Omnichannel
LeadershipImmersion Program

Dan Hooker is a global retail and consumer packaged goods executive with broad experience across diverse business environments and formats, leading traditional food retail operations and merchandising, as well as product development, consumer and category analytics, sourcing and procurement, global trading, national sales, and ecommerce. An outstanding strategist and general manager, he has led the successful startup of multiple diverse businesses. Known for and recognized as one of the world’s leading authorities on retailers’ proprietary brands, Mr. Hooker has shaped clients’ programs across four continents and eight classes of trade. His passion is in helping companies recognize their unique DNA and positioning then creating actionable marketing and sales strategies essential for their success.

Professor Vishal Gaur is Emerson Professor of Manufacturing Management, and professor of operations, technology and information management at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management. His research interests lie in data-driven modeling, econometric analysis, and optimization of operations management problems with applications in supply chains, retailing, and e-Commerce. His current research projects deal with online marketplace operations, reduction of food waste, supply chain risk, and linking operations with financial performance of firms.

Prof. Gaur serves as the program director for Johnson’s MS in Business Analytics program and previously served as associate dean of MBA programs during 2014-2019. He also served as a department editor for the Operations Management department of Management Science during 2014-2021. He teaches graduate courses in operations management, digital business and retail operations, and data analysis in SQL and Tableau. He has received numerous awards for his research and teaching: the Cornell-Tsinghua Dual Degree MBA Gravitas Award in 2021; the Stephen Russell Distinguished Teaching Award in 2020; the Johnson Core Faculty Award by the graduating classes of 2015, 2012, and 2008; the Johnson Cornell Tech Core Faculty Award by the graduating class of 2017; the Wickham Skinner Early Career Research Accomplishments Award by the Production and Operations Management Society (POMS) in 2006; and honorable mention in the George B. Dantzig Dissertation Award Competition in 2001. Prof. Gaur received his PhD from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, and his BTech in Computer Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. Before joining Johnson, he was an assistant professor at the NYU Stern School of Business during 2001-07 and a visiting associate professor at Harvard Business School during 2007-08.

Karan Girotra is a professor of operations, technology, and information management at Cornell Tech and Cornell University. He collaborates with companies building new business models in the areas of urban living, smart transportation, and e-commerce, helping them design rigorous, research-based solutions. Professor Girotra’s research team has been recognized by many awards, including the prestigious Wickham Skinner Early Career Research Award and multiple best paper awards. He has also won awards for his teaching on entrepreneurship and new business models, and was featured in the Poets & Quants Best 40 Under 40 business professors list. In addition to his academic work, Professor Girotra is one of the founders of TerraPass Inc., which the New York Times identified as one of the most noteworthy ideas of 2005. Since then, TerraPass has helped businesses and individuals reduce over 100 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Professor Girotra holds Ph.D. and A.M. degrees from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

Tomissa Smittendorf has a passion for creating a culture of learning, emphasizing capability building and collaborating across the organization to drive impact. She has more than 30 years of diverse experience, having worked in L&D, retail sales, supply chain, HR, sales finance, customer service, and DSD. Ms. Smittendorf leads the development of comprehensive learning strategies, tying learning to business solutions and consulting with the business to overcome business challenges. She has created a high-performance team to build sales capabilities, instilling agility to meet evolving business needs with a transformation drive and make-it-happen spirit.

At Kellogg Company, Ms. Smittendorf has developed a sales learning and development value proposition, enabling the organization’s sales vision by activating an intentional learner mindset. She designed, developed, and implemented a customer engagement platform, a three-year strategic collaboration for mutual sustainable growth with priority initiatives and customer engagement roadmaps. Ms. Smittendorf’s strong change management background has enabled her to craft stakeholder engagement plans to communicate and drive a culture of change.

Louis Hyman is the Neufeld Professor of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, where he teaches the history of retail.. An historian of work and business, Professor Hyman is currently working on a history of e-commerce entitled “Add To Cart.”

