CGT/RIS Executive Council Members

VP IT, Invicta Stores

Ralph Niebles has over 25 years of experience in retail IT. He is the 2016 RIS News CIO of the Year, and his vast retail knowledge in operations and technology allows him to develop tools to help expand the customer experience.

RALPH NIEBLES

VP Digital, Mars Inc.

shubham mehrish

Shubham Mehrish oversees Mars’ global digital, data & analytics teams with responsibilities for its data lake and consumer activation infrastructure, digital integrations, AI and machine learning teams, and online marketplace technologies. Prior to Mars, he spