Retail Media StrategyMay 5-8, 2025 at Cornell Tech

in NYC

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 e-commerce. 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.

Peter V.S. Bond works as Partnership Acceleration Lead at Flywheel, a division of Omnicom. Prior to Flywheel, Mr. Bond was the Senior Vice President of Commercial Strategy and Business Development at Fetch Rewards, a mobile loyalty platform. He has also held leadership roles at PowerReviews, CVS Health, dunnhumby, IRi, and Priceline.com. Mr. Bond holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University, an 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.

Karan Girotra, Professor of Operations, Technology and Information Management (OTIM), is the recipient of the Charles H. Dyson Family Professor of Management chair, for a 5-year term. This chair was given by Rob Dyson, MBA ’74 to support a founding faculty position for Johnson instruction at Cornell Tech, in honor of his father, the founder of the Dyson-Kissner-Moran Corporation.

Karan Girotra is a Professor at Cornell Tech and in the Johnson School at Cornell University. Karan collaborates with companies building new business models in the areas of urban living, smart transportation and e-commerce, helping them build rigorous research based solutions.

Karan’s research team has been recognized by multiple awards including the prestigious Wickham Skinner Early Career Research Award and multiple best paper awards. He has also won teaching awards for his teaching on entrepreneurship and new business models and was featured in the Poets and Quant’s Best 40 under 40 business professors lists.

In addition to his academic work, Karan was 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 hundred million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Karan holds PhD and AM degrees from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

Miguel I. Gómez is the Robert G. Tobin Associate Professor in the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University. He is Director of the Food Industry Management Program, globally recognized as the premier food industry education and research program. Professor Gómez has an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Applied Economics from the University of Illinois.

Professor Gómez concentrates his research program on two interrelated areas under the umbrella of food marketing and distribution. The first is Food Value Chain Competitiveness and Sustainability. His work in this area involves multidisciplinary collaborations for the development models to assess supply chain performance in multiple dimensions, including economic, social, and environmental. The second is Food Value Chain Negotiation. Here, Professor Gómez combines theory and outreach methods to analyze food markets from farm to table, emphasizing key concepts such as demand response, consumer behavior, buyer/seller negotiations, market power, and retail performance. In addition, his research extends to economic development and environmental economics, examining incentives for and barriers to smallholder farmer participation in food value chains and sustainability of food systems, with emphasis in Latin America. Professor Gómez’s applied research efforts aim at enhancing market opportunities for fruit and vegetable products, benefiting producers, food processors/distributors, and consumers worldwide.

Professor Gómez’s work has been published in top journals, including Science, Management Science, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, World Development, and Food Policy. His research program has been funded with over 100 research grants, including the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Professor Gómez has won several prestigious teaching and research awards, including the Rising Star Faculty Award of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University. He has consulted for multilateral development institutions such as the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and the Interamerican Development Bank.

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. Mr. Sharma is the co-founder and CMO of Think Blue, a consulting firm that transforms businesses by melding digital innovations with traditional expertise. He has held various leadership positions across different continents, including leading the marketing function for Asia Pacific, serving as the global lead for the Kellogg Masterbrand, and most recently as the Vice President and General Manager of Omni-commerce at Kellogg USA.

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

Parag Shah is co-founder and Chief Growth Officer at Think Blue, a consulting firm that helps transform businesses by melding digital innovations with traditional expertise.

Formerly, at The GIANT Company, Mr. Shah led the Center Store and Omnichannel Merchandising initiatives, guiding a dedicated team to blend traditional retail excellence with digital innovation, significantly enhancing both customer experience and business performance. Mr. Shah’s tenure at Wakefern Food Corporation saw him ascend through various pivotal roles, culminating in a vice-presidential position where he spearheaded initiatives that transformed merchandising practices and nurtured collaborative success across the cooperative.

Beyond his professional endeavors, Mr. Shah is passionately committed to mentorship and advocacy, particularly focusing on educational empowerment for underprivileged communities and fostering diversity within the industry. His goal is to inspire and uplift, sharing the knowledge and insights he’s gained to nurture the next generation of industry leaders.