Dynamic Human Resources Executive at corporate and operational level with a strong expertise in Learning & Talent Management in matrix organizations. Consistent track record for leading organizational development and human resources initiatives across the Americas zone (North & South America). Licensed Executive Coach. Effectively collaborates on international projects. Fluent in English, French & Spanish. Dual citizen with working credentials in Europe & USA. Significant experience in designing and implementing innovative learning solutions and projects. Business leader partner to align talent strategies with business goals to optimize organizational effectiveness. Successfully communicate with business professionals of all levels, backgrounds, and nationalities to develop trusted partnerships. Expertise in multi-cultural relationships and project management crossing the boundaries of multiple cultures and countries.

As Senior Director of Omnichannel Transformation for Walmart, Whitney is responsible for incubating next-gen revenue streams and building out new enterprise business planning models for Walmart Connect. Positioned at the intersection of Merchandising, Marketing, eCommerce and Walmart Connect- her team is focused on next gen enterprise business strategy, In-store and OOH (out of home) advertising commercialization, and operationalizing Walmart’s ‘One Walmart’ integrated planning model both internally and externally with Walmart’s suppliers and sellers.
Before joining Walmart, Whitney worked for The Kellogg Company in various roles across Sales, eCommerce and Shopper Marketing including her most recent as omnichannel eCommerce lead for North America where she led Kellogg’s eCommerce business across all Omnichannel retailers. Prior to making the jump to CPG, Whitney spent over a decade on the agency side building programming to support the entire offline + online path to purchase in various strategy and account leadership roles.

Mark Milstein is Clinical Professor of Management and Director of the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University. He conducts applied research in and oversees the Center’s work on market and enterprise creation, business development, clean technology commercialization, and sustainable finance.

Dr. Milstein specializes in framing the world’s social and environmental challenges as unmet market needs which can be addressed effectively by the private sector through innovation and entrepreneurship, thereby allowing companies to achieve financial success by creatively addressing problems such as climate change, ecosystem degradation, and poverty. He has received funding from the National Science Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation the S.C. Johnson Foundation, SEvEN, the World Bank, the University of Queensland, and the Water Resources Institute. Over the past decade, Dr. Milstein has worked with more than 100 firms across a range of industries, including renewable energy and carbon markets, life sciences and sustainable agriculture, consumables, food and nutrition, healthcare, tourism and hospitality management, as well as finance and international development.

Dr. Milstein’s work and perspectives have been featured in The New York Times, MSNBC, CNBC, Forbes, The Guardian, and GreenBiz. He is a frequent speaker on the topics of strategy, organizational change, and innovation related to business and sustainability. He also consults with a number of multinational firms, small- and medium-sized enterprises, and NGOs. Dr. Milstein currently serves on the board of directors of Livelihood Basix International and as a board member for Johnson & Johnson’s Earthwards Program.

Steve Miller currently serves as Senior Vice President – Strategy, eCommerce & Analytics. In this role, Steve is responsible for driving strategic initiatives across the company, leading our eCommerce management team, and optimizing the end-to-end athlete experience across insights, pricing, and our centralized analytics organization.

Steve joined DICK’S Sporting Goods in April 2019 as the Senior Vice President of Strategy & Analytics. Prior to joining DICK’S, Steve served as Senior Vice President of Marketing and eCommerce at Jo-Ann Stores, Inc. He held several leadership roles during his tenure with Jo-Ann Stores, Inc., including Vice President of Marketing and Director of CRM/Loyalty. Steve also held various leadership roles at McKinsey & Company after serving as a White House intern and the co-founder of Tiggly early in his career.

Cara Pratt is a recognized pioneer in the retail media industry. She oversees strategy, media product development, sales, and operations of in-store, onsite and off-site media advertising for Kroger’s retail media business. With a vision to create a more transparent and effective media landscape for consumer-packaged goods brands, she was instrumental in the creation of Kroger Precision Marketing which closes the loop between media exposure and store sales. Cara sits on the business leadership team for 84.51° and leads a growing cross-functional group committed to ensuring Kroger Precision Marketing is more addressable, more actionable and more accountable than other media options.

Cara was recognized as one of the 2022 Ad Age Leading Women and she was also honored with the Catalyst Award at the 2022 Top Women in Media and Ad Tech Awards.

Pratt holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Denison University. She’s a mentor for women in business, frequent speaker, and an active member of the Interactive Advertising Bureau.

