carey and a father to his sons Owen and Crosby, living in Lincolnshire, IL.
In his downtime, Michael can be found enjoying a Sommarøy South Side cocktail on his favorite place, the golf course.
Paul Callahan
President, Retail Sales, T. Marzetti Company
Paul Callahan
President, Retail Sales, T. Marzetti Company
Paul Callahan is a 30-year CPG veteran in the food industry. Paul is currently President of Retail Sales at T. Marzetti Company. He has been leading the sales organization since 2019.
Prior to joining T. Marzetti, Paul held the role of Senior Vice-President of Sales for Mizkan America. During his tenure, Mizkan acquired the renowned billion-dollar Ragu and Bertolli pasta sauce brands from Unilever, significantly bolstering the company’s market presence.
Paul’s career journey commenced at Kraft Foods, where he began as a Sales Representative and steadily progressed to the position of Area Vice President – Central Area over a span of 25 years.
Throughout his professional endeavors, Paul has consistently demonstrated a dedication to fostering collaborative partnerships with customers and nurturing high-performing teams to achieve top-tier results.
Diana Chang
Manager, Commercial Insights, Diageo
Diana Chang
Manager, Commercial Insights, Diageo
• 15 years of in-depth experience conducting effective research, translating complex data, and producing meaningful insights for billion-dollar brands
• Diverse professional background spanning industries such as BevAlc, FMCG, durable goods, pharmaceuticals, and retail, cultivating a well-rounded expertise to tackle business challenges with a comprehensive perspective
• Omnivorous researcher who seeks and absorbs qualitative and quantitative data to keep a pulse on consumers and the market, and who is dedicated to getting the right information to the right audience
Jonathan Clinthorne, PhD
Director of Nutrition, Simply Good Foods USA, Inc
Jonathan Clinthorne, PhD
Director of Nutrition, Simply Good Foods USA, Inc
Jon Clinthorne, PhD received his doctorate in Human Nutrition from Michigan State University for his work focusing on metabolism and immune function. He then completed his post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical campus where he studied the role of the gut microbiota in immune cell development. His research has been published in several top-tier journals including the Journal of Nutrition and Journal of Immunology. As the Director of Nutrition at Simply Good Foods, Jon is involved in new product research and development, creating continuing education courses and establishing relationships with medical professionals. Over the course of his career, he has been an invited speaker at numerous conferences, a featured guest on podcasts and radio shows, and quoted in various magazines such as Men’s Health, Forbes, Elle, and Runner’s World. He serves on the steering committee for the American Society for Nutrition’s Friends of the Office of Nutrition Research, and is also a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the American Heart Association, and the Institute of Food Technologists.
Craig Dubitsky
Friendly co-founder, happy coffee
Founder, hello products
Craig Dubitsky
Friendly co-founder, happy coffee
Founder, hello products
Former Chief Innovation Strategist, Colgate-Palmolive
Craig is the friendly co-founder of happy coffee (along with Robert Downey Jr), founder of hello products, and former Chief Innovation Strategist of Colgate-Palmolive.
happy coffee launched in early 2024 with a mission to elevate the everyday. Priding itself on using only the best, selectively sourced green beans produced by thoughtful growers and opting for a slow roasting process to protect the finest of flavor, happy not only delivers a seriously delicious™ cup of coffee but they care about the person drinking it. In an effort to de-stigmatize mental health, happy coffee has partnered with NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization, with a dedication to building better lives for millions of Americans. Think of it as coffee with a conscience.
hello, the world’s first naturally friendly™ oral care brand, was acquired by Colgate in January of 2020. hello remains the fastest-growing oral care brand in the US, with products now available in over 55,000 food, drug, and mass retailers. hello was named by Inc Magazine as one of the Best Places to Work, as well as “One of the 25 Companies That Are Changing the World.” Dubitsky himself was named to Advertising Age’s Creativity 50, the publication’s annual list of the most influential and innovative creative thinkers, and one of the 100 Most Inspirational Marketers in the World by The Internationalist.
Prior to hello, Craig was a co-founder and creative lead at eos products, a founding board member at Method Products, and a strategic advisor to Seventh Generation, Boots, and various private equity funds.
Craig is an inductee in the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO) Hall of Fame, an Entrepreneur in Residence at Babson, and serves as an Advisory Council Member at the Ain Center for Entrepreneurship at The Simon School of Business at The University of Rochester. Craig loves people, design, brand, packaging and people. Yes, he said people twice.
