Omnichannel
LeadershipExecutive Summit
July 20-23, 2026 at Cornell Tech

in NYC

Neil Reynolds has worked within the commercial functions of CPG business for 24 years, spending 20 years in total at Mars.  He has worked across Customer Leadership, Strategic Sales and broader Demand Leadership roles and has led teams and business across both Food and Non-Food categories.  

In 2016 Neil joined Johnson & Johnson where he led the UK Consumer business, before re-joining Mars in 2019 to design and lead Global Transformation Programs across both the Supply and Sales functions.  He was appointed Global VP Digital Commerce in June 2022, and after 2.5 years being immersed in the fascinating world of Digital Transformation became Global Chief Customer & Digital Commerce Officer in November 2024.  Neil is based in Wokingham, UK with his wife Rachel and their three young boys aged 10, 8 and 5. 

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.

Sam is currently the Chief Marketing Officer for Bayer’s Consumer Health division in North America with responsibility for marketing and innovation across Bayer’s iconic over-the-counter and self-care brands including Claritin, MiraLAX, Bayer Aspirin, Aleve, Alka-Seltzer, Midol and One A Day. She also oversees Bayer’s in-house media operations, data & analytics, consumer insights, agency relationships, creative production, and marketing excellence/training. Sam has over 30 years of experience in 40+ countries at some of the world’s largest companies and agencies. Prior to Bayer, Sam held marketing roles at Procter & Gamble (P&G), Kimberly-Clark, Walmart, Advance Auto, Tenneco, BBDO, Y&R and DMB&B, where she led brands such as M&M’s, Pampers, Head and Shoulders, Champion, and Advil. Sam is a transformational leader who excels in guiding teams to develop strong brand-building strategies, consumer-centric communications and cutting-edge innovation. She has a proven track record of helping brands create and translate strategy into actionable business results. Given her diverse experience on all sides of a business (client, agency and customer), coupled with her dynamic facilitation style, Samantha is recognized as an outstanding coach and connector. – and was selected as a Growth Consultant for the Jim Stengel Company, a boutique of advisors who help brands and companies activate their purpose. Sam’s work has been featured in Ad Age, Adweek, Brandweek and Sports Illustrated. She has won various awards including Top 100 Women in Brand Marketing from Brand Innovators, the “American Marketing Association” Effie, Cannes Lions, P&G Marketing Innovation Award, Walmart’s “Supplier of the Year,” P&G Best-In-Class Customer Marketing award. She often speaks at industry conferences and on podcasts including P&G Alumni Learnings from Leaders, Jim Stengel’s CMO Podcast. Sam served as Chair of the Women’s Business Resource Group at Tenneco and Executive Champion of Women in Autocare. Sam graduated from the University of Florida (UF) with a Bachelor of Arts. She often speaks at universities and served as the Alumni Chairman of the UF School of Advertising and Communications. She was also recognized with the Distinguished Alumnus Award – one of the university’s most prestigious awards. Sam currently resides in Florida. She is married to her high school sweetheart and together they have three children. In her spare time, she enjoys running and listening to podcasts.

Professor of marketing, founder of Bohling Consulting, a brand strategy and digital marketing agency, chief marketing officer, chief communications officer, and chief enrollment officer, recognized for teaching excellence and top-tier research productivity, building and transforming entrepreneurial and multi-billion dollar businesses and institutions, and delivering exceptional and purposeful results in both mature and growth markets. For over two decades, across both industry and academia, significant contributions have been made in teaching and leading marketing, communications, admissions, operations, and strategy functions both domestically and internationally, serving on industry and academic boards, and publishing several research papers in scholarly academic journals.

Tim’s research portfolio is centered on both scholarly rigor and practitioner relevance in areas of digital marketing, brand and customer management, and innovation adoption.

Mari Kokka is a senior executive with deep expertise in building and scaling retail media businesses across Walmart, Sam’s Club, and eBay. With over 20 years of experience, she brings a strategic mindset, commercial acumen, and a people-first leadership style to one of the fastest-growing sectors in digital advertising. Her leadership spans fully outsourced, hybrid, and fully insourced media models—giving her a unique ability to design adaptable operating structures that align execution with long-term growth. Mari has built and led high-performing teams across every stage of retail media maturity, from early go-to-market through scaled monetization and omnichannel integration.