Scott Bearse has 31 years of strategy and operations consulting experience as a director and partner or principal at Deloitte Consulting, Arthur Andersen, and Senn-Delaney Management Consultants. Most recently he served L Brands as the strategic advisor to the CEO in the capacity of chief stores officer. During his consulting career he held leadership positions in the retail and consumer business industries, MBA recruiting, and strategic client relationships. He served on the Global CB Editorial Board, the Eminence Board at Deloitte, and was a World Retail Awards Judge. He was a frequent speaker at industry events such as the National Retail Federation and the World Retail Congress. He is also the author of many articles on trends and insights into the industry. More important, he served more than 100 different clients, leading more than 300 consulting engagements and providing an extensive and diverse background from which to share experiences with our students.

Manish Sharma is a seasoned leader with over 20 years of experience in digital retail, global marketing, and P&L management. He excels at transforming challenges into opportunities and inspiring change through strategic thinking. Currently, Manish serves as the Vice President and General Manager of Omni-commerce at Kellogg USA, focusing on creating a world-class, data-driven, and digitally enabled organization. He has held various leadership positions across different continents, including leading the marketing function for Asia Pacific and serving as the global lead for the Kellogg Masterbrand.

Being a builder at heart, Manish is deeply passionate about building businesses, brands, and mentoring talent. His areas of expertise encompass marketing, e-commerce, breakthrough innovation, and integrated communication planning. In his free time, Manish enjoys spending time with his dogs, traveling, and trying new foods.

In her current role at Ahold Delhaize, Jenny aligns talent strategy with business strategy and focuses on best practices to hire, assess, develop, engage and retain employees. Prior to joining Ahold Delhaize in 2023, Jenny worked with Syngenta, as head of People & Organization Development for their Global Seeds BU. She is the Board Chair for AMI, an innovation non-profit.

Jenny has a bachelors in Business Administration from UNC-CH and a master’s degree in Organization Development from American University/National Training Laboratories.

Jenny recently moved to Chapel Hill, NC, where she resides with her husband and three children.

Luciano “Lucho” Lopez-May is the Chief Executive Officer of The Kraft Heinz Not Company (KHNC), the joint venture of The Not Company and Kraft Heinz. KHNC’s ambition is to democratize plant-based food and to make it more approachable and accessible.

Before becoming CEO of The Kraft Heinz Not Company in early 2022, Lucho was CEO of North America at The Not Company. Prior to that, he served as CEO and Partner of Garland Food and President of Strategic Growth Channels at Danone North America, among other roles throughout his 15 years with Danone. Lucho began his career with The Clorox Company where he held positions within their commercial business, including in his home country of Argentina, Brazil, the Latin America region and the United States.

Lucho holds a degree in International Trading from the school of Economics at the Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (UADE). He resides in Connecticut with his wife, Fabi, and their three children, Martina, Joaquin and Timoteo.

Suzanne has more than 10+ years of experience with Albertsons in executive leadership roles. She currently serves as Albertson’s Chief Sustainability and Transformation Officer​. Suzanne’s current responsibilities are to lead Albertsons Companies’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy and the company’s transformation plan to deliver $1B+ in productivity improvement over the next three years.​

Prior to taking the lead as Albertsons Chief Sustainability Officer, Suzanne served as Albertsons GVP of Strategic Sourcing & ESG where she designed, built and led a 200-person organization responsible for optimizing sourcing of indirect/not for resale (NFR) spend, as well as the packaging, ingredients, commodity and co-packer costs for a $9B Own Brands portfolio. Suzanne has twice won Progressive Grocer’s Top Women in Grocery award – Senior Executive Level (2019 & 2021) & the Tribute to Women and Industry (TWIN) Award​. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Duke University

Mike Ross currently serves as Vice President of Sales and is responsible for leading a cross functional team dedicated to the Albertsons business across all Kellogg categories.​ Mike was previously the Sr. Director of Commercial Strategy at Kellogg’s leading strategic direction of the commercial plan and driving customer engagement on Frozen Breakfast. ​Mike also was the Sr. Director of Sales on the Kroger business for Kellogg’s Cereal and PWS business. ​Mike began his career with Kellogg in 2007 and has held multiple cross-functional roles on Grocery and Global teams.​ He received his Bachelor’s degree and Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Cincinnati.