Martha Gimbel
Executive Director, Budget Lab at Yale
Martha Gimbel
Executive Director, Budget Lab at Yale
Martha Gimbel has worked as an advisor and an economist in senior roles across government, the private sector, and philanthropy, including at the Council of Economic Advisers (for which she also headed the Biden Transition Team) in both the Biden and Obama Administrations, the Department of Labor, the Joint Economic Committee on Capitol Hill, Schmidt Futures, and Indeed.com. She is an expert in a range of economic data, including the labor market, consumer spending, inflation, and economic growth, and in how economic and policy dynamics intersect.
Adam Grant
Organizational Psychologist and Best-selling Author
Adam Grant
Organizational Psychologist and Best-selling Author
Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist and bestselling author who explores the science of motivation, generosity, rethinking, and potential.
Adam Grant has been Wharton’s top-rated professor for 7 straight years. As an organizational psychologist, he is a leading expert on how we can find motivation and meaning, rethink assumptions, and live more generous and creative lives. He has been recognized as the world’s #2 most influential management thinker and one of Fortune’s 40 under 40.
He is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 6 books that have sold millions of copies and been translated into 45 languages: Hidden Potential, Think Again, Give and Take, Originals, Option B, and Power Moves. His books have been named among the year’s best by Amazon, Apple, the Financial Times, and the Wall Street Journal. His viral piece on languishing was the most-read New York Times article of 2021 and the most-saved article across all platforms.
Adam hosts the TED podcasts Re:Thinking and WorkLife, which have been downloaded over 70 million times. His TED talks on languishing, original thinkers, and givers and takers have over 35 million views. He has received a standing ovation at TED and was voted the audience’s favorite speaker at The Nantucket Project. His speaking and consulting clients include Google, the NBA, Bridgewater, and the Gates Foundation. He writes on work and psychology for the New York Times, has served on the Defense Innovation Board at the Pentagon, has been honored as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, and has appeared on Billions. He has more than 8 million followers on social media and features new insights in his free monthly newsletter, GRANTED.
Adam was profiled in the New York Times Magazine cover story, Is giving the secret to getting ahead? He was tenured at Wharton while still in his twenties, and has received the Excellence in Teaching Award for every class that he has taught. He is the founder and host of the Authors@Wharton speaker series, and co-director of Wharton People Analytics. He curates the Next Big Idea Club along with Susan Cain, Malcolm Gladwell, and Dan Pink, handpicking two new books each quarter for subscribers and donating 100% of profits to provide books for children in under-resourced communities.
Adam earned his Ph.D. in organizational psychology from the University of Michigan, completing it in less than 3 years, and his B.A. from Harvard University, magna cum laude with highest honors and Phi Beta Kappa honors. He has received awards for distinguished scholarly achievement from the Academy of Management, the American Psychological Association, and the National Science Foundation, and been recognized as one of the world’s most-cited, most prolific, and most influential researchers in business and economics. His pioneering research has increased performance and reduced burnout among engineers, teachers, and salespeople, and motivated safety behaviors among doctors, nurses, and lifeguards. Before graduate school, Adam worked at Let’s Go Publications, where he set multiple company records for advertising sales and was selected as the manager of the year. He is a former magician and Junior Olympic springboard diver.
Alexa James
Chief Executive Officer, NAMI Chicago
Alexa James
Chief Executive Officer, NAMI Chicago
Since stepping into her position as NAMI Chicago’s leader in 2014, Alexa James has dedicated herself to making NAMI Chicago a leading voice in the conversation around mental wellness, the challenges of the mental health system, and mental health education in Chicago and beyond.
Prior to her work at NAMI Chicago, Alexa worked with children and adults living with mental health conditions as well as those impacted by poverty and trauma. Alexa earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Loyola University, as well as a Master’s Degree in Child Development from Erickson Institute. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of Illinois.
Under Alexa’s leadership, NAMI Chicago has built partnerships extending throughout Chicago and Illinois that strengthen our community’s response to mental health. She has represented NAMI Chicago on the Police Accountability Task Force under Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the COVID-19 Recovery Task Force under Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and Mayor-elect Lightfoot’s Health & Human Services Transition Committee.
Through personal outreach and numerous appearances on local media, Alexa has grown NAMI Chicago’s presence in the community which has built the foundation for unprecedented organizational growth, particularly expanding NAMI Chicago’s Helpline, peer support, and training and education services.
NAMI Chicago’s message is at the heart of Alexa’s leadership: that with courage and hope, we can bring healing to those who are overlooked in our mental health system, and in our society.
Justin Honaman
Head, Worldwide Retail & Consumer Goods GTM, Amazon/AWS
Justin Honaman
Head, Worldwide Retail & Consumer Goods GTM, Amazon/AWS
Justin Honaman leads the worldwide Retail and Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) Go-to-Market team at Amazon Web Services (AWS). He is also the worldwide segment leader for Food & Beverage. His team’s focus within Retail and CPG is on delivering supply chain, ecommerce, data / analytics and digital engagement business solutions for customers globally. Justin has spent the majority of his career in Consumer Goods and Retail both on the customer side (Coca-Cola, Georgia Pacific) as well as the technology / consulting side (Accenture, EY). In the industry and community, Justin serves on the board for the Georgia Technology Authority (GTA), Consumer Goods Technology (CGT), Western Michigan Food Marketing Association, and Leadership Atlanta. Justin lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
Melissa Mayfield
Head of Grocery and Retail Operations, Colgate-Palmolive
Melissa Mayfield
Head of Grocery and Retail Operations, Colgate-Palmolive
Melissa is the head of grocery and retail operations for Colgate-Palmolive. In this role, Melissa is responsible for the Grocery channel sales and operations strategy, P&L and a diverse team. Previously, she served as Head of Sales – Tom’s of Maine (a division of Colgate-Palmolive). In this role, Melissa led customer teams in all channels from Mass, Grocery, Naturals, Drug, eCommerce, Value Discount and specialty as well category management and digital commerce.
Melissa has 20 years of experience in sales, digital commerce, supply chain, category management and operations. She has a passion for improving go-to-market strategies, delivering results leveraging data insights and motivating teams through coaching and upskilling.
Melissa holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing management from University of Arkansas and a MBA from University of the Incarnate Word.
Keith Mercier
General Manager, WW Retail and Consumer, Microsoft
Keith Mercier
General Manager, WW Retail and Consumer, Microsoft
Keith joined Microsoft in January of 2019 as General Manager for WW Retail and Consumer. He started his retail career folding jeans at his local Gap store when he was 17 years old. This led to a 27-year career at Gap Inc., where he held executive positions as Head of Ecommerce Strategy, Vice President of Gap.com for North America, and General Manager of Gap 1969 Jeans, Gap’s largest product category.
In 2012, recognizing the important and emerging role of technology in the industry, Keith made a career change to IBM as a digital transformation expert where he spent time meeting with the C-suite to strategize the role of technology in transforming the Enterprise for IBM’s largest retail and consumer goods clients. Then In 2014, when IBM commercialized its Watson Artificial Intelligence supercomputer, Keith led the WW Retail and Consumer Industry for Watson AI.
Keith graduated from Clemson University and is a fierce and loyal Tiger fan. He earned his MBA from Pepperdine University and currently lives in San Francisco with his wife, Kate, and two kids, Max and Caroline.
Allie K Miller
AI Entrepreneur, Advisor, Investor
Allie K Miller
AI Entrepreneur, Advisor, Investor
Allie K. Miller is a top artificial intelligence leader, advisor, and investor. Previously, Allie was the Global Head of Machine Learning for Startups and Venture Capital at Amazon (AWS), advising the top machine learning researchers and founders in the world. Prior to that, Allie worked at IBM, spearheading development across computer vision, conversation, data, and regulation. Outside of work, Allie is changing the game of AI. Allie has spoken about AI around the world, addressed the European Commission, drafted foreign AI strategies, and created eight guidebooks to educate businesses on how to build successful AI projects. Allie was named as AIconic’s 2019 “AI Innovator of the Year”, a LinkedIn Top Voice for Technology and AI for the last five years, Award Magazine’s Top 50 Women in Tech and Top 100 Global Thought Leaders, Chief in Tech’s Top 100 Women in Tech to Watch in 2022, ReadWrite’s Top 20 AI Speakers in the World, MKAI’s Top 20 AI Mavericks, Data Salon’s Top 25 Data Science influencers in the world, and Neptune’s Top 20 AI Influencers. Allie is also the Founder of The AI Pipeline to build stronger diversity in ML, co-founder of Girls of the Future, a national ambassador for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), an ambassador for the 10,000-person organization Advancing Women in Product, an angel investor in machine learning startups, and has won the Grand Prize in three national innovation competitions. Allie is driven, ambitious, and quick-witted. Allie holds a double-major MBA from The Wharton School and a BA in Cognitive Science (coding a three-year ML study and studying Computer Science, Linguistics, Psychology) from Dartmouth College.