As Group Director of Operations for Sam’s Club Member Access Platform (MAP), Mari leads the teams responsible for revenue operations, business systems, creative ops, and campaign execution. Previously, she launched Walmart Connect’s Sales Center of Excellence, scaling the organization to support a $1B+ business through centralized operations, sales enablement, and client service strategy. Mari is known for turning complexity into strategic clarity and operations into strategic advantage. She has improved go-to-market velocity, monetization and built scalable systems that strengthen both client outcomes and team engagement.

For executives exploring retail media, Mari offers a rare combination of strategic clarity, executional depth, and deep experience leading organizations through rapid growth and transformation.

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, Dan 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.

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.

As SVP Commerce Marketing, Kathryn is a marketing professional with expertise in digital marketing, media, analytics, content development and paid partnerships with social media influencers. Before AUC, Kathryn spent her previous decade at Hasbro. Her previous experience in integrated marketing including brand strategy, digital marketing and media, and analytics, is critical in breaking down internal silos and unifying shopper and ecommerce teams into one integrated omni account group.

Doug Baker is the Vice President of Industry Relations at FMI – The Food Industry Association, where he facilitates professional, non-competitive collaboration among member communities across private brands, technology, supply chain, and risk management. With a career spanning four decades in the grocery industry, Baker has held roles in retail operations, consumer packaged goods manufacturing, brand development, marketing, and association management. Baker began his career in 1984 at Fry’s Food Stores, in store operations. He went on to leadership roles at prominent companies like Kraft Foods Group, Inc. and Federated Group, LLC, where he served as the Vice President of Sales before joining FMI. At FMI, Baker contributes to the organization’s advocacy, collaboration, and education mission through his work with the Private Brands Council, Technology Leadership Council, Supply Chain Council, and Asset Protection Council. He spearheads initiatives that drive technological transformation, supply chain efficiency, and industry resilience, ensuring the food industry remains adaptable and responsive to crises.

Dr. Li Chen is a Professor of Operations, Technology and Information Management and Breazzano Family Term Professor of Management at Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. Dr. Chen’s research interests concern supply chain management, operations strategy, and Bayesian methods for predictive and prescriptive analytics. He has published research works in top journals in the operations management field, such as Management Science, Operations Research, and Manufacturing, Service and Operations Management. Prior to joining Johnson School, Dr. Chen was an Associate Professor of Business Administration at The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. Before his Duke appointment, Dr. Chen spent four years at TrueDemand Software, a supply chain software company in Silicon Valley, where he was the cofounder and lead scientist of the company. Dr. Chen obtained his PhD in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University in 2005.

With over 30 years of experience with the companies of Ahold Delhaize and more than 20 years working in grocery eCommerce, Daniël started his career as a parttime associate at Albert Heijn in The Netherlands. He worked in various store leadership roles for the brand, before joining Albert Heijn’s Online division. With Albert Heijn Online, Daniël held various roles that helped shape the brand’s eCommerce strategy, including, eCommerce Project Lead, Inbound Supply Chain Manager and Manager of Logistics and Replenishment.

In 2013, Daniël moved to the U.S. to join Peapod as part of an expatriate program to exchange knowledge on eCommerce between Europe and the United States. He made the decision to stay in the U.S. as Ahold Delhaize USA was standing up Peapod Digital Labs, ADUSA’s former eCommerce shared services organization. With PDL, Daniël held various leadership roles including, Senior Director of Fulfillment Strategy.

Daniël studied business administration at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam and holds an executive masters in logistics from the Dutch Association of Logistics Management. Daniël is a guest lecturer on Omnichannel Strategy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s MicroMasters in Supply Chain Management program.

Jason Katz, VP Strategic Planning at Advantage Marketing Partners, leverages over two decades of ecommerce, digital, media, social, retail, research and strategy experience to help CPG brands and retailers thrive in commerce. 

