Ernie Harker is a branding expert, speaker, and author. After studying illustration at Utah State University, he began his career in 1993 as a concept artist for a large Ad agency in SLC. Two years later he founded a small production studio called 8fish that built a reputation for illustration, animation, video production, ad design, writing, and brand development for a variety of clients including Maverik, Inc., a regional convenience store chain. In 2010 he was asked to lead Maverik’s in-house marketing and branding efforts as their Executive Director of Marketing which helped catapult the company into a multi billion dollar brand. Eight years later he left Maverik to write a book, and pursue a consulting and speaking career. Ernie loves to draw, run, wakeboard, hot yoga, hit the gym, mountain bike, watch movies, eat junk food, and spend time with his family and 7 brothers.

Nathan Griffis is a strong visionary leader who is focused on building relationships for the long haul. As a Principal at Cuhaci Peterson, he is responsible for managing multiple-unit programs for top brands in the convenience industry and serving as the liaison between those brands and multiple teams, including the firm’s architecture, design, engineering and project teams. A graduate of Triangle Tech, where he earned an associate’s degree in architectural computer-aided design and drafting (CADD), Nathan’s more than 25 years of experience includes customer relations, account management, program development, leadership, project management and sales. He has led multiple-size projects in the convenience, grocery, restaurant and retail markets. Nathan has been published in Convenience Store News and is involved in numerous industry organizations.

Greg is a licensed architect with more than 30 years of leadership experience in the grocery, food service, retail, and hospitality sectors. As CEO of Cuhaci Peterson based near Orlando, Florida, he leads a team of more than 200 employees at the national architecture, engineering and planning firm. Cuhaci Peterson specializing in end-to-end commercial design solutions and has created future-proof store experiences for all types of retailers.

Dave Grimes and his wife, Victoria currently live in Dixon, Kentucky. They raised four children, two boys and two girls. Since all of the children are out of the house, they now stay busy with their five dogs! After joining Martin and Bayley, Inc. in 2013, he has held positions including district manager, regional director and vice president of foodservice. Prior to Martin and Bayley, Dave was the director of training and human resources for Pizza Hut of Southern Wisconsin. Previous to that, he owned a small group of convenience stores in southern Wisconsin. Dave’s experience also included spending 13 years with Stop-N-Go of Madison, Inc. in a variety of roles. Dave has spent his entire career in convenience retail and d operations. Dave has a B.S. in Human Resource Management and an MBA.

Ryan Krebs, a classically trained chef, joined Enmarket in January, 2020 after a career that has included restaurants, fine dining hotels, nonprofits, healthcare and the convenience store market. He began cooking professionally at the age of 16 and earned a Culinary Arts degree from Johnson & Wales University and a Dietary Manager’s certification from the University of North Dakota. Ryan’s prior position was Director of Foodservice at Rutter’s in York, PA, where he was recognized as 2017’s Food Service Leader of the Year by Convenience Store News. He also received the 2018 Produce Excellence Award presented by United Fresh. In addition, Enmarket was recognized as The Foodservice Innovator to Watch by Convenience Store News in 2020. Enmarket is Savannah, GA’s largest convenience store chain, employing more than 1,300 people and operating 129 convenience stores, 14 quick-serve restaurants and 2 fast casual restaurants in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. It is ranked the 49th largest convenience store operator in the country.

Jeff Hagans is a Category Manager for The Spinx Company based in Greenville, SC. Following graduation from college at Bob Jones University with a Marketing Management degree, he began his career in food service management in the college/university segment. In 1998, he moved into retail food service management in the segment and was responsible for starting up a new coffee shop, deli concept, and adding multiple branding concepts to the food service operation. During this time, while working, he earned an MBA from Bob Jones University graduating in 2012. Following a short stint as a food service director at an assisted living facility, he began working for The Spinx Company in July 2014. During his time at Spinx, he has managed the dispensed beverage, bakery, and fresh food categories. Both the fresh food and bakery categories have seen exponential growth and are now contributing gross profit to our food service program. Jeff enjoys watching NASCAR, Clemson Tiger athletics, and Atlanta Braves baseball as well as serving as Chairman of the Board of Elders at his local church. Jeff enjoys spending time with his wife, Babbett of 30 years and his 4 children.