Taydra Mitchell Jackson
Chief Marketing Officer, Sundial Brands
Taydra Mitchell Jackson
Chief Marketing Officer, Sundial Brands
Chief Marketing Officer, SheaMoisture
Brand Creator, Advocate for the Underserved Brand and Beauty Maven
Taydra Mitchell Jackson is an award-winning c-suite marketer with career long passion for the world of beauty, business, and multicultural marketing. As a 25+ year veteran of the beauty industry, she has spent her career affecting change for underserved consumers and communities, both in her executive roles at some of the world’s largest and most recognized corporations, including Procter & Gamble (P& G), L’Oreal, and Revlon, as well as in her role as consultant and advisor to the start-up, indie and niche-targeted beauty companies that have transformed the multicultural beauty landscape over the last decade. During that time, she managed T M J Omni Enterprises, L L C, a self-owned boutique marketing consultancy that helps provide strategic direction to founder led brands in the beauty vertical with direct to consumer and omnichannel focus, including a stint as Head of Marketing for The Lip Bar, an inclusive vegan and cruelty free cosmetics start-up founded by Melissa Butler that is taking the beauty world by storm. At every step, she has been and will continue to be a voice and advocate for the underserved. Today, Mitchell Jackson serves as Chief Marketing Officer for SheaMoisture, the largest multicultural beauty care brand in the world. In her role, she is responsible for innovation and new product development, end-to-end communications, and overall marketing strategy for the brand’s multiple categories.
Mitchell Jackson is a proud, second-generation college graduate and 2x graduate of Florida A& M University, receiving both her undergraduate (BS in Business Administration) and graduate (M B A in Marketing) degrees there, along with executive management training at Insead through the L ’Oreal Global Executive Management program. She sits on the advisory boards for Healing of the Heart Ministries (not for profit that supports survivors of sexual abuse) and NY C/ Atlanta based Harlem Zen (medi-spa targeting multicultural skin). She also loves to spend time mentoring women in the areas of business and personal growth. She and her husband Tony have three daughters, Gabrielle, and twin daughters Hallel and Hannah, who are matriculating as sophomores at Howard University and North Carolina Central University, respectively.
Kevin O’Leary
Star of ABC’s Shark Tank, Venture Capitalist and Investor
Kevin O’Leary
Star of ABC’s Shark Tank, Venture Capitalist and Investor
Kevin O’Leary’s success story began in his native Canada, “with a big idea and zero cash.” In 1986, he founded SoftKey Software Products, later to be called The Learning Company, in his Toronto basement. Under O’Leary’s leadership, the company became a giant in its sector before it was acquired for $4.2 billion. In 2000, O’Leary founded O’Leary Ventures, a generalist venture capital investment platform that has since invested in start-ups and early-stage companies across virtually every sector. In 2003, he co-founded Storage Now, a leading developer of climate-controlled storage facilities, which was later acquired for $110 million. His next investment, Stream Global Services, was later acquired for $820 million.
In 2006, O’Leary joined the Canadian cast of Dragon’s Den, the international business reality show and forerunner of the U.S. Shark Tank franchise. His tough critiques and brutal honesty made him a popular judge. In 2009, he was invited to join the founding cast of ABC’s Shark Tank, alongside Mark Cuban, Robert Herjavec, Lori Greiner, Daymond John, and Barbara Corcoran. Shark Tank continues to be one of the most popular television programs of all time, garnering multiple awards and nominations, including four Emmy awards. Reflecting his commitment to “eco-preneurship,” O’Leary also co-hosted The Discovery Channel’s Project Earth series, which explored radical ideas to combat global warming.
O’Leary currently serves as chairman for a portfolio of companies that reflect his guiding principles for business. They include venture capital investment platform O’Leary Ventures; Beanstox, an automated internet-based investment advisory service; and O’Shares Investments, which provides ETFs for long-term wealth management. He is the founder of O’Leary Financial Group, and Chief Sommelier of award-winning O’Leary Fine Wines. Since 2021, O’Leary has also been a strategic investor in WonderFi, now one of the largest regulated crypto asset trading platforms in the world.