Kimberley Sundy is the Senior Director for Global Sustainability for Kellogg Company. In this capacity, Kim leverages Kellogg’s commitment to people and the planet to embed purpose into its business and unlock growth for its brands.

Kim is living proof that you can get paid to change the world. Philanthropy, sustainability, and communicating its game-changing value are her passions and professional expertise. She has built an incredible career as a classically trained, mission-driven CPG marketer working for leading companies like Kellogg’s, General Mills, and Kimberly-Clark. Her commitment to excellence and ability to drive for results have created social investment strategies and innovative global stakeholder engagement opportunities.

Kim serves as Liaison Delegate for the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and is both a member of CALIBR and co-chair of its Midwest Region. She is also a graduate of McKinsey’s Black Executive Leadership Program. Kim is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and has been a member of the Junior League since 2004. She is the proud mother of a West Point Cadet and lives with her family and dogs in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Peter works in Strategic Partnership Acceleration at Ascential Digital Commerce. Prior to Ascential, Peter was the Senior Vice President of Commercial Strategy & Business Development at Fetch Rewards, a mobile loyalty platform. Peter has also held leadership roles at PowerReviews, CVS Health, dunnhumby, IRi and priceline.com. He holds a BA from Wesleyan University, a MBA from The Stern School of Business at New York University and Executive Education Certificates from the Business Schools at Columbia University and Cornell University.

Sri Rajagopalan has over 30 years of leadership experience at Fortune 500 companies, overseeing eCommerce and P&L for some of the most recognizable CPG brands in the world.
He has worked as Senior Vice President of eCommerce & Digital Sales at Revlon, Vice President of eCommerce & New Business Models at Johnson & Johnson, and General Manager of Sales & eCommerce at PepsiCo.

John Patterson has over 30+ years of Global HR Leadership Experience in a diverse set of industries ranging from Specialty and Large-Scale Retail, Global Luxury Brands, Consumer Packaged Goods, Aerospace, and Internet / E-commerce. Last year he moved the Talent Function at Macy’s and will lead efforts across all Macy’s nameplates as the Head of the Talent COE at Macy’s leading Talent Acquisition, Culture, Talent Management, Performance Management, and Learning and Leadership. His retail experience spans specialty, with Sycamore-backed Talbot’s, and luxury retail with the Swatch Group as SVP of HR of North America and Chief HR Officer of Harry Winston Diamond Corporation, and during the first three (3) years he led the Stores HR Function and Talent Acquisition for Macy’s Inc.

JP has extensive international experience and worked overseas for 6 years leading HR functions in both Asia Pacific and the Sub-Saharan Africa Regions for Diageo, where he was responsible for developing Human Capital strategies in emerging markets of China, India, South East Asia and more developed markets in Korea, Japan, and Australia and 40 countries in Africa. Prior to joining Diageo in 2001, Mr. Patterson was a part of the start-up team that built out the priceline.com brand as the Vice President of Talent from 1999 – 2001. Early in JP’s career, he worked with PepsiCo in New York and Lockheed Martin Aerospace in Southern California, where he focused in Labor Relations.

Prior to the Global Pandemic, JP was active in Parish life, serving as a Parish Council Member, regular Lector, and long-term Catechist. He has been a long-term supporter and volunteer with Dress for Success, an organization that is committed to helping women find dignity and purpose through meaningful employment, serving as a Board Member from 2014 – 2016. An avid cyclist, JP completed his first 100 mile ride – then a 2-day 200 mile ride in the Pan Mass Challenge, and is training for the third “double century” in August, 2023.

JP holds a BS Degree in Business Administration and Labor / Industrial Relations from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo.

Anshuman is the senior vice president of product and customer experience at Peapod Digital Labs, the ecommerce engine of Ahold Delhaize USA, one of the nation’s largest grocery retail groups. In this role, Anshuman leads several teams powering digital and omnichannel experiences for grocery brands including Food Lion, Stop & Shop, Giant company, Giant Food, Hannaford, and Peapod.