Matt Geddie is the co-founder and partner who leads strategy and the CPG Practice at The Maker Group. Before joining TMG, Matt was COO/Co-Founder of Chiavaye, which was acquired by NeilMed Pharmaceuticals, Partner at The Gap Partnership, along with President of Skinny & Co., which he co-founded, where he served as both President and Chairman of the Board.

As VP Media at Advantage Unified Commerce, Megan Jordan is an acquisition and growth marketing leader who specializes in market research and media planning, buying and sales. Before AUC, she was the Head of Growth Marketing at Droplette and has a proven track record of excellence in performance marketing and digital innovation.

Gordon Reid serves as President of Stop & Shop, a great local brand of Ahold Delhaize USA. Founded in 1914, Stop & Shop now has more than 400 stores across the Northeast and employs nearly 54,000 associates.

Prior to joining Stop & Shop in 2019, Gordon Reid served as President of Giant Food and led the brand to the number one market share position in each of its local markets. Under his leadership, the company made healthy eating easier and affordable, while also growing home delivery and transforming the shopping experience with the customer top of mind.

Reid has more than 35 years of international retail experience. Before joining Giant Food, he worked as CEO of China and Deputy Regional Director of North Asia for The Dairy Farm Group in Hong Kong. Previously, he spent time at Tesco in various leadership roles and worked in a variety of countries such as Hungary, India and China. He also previously worked at Boots in the United Kingdom for 15 years, where he held general management roles, and at A.S. Watson Group spending time in Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea. He started his career as a pharmacist in 1984.

Reid holds a bachelor’s of science in pharmacy from Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh, U.K., and a Master’s of Business Administration from Nottingham University Business School in the U.K. He serves on the Board of Directors at the Greater Boston Food Bank and Partnership for a Healthier America. Reid also serves on the National Academy of Sciences’ Roundtable for Obesity Solutions representing Stop & Shop, which was the first-ever grocery retailer to join this group in their work to address the obesity crisis. Gordon and his wife reside in Boston, Mass.

Brent Oakley is a serial entrepreneur and retail disruptor with a passion for building what’s next. After founding and scaling multiple retail business locations, Brent turned his focus to transforming the in-store experience through media. In 2018, he launched Vibenomics, which quickly became the nation’s largest programmatic in-store audio advertising network—connecting major brands to millions of shoppers in real time.

Now, as President of In-Store Marketplace (ISM), Brent is leading the charge again—this time launching the first platform to unify audio and digital display into a single, scalable retail media solution. His ability to anticipate industry shifts and build technology that powers commerce has made him a go-to voice in the evolving world of retail media.

As the Chief Growth Officer at Monster Energy, Rob is focused on ensuring Monster is growing at the rate of consumption. His previous roles with Swire Coca-Cola, USA, Hershey and The Coca-Cola Company show his proven track record of transforming relationships with large customers from transactional to strategic partnerships through a deep understanding of their business and building high performing, diverse teams. Rob believes companies are stronger when they are data-driven and where every employee has the insights required to create a limitless approach to their own potential.

Jessica Grasso is a highly accomplished marketing professional with over 15 years of experience specializing in omnichannel strategies, consumer promotions, and brand building. As Senior Manager of Omnichannel Marketing and Shopper Activation at Bayer Consumer Healthcare, she leads national marketing strategies for the company’s Consumer Health Portfolio. Her notable achievements include driving Bayer’s largest portfolio event, which resulted in an 18% sales lift, a 3.4% share growth, and a new go-to-market approach for 2024 and 2025. Jessica’s expertise in creating scalable omnichannel programs and identifying capability gaps has significantly contributed to Bayer’s market leadership.