A strong believer in financial education and fostering the next generation of entrepreneurs, Kevin O’Leary is the author of a bestselling series of books: Cold Hard Truth; Men, Women and Money; and Family, Kids and Money. He has spoken to future entrepreneurs at Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan, Notre Dame, Waterloo and McGill. Corporate speaking audiences have included Ernst & Young, MassMutual, First Third Bank, Constant Contact, Comcast, Zendesk, Cisco Systems, National Conference of State Legislatures, and ExxonMobil.
O’Leary serves on the investment committee of Boston’s prestigious 200-year-old Hamilton Trust. He is an avid chef, wine lover, world traveler, photographer, electric guitarist, guitar collector, and die-hard New England Patriots fan.
Mr. O’Leary received an honours bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and psychology from the University of Waterloo and an MBA in entrepreneurship from the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario.
Rachael Ryan
Head of Research & Insights, NA & Global Functions, TikTok
Rachael Ryan
Head of Research & Insights, NA & Global Functions, TikTok
Rachael Ryan is an accomplished marketing professional. Prior to TikTok, her experience spanned helping Fortune 500s and startups in Tech, Ecommerce, Finance, Retail, and Government, specializing in thought leadership and advertising research.
As the Head of Research and Insights for Global Functions and North America at TikTok, Rachael’s focus is on thought leadership research – digging into business questions with clients to evolve their understanding of TikTok phenomenon like culture, creative, creators, consumer journey, commerce; as well as digging into more technical topics like product and placement research.
NIQ Speakers
Jim Peck
Chief Executive Officer, NIQ
Jim Peck
Chief Executive Officer, NIQ
LinkedIn
James ‘Jim’ Peck, currently serves as the Executive Chairman and CEO of NIQ. Jim, in partnership with Advent International, acquired the business from Nielsen in March 2021.
Previously, Jim served as the CEO of TransUnion. He joined TransUnion in 2012 when it was owned by Advent International and Goldman Sachs. As CEO, he led the company’s transformation into a market leader in innovation, driven by organic growth programs, tech re-platforming and strategic transactions. Prior to TransUnion, Jim oversaw growth at LexisNexis, spearheading the $4 billion acquisition and integration of ChoicePoint into LexisNexis and the acquisition of Seisint while serving as CEO of Risk Solutions from 2004 to 2012. Jim also served as SVP and Chief Product Officer of LexisNexis from 2001 to 2004.
Jim received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Dayton and an M.B.A. from The Ohio State University. Additionally, Jim received a CERT Certificate in Cybersecurity Oversight, issued by the CERT Division of the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.
Elizabeth Buchanan
Regional President, North America, NIQ
Elizabeth Buchanan
Regional President, North America, NIQ
LinkedIn
Liz Buchanan leads the North American business for NielsenIQ, a global information services firm serving the consumer goods and retail industries. In this role, she is accountable for the U.S. and Canadian markets, across all NIQ business lines and customer segments.
During her 17 years at NIQ, Liz has held various leadership roles in customer success, sales, product development and technology deployment. Most recently, she oversaw NIQ’s customer facing analytics and servicing teams around the world and led the successful rollout of the NIQ self-serve analytics platform, NIQ Discover, across 85 countries.
She has worked extensively across the U.S. and global markets. She has specific expertise in data governance and stewardship, data management processes, technologies and analytics. She regularly consults with customers to help them achieve their transformation goals in this rapidly evolving space.
Liz currently serves as an Executive Sponsor for the Women in NielsenIQ (WIN) employee resource group. She sits on the Board of Directors for the Chicago chapter of Cradles to Crayons, a non-profit organization focused on providing essentials to children facing clothing insecurity. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Chicago Humanities (formerly the Chicago Humanities Festival) and World Business Chicago.
Liz is an active champion for civic causes, regularly dedicating her time advocating for diverse political representation through fundraising, organizing and policy work at the local and national level. Liz is a Class of 2022 Leadership Greater Chicago (LGC) Signature Fellow and a member of the Economic Club of Chicago.
Jamie Clarke
North America Retail Head, NIQ
Jamie Clarke
North America Retail Head, NIQ
LinkedIn
Jamie Clarke leads NIQ’s North American retail growth strategy and oversees all retailer engagements in the region. He has been with NielsenIQ since September 2021.
Prior to joining NielsenIQ, Jamie led retail partnerships as Quotient Technology’s Vice President and Head of Retail. At Quotient, Jamie was responsible for the strategic growth of over 20 retailer partnerships covering retail media, digital coupons, and retailer data management. He developed retailer partnerships across the grocery, dollar, drug, club, auto, and other verticals.
