Register Now for the Spring 2026 Supply Chain Expert Exchange Conference

Join us in Chicago May 14 - 15, 2026 for the Supply Chain Expert Exchange Spring Conference.

REGISTER HERE

AGENDA

Thursday, May 14, 2026

11:00 a.m.   Registration Desk Open

11:00 a.m.   Headshots Available

1:30 p.m.   Conference Welcome & Kick Off

1:45 p.m.   Breakthrough Leadership
Kelli Valade, CEO, Women's Foodservice Forum

2:35 p.m.   Curated Roundtable Discussion— Networking & Problem Solving

Some of the best thinking in this room happens in small groups. This curated networking and problem-solving session gives you the chance to engage directly with peers facing the same challenges, dig into the topics that matter most to your work, and walk away with ideas you can actually put to use.

MODERATORS:
Rachel DeMers, Senior Director of Supply Chain, City Barbeque, LLC
Megan Posenato, Senior Director, Procurement, Shake Shack Enterprises

4:35 p.m.   Day One Wrap-Up

4:40 p.m.   Headshots Available

6:00 p.m.   Reception & Dinner - Offshore Rooftop

Friday, May 15, 2026

7:30 a.m.   Breakfast

8:30 a.m.   Opening Remarks

8:35 a.m.   Keynote: Built for Turbulence - Leading Organizations That Strengthen Under Stress

The anxiety is understandable. Artificial Intelligence, Private Equity consolidation, tariff volatility, commodity swings — the disruptions hitting foodservice supply chain aren't arriving one at a time, and no single forecast covers all of it. But anxiety narrows focus, and narrow focus is the enemy of strategic thinking. Pascal Finette reframes the moment: staying the course is no longer a strategy. Drawing on nearly three decades at the forefront of technology and organizational change — including roles at eBay, Mozilla, and Google.org — he introduces a practical framework for spotting weak signals before they become disruptions, maps the state changes already reshaping the industry, and makes a data-backed case that building organizational muscle is what separates leaders who gain from disruption from those who are simply managed by it. You'll leave with a wider lens and a new way of reading what's coming.

Pascal Finette, Co-Founder & Chief Heretic, radical Author, Built for Turbulence (2026)

9:25 a.m.   Hot Topics

9:55 a.m.   Networking Break

10:15 a.m.   Pork Outlook
Jeff Pigott, Vice President of Industry Relations, National Pork Producers Council (NPPC)

10:45 a.m.   Beef & Poultry Outlook
Michael Irgang, President and Owner, Global Risk Management Corp.

11:15 a.m.   A Conversation with Tim McEnery: Scaling the Experience, Growth & Culture at Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk didn't begin with a blueprint for scale — it began with a simple idea: create an experience people genuinely love. What started as a single concept has grown into a distinctive brand that blends winery, restaurant, retail, and a rapidly expanding wine club. With that evolution, complexity is built into the model. As the business has scaled, the supply chain has become a critical enabler — quietly ensuring that every location, every menu, and every bottle delivers the same high-quality Cooper's Hawk experience guests expect.

In this conversation, Tim sits down with Director of Procurement & Supply Chain Dan Gould to discuss growth, culture, and why supply chain is more than an operational function — it's a key stakeholder in delivering a seamless, guest-first experience as the brand continues to scale.

Tim McEnery, Founder & CEO, Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurants

MODERATOR:
Dan Gould, Director of Procurement and Supply Chain, Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurants

12:05 p.m.   Lunch

12:35 p.m.   Where Food Starts: How John Deere Is Using AI to Transform What Happens Before the Harvest
Tim Marquis, Senior Product Manager for Data Science and Analytics, John Deere

1:05 p.m.   New Owners, New Rules: Private Equity, Consolidation, and the Supply Chain Reality - Panel Discussion

1:45 p.m.   Regulatory Issues

2:15 p.m.   Networking Break

2:35 p.m.   TBA

3:05 p.m.   AI at Work: What Amazon Is Doing in Foodservice That You Can Actually Use

The concept of Artificial Intelligence in supply chain is easy to talk about. Putting it to work is another matter. This session skips the theory and goes straight to application — real problems, real deployments, real results. Deborah Matteliano, Global Head of Restaurants at AWS, brings a practitioner's perspective shaped by deep experience in both technology and foodservice operations. She'll walk through how Artificial Intelligence is being used right now across the foodservice supply chain — from demand forecasting and inventory management to supplier visibility and logistics — and what it takes to move from curiosity to implementation inside your own organization. Whether your team is just starting to evaluate Artificial Intelligence or already running pilots, this session is designed to give you a clearer, more grounded picture of where the technology actually delivers.

Deborah M. Matteliano, MBA, Global Head of Restaurants, AWS

4:05 p.m.   Closing Remarks