Recognized for her innovative work, Jessica was nominated as a Top 40 Under 40 finalist by P2P1 and won the Digiday Tech Award for “Best Mobile Marketing Platform” for Bayer’s Health for All campaign. Prior to joining Bayer, she held leadership roles at Mars Advertising, Edge, and E. & J. Gallo Winery, where she developed national marketing strategies for key CPG clients. Jessica’s collaborative approach and results-driven leadership have made her a respected thought leader in the industry. Jessica resides in NJ with her husband Chris and two kids, Sophia and Zac. She and her family enjoy spending time outside, going on hikes, playing roller hockey and other sports. She also coaches her son’s soccer and flag football teams.

Anshuman is a seasoned digital-tech leader and visionary with a track record of leading long-lasting transformation and innovation across marquee brands and companies where he has run functions spanning product management, customer experience, technology, AI, strategy, marketing, and general management. Most recently, he was the SVP & Chief Product Officer at GAP Inc., with responsibilities spanning all brands – Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Athleta – globally. Prior to that, he held similar senior leadership roles at Ahold Delhaize, Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle, and Walgreens. He also serves on advisory boards of industry-leading software companies and think tanks. Across all his accomplishments, Anshuman is most passionate about the sustainable unlocking of business value and growth using the levers of digital transformation and culture change.

Young-Hoon Park is Sung-Whan Suh Professor of Management and a professor of marketing at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management. His expertise centers around the analysis of behavioral data to understand and forecast customer shopping and purchasing activities, and to conduct customer relationship management. His research has been published in various leading academic journals such as the Journal of Marketing Research, Management Science, Marketing Science, and Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A. He was a finalist for the 2008 John D.C. Little Award for the best marketing paper published in Marketing Science or Management Science for his research on internet auctions.

Andrew Quagliata is a Senior Lecturer in Management Communication at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, where he teaches courses in persuasive communication, interpersonal communication, entrepreneurial communication, real estate communication, and business writing.

Professor Quagliata is the author of “Build Better Slide Decks: Create Sharper Slides, Stronger Stories, and Standout Presentations” (November 2025) and several eCornell courses, including “Building Compelling Slide Decks and Reports,” “Developing Self-Advocacy Skills,” “Generative AI for Written Communication,” and “Preparing for Effective Presentations Using AI.”

30+ years of grocery retail experience working in various functions from retail operations, category management, merchandising planning, sourcing, eCommerce merchandising, and retail media. Responsible for driving sales growth through meaningful customer engagements across all of our media channels and the digital shelf. Ensure ADUSA’s capabilities deliver on our connected customer ambition and create stronger partnerships with our CPG and agency partners.

 Soyeong Park leads the Measurement, Insights & Data Strategy (MINDS) team at Sam’s Club Member Access Platform (MAP). In this role, Soyeong is responsible for closed-loop measurement across online and in-club channels, audience insights for media planning and strategy, and the development of machine learning models and AI applications for retail media use cases. Additionally, Soyeong oversees data strategy for MAP, including third-party data collaboration in clean rooms, data enrichment and monetization opportunities, and data privacy controls to harness and protect Sam’s Club’s first-party deterministic membership data.

With over two decades of leadership experience at Walmart Connect, Workday, Williams-Sonoma, and BCG, Soyeong is an industry veteran with expertise in omnichannel retail, digital media, marketing effectiveness, decision science, and data strategy.

Michael Lippold is the Founder & CEO of FreshRealm, a company he launched in 2013 to tackle the complexities required to enable fresh forward food at massive scale across the U.S. With nearly 20 years of experience in fresh food operations and strategy, Michael has long recognized the systemic changes needed to shift the American food landscape away from ultraprocessed foods and toward healthier, fresh-forward options. Under his leadership, FreshRealm has become a category-defining plaƞorm powering fresh meal solutions for top national retailers and DTC brands. Michael has led pivotal transitions in the industry, from scaling fresh meal programs at retail to helping the largest DTC businesses shift from asset-heavy models to more efficient, asset-light solutions. Today, FreshRealm continues to expand into new growth channels, including medically tailored meals, performance nutrition, and fresh pet food. FreshRealm’s product offerings and strategic focus position it to disrupt and lead the next era of food that’s defined by health, accessibility, and innovation. At the heart of our work is a deep conviction: as leaders in the food industry, we have a responsibility to help families access food that truly nourishes and supports their ability to thrive in the world. Together with our partners, we’re building a better food system with a clear vision: to power the food industry to deliver fresh, forward-thinking meals to everyone, every day, everywhere. 