Throughout his career, Jamie has held a number of retail and retail consulting leadership roles in Australia and the U.S. He has worked at PwC, Coles Supermarkets, Coles Loyalty and Financial Services, and Southeastern Grocers. His deep strategic experience in merchandising, pricing, and loyalty brings the retailer’s perspective to NIQ and allows him to support winning relationships across retailer and CPG clients.
Andrew Criezis
President, E-Commerce & Omni, NIQ
Andrew Criezis
President, E-Commerce & Omni, NIQ
LinkedIn
Andrew Criezis is the President of Global E-Commerce and SMB. He is a subject matter expert in CPG, Omnichannel go-to-market strategy (GTM), retail and brand analytics, global sales operations, and revenue generation. Andrew spent 10 years at NIQ in senior leadership roles including Managing Director of Global SMB, chief product officer of Byzzer, and SVP of global sales operations & sales enablement. Prior to NIQ, he spent five years at GE in operations and management. His long and varied experience qualifies Andrew to speak authoritatively on topics ranging from emerging brand innovation, integrated marketing, and retail growth.
Sherry Frey
Health & Wellness Industry Leader, NIQ
Sherry Frey
Health & Wellness Industry Leader, NIQ
LinkedIn
Sherry Frey brings more than two decades of industry experience to her role as VP of Total Wellness at NielsenIQ. With a background in market research, innovation and consulting, she has elevated clients across the fresh, CPG and wellness industries, providing forward-thinking insights, combined with practical strategies. In addition to leading NielsenIQ’s Total Wellness team and industry engagement, Frey has been a featured speaker at many national and international industry events, and is often sought as a media and analyst resource on topics related to consumer health, wellness and environmental issues. Her view of health and wellness spans beyond personal health and wellness, encompassing how we collectively think about the health of the planet.
Lydia Irving
Strategic Account Manager, NIQ
Lydia Irving
Strategic Account Manager, NIQ
LinkedIn
Lydia Irving leads the North American Tech & Durable Strategic Accounts for NIQ. She has been with GfK for more than 10 years in various leadership roles, including the Global Account Director for Google, and the Global Lead for Media Measurement.
Prior to joining GfK, Lydia was a pioneer in the Social Listening Research space. She was the second employee at BuzzMetrics which was eventually acquired by Nielsen Media.
Lydia holds an MBA from Columbia University in New York City.
Mohit Kapoor
Chief Technology Officer, NIQ
Mohit Kapoor
Chief Technology Officer, NIQ
LinkedIn
Mohit Kapoor was named NielsenIQ’s Chief Technology Officer in March 2021. In this role, he oversees all aspects of technology and operations for the company.
Prior to NielsenIQ, Mohit was Chief Information and Technology Officer for TransUnion, where he was responsible for all aspects of technology including strategy, security, applications, operations, infrastructure and delivery. Additionally, he served in several senior roles at HSBC, including CIO of South America and Global Head of Software House, where he oversaw all aspects of technology related to global systems that supported Corporate and Retail customers. Mohit has also served in other roles of increasing responsibility with HSBC, Accenture, Coopers and Lybrand and EDS.
Mohit holds a Bachelor of Science in CIS and Finance and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Jacksonville State University and a Masters in Accounting Information Systems from Arizona State University
Tracey Massey
Chief Operating Officer, NIQ
Tracey Massey
Chief Operating Officer, NIQ
LinkedIn
Tracey Massey currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of NIQ. As COO, Tracey is responsible for all commercial and product aspects, including revenue, product development plans, business units’ strategies, and all market-facing aspects of NIQ.
Tracey is an accomplished global executive with over 30 years of experience and a successful track record in enhancing and expanding global businesses. Her philosophy of winning with clearly articulated strategies coupled with the infusion of trust and resources allows Tracey to empower people and nurture highly engaged teams.
Prior to joining NIQ, Tracey served as Global President and Chief Executive Officer of Mars Pet Nutrition, where she led the world’s largest pet food business, revamping its product portfolios for continuous growth. Prior to that role, she was Regional President Mars Confectionary Americas, where she successfully led her team through the integration of Mars Chocolate Americas with the Wrigley Co. Americas.
Tracey has a BS in Chemical Engineering from Loughborough University in England, and is a published thought-leader and speaker on topics such as women’s success in STEM and embracing the power of diversity.