Ben is the culinary change agent, Menu innovator and Concept developer who takes a flavor forward approach in delivering readily executable, duplicable, fresh, and delicious foods to guests. “Earning the guest’s trust, we earn their business and turn them into loyal fans.” His primary focus is to study food and business trends, then develop a consistent, flavorful and quality offer that appeals to the guests and delivers against Dash In values and the bottom line goals. Ben developed a wide array of food and beverage concepts in Latin America for the ExxonMobil, On The Run brand after joining the C-store channel from the restaurant industry. He has created menus which have included: craft dogs, fried chicken, pizza, smoothies, fresh bakery, gourmet barista poured coffee and upscale Made to Order hot and cold sandwiches. In 2014, he won the FARE Culinary Competition, creating an “original, innovative on-the-go style meal”. Later, in November 2016 he was recognized by CSP for having one of the “40 Great C-Store Menu Items” with his Calle Ocho Cuban Sandwich. In 2018, when BP/ampm became the Best New Foodservice Offering award winner for the year as recognized by Convenience Store News, it was Ben who created the menu and offer as their R&D chef. Now with Dash In, winner of the 2021 Best Foodservice Launch from Convenience Store Decisions, he continues to create delicious foodservice innovations. A restaurant veteran as well as an Army veteran, Ben has been in both traditional and non-traditional foodservice for over 30 years, in operations, as a sales person, Executive Chef, R&D Chef, and both a director and category manager of food service. He has worked in all countries in North and South America. He is a Professional Chocolatier and graduate of the Barry Callebaut Ecole Chocolat in Montreal. He earned a Business degree from Regis University in Denver Colorado. At Dash In, he is proud to have created and trademarked an upscale quesadilla called the Stackadilla ™. On a personal note, Ben is a ‘Chicken Tender’. He has 6 laying breakfast makers that the 7 grandkids and neighbor kids enjoy watching and feeding.

Kay is a Southern Girl from a different kind of South (Korea) who started a wild pizza adventure when she launched a food truck named Big Bon Pizza in 2016, Big Bon Bagels in 2019, and Big Bon Ghost Kitchen in 2021. Kay handcrafts Neapolitan pizzas and Montreal inspired bagels using wood fired ovens, feeding appetites and restoring spirits in Savannah, Georgia.

Bassem Nowyhed has more than a decade of experience in the convenience store management and food & beverage industries. As a master connector and natural networker, he's brought numerous innovations to his locations as a multi-franchise owner of AMPM stores. Now, as Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Invig Consulting, he and his team have reimagined the way brands, convenience stores, and restaurants connect and do business by taking the hassle out of the distribution game. Bassem is also a firm believer in giving back to his community and to children, which is why he also co-founded Just Cause, a non-profit organization that recognizes kids for their talents and encourages them to improve by rewarding them for their skills. He is a graduate from USC Marshall School with a Bachelor of Arts degree in business.

Howland Blackiston is a co-principal of King-Casey, one of the nation's leading consulting and design firms for foodservice and restaurant brands. Howland works with a portfolio of clients both in the USA and abroad, including Starbucks, McDonalds, Subway, Bojangles, Jamba and many others. Howland is a key proponent of King-Casey's Menu Optimization Trilogy - a proprietary strategic discipline for improving menu performance. He has published many professional papers, authored numerous books, and has traveled extensively as a featured speaker in over 40 countries.

Art Lopez is a Senior Marketing Director at Finlays, a leading independent B2B supplier of tea, coffee, and botanical solutions for foodservice and beverage brand owners worldwide. Art’s passion and enthusiasm for tea and coffee began nearly 10 years ago when he began his career at Finlays working within the tea Supply Chain management. Over the last decade, Art has refined his skill set and expertise in his roles as Sales Director and Director of Product Marketing, developing an in-depth understanding of both category and channel alignment within the beverage marketplace. He continues to share his passion and knowledge for coffee, tea and beverage throughout the industry most recently speaking at the World Tea Expo in Las Vegas.

Tony Sparks, now in his 3rd start-up, is Head of Customer Wow for Curby’s Express Market. He comes to Curby’s with 25 years’ experience in convenience retailing holding such positions as VP of Merchandising and Marketing, National Fresh Food Category Manager, and Director of Operations. He has decades of experience bringing new brands to market, product development and commercialization, and creating strategic and tactical merchandising / marketing plans for billion-dollar companies including 7-Eleven and Yesway. He is a University of Nevada graduate with a degree in Finance.

Jessica Williams founded Food Forward Thinking LLC to support the growth of foodservice in convenience stores, restaurants, and grocery chains. Her consulting company’s specialty is providing menu labeling compliance solutions, developing foodservice platforms, and elevating executional consistency. Williams works with food distributors, equipment manufacturers, and a broad range of foodservice operators to dial in recipe cost models, source ingredients, develop training, and provide nutrition facts for proprietary food and beverage items. Prior to founding her consulting firm, Williams led fresh food product development and quality assurance at Thorntons, Inc. convenience store chain. The foodservice platform established there is leading the industry in evolving consumer expectations and elevating food quality. Williams learned foundational product development knowledge at Yum! Brands, Inc., where she conducted consumer research and developed food and equipment items for the Kentucky Fried Chicken brand for ten years. She has extensive experience with large-scale commercialization, experimental test design, and consumer research. She has supported the growth of the KFC brand globally with assignments in the United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and Latin America. Williams holds a Bachelor of Science in Food Science & Technology from the University of Kentucky and currently lives on an organic dairy farm in Kentucky.