Julia is an seasoned marketer with experience in both brand and omni-channel marketing, working on brands like Country Crock, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, Coppertone, Bertolli and Dr. Scholl’s. Given her recent 10+ years with Unilever and then Flora Food Group as the lead of shopper marketing and consumer promotions, she has become adept at developing and executing shopper-centric strategies that drive brand engagement and sales with a strong understanding of category management and shopper insights.

Chris brings over 13 years of expertise in market and consumer research within the FMCG industry. He specializes in thought leadership and data storytelling, leveraging diverse data sources to uncover hidden market trends and drive impactful results for major FMCG companies. Currently serving as Vice President of Food Thought Leadership at NIQ, Chris is responsible for creating forward-looking insights that help manufacturers navigate the evolving retail landscape. His published works, including “From Trend to Tumble,” “Quick Bites, Big Business,” “Retail Reshuffle,” and “Brewing Omni Success,” reflect his passion for delivering actionable, data-driven strategies. Throughout his career, Chris has supported both small and emerging manufacturers, as well as renowned, industry-leading companies, in achieving their goals. His extensive project portfolio spans multiple categories and channels, including traditional brick-and-mortar and eCommerce. Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and an MBA from Loyola University Chicago, further complementing his strategic and analytical acumen.

As VP eCommerce & OmniChannel, Target and Emerging Platforms North America, Ajay Sharma is responsible for leading the end-to-end eCommerce commercial agenda developing strategies and programs that center on the consumer experience as well as overseeing the executional implementation across all retailers.

Ajay has a proven track record in eCommerce & OmniChannel and prior to his current role, he was a member of the Global eCommerce team in Switzerland and Head of eCommerce in the UK. Ajay spent the first 10 years of his career progressing through several commercial, trade marketing and eCommerce roles across multiple channels at Coca-Cola.

Bayer Consumer Health, North America, headquartered in Whippany, New Jersey, is among the largest marketers of over-the-counter (OTC) medications in the world. Bayer’s current portfolio of OTC products includes some of the most trusted and recognizable brands in the world, such as Bayer Aspirin, Afrin, Aleve, Alka-Seltzer, Claritin, Lotrimin, Midol, MiraLAX, One-A-Day, and Phillips’.

David Bradley serves as EVP Solutions for r4, with responsibility for Product and Solution Management, Marketing, Sales Support, Partner Enablement, and Customer Implementation. He joined r4 in 2013 after an impactful career in the Consumer and Technology sectors.

Prior to r4, Dave held global senior leadership roles in several leading Technology companies including SVP Global Solution Marketing for SAP and multiple executive roles at IBM. As a member of the IBM Senior Leadership Team and strategy and planning leader for IBM Global Sales and Distribution, he led business and resource planning across the $90B IBM portfolio, drove the cross-enterprise investment strategy behind the company’s solution innovation activities, was the Go-to-Market leader for the CEO’s “On Demand Business” initiative, and served on the IBM Strategy Council.

In Dave’s earlier career, he led US Marketing for Eastman Kodak’s Consumer Services business unit, including the introduction of Kodak-branded photofinishing and the first generation of digital services. He began his business career in management consulting as a senior manager in Andersen Consulting’s Strategic Services unit, as general manager of the consulting business unit at MarketBridge, and as a partner and practice leader at Marketing Corporation of America.

Dave received B.S. and M.B.A. degrees from Boston University. He lives in Old Greenwich, CT.

A proven commercial leader and strategic brand innovator, sharing world best practices with clients to drive sustainable growth.  His expertise was developed over many years of working in a wide variety of roles at senior levels, both for, and as an advisor to the world’s leading CPG companies.  He brings a passion for collaboration and empowerment that enables strategic and tactical change. ​

With deep experience delivering results-driving capability solutions, consulting, and broad negotiation strategy to clients in CPG, Retail and the Finance sectors in Europe and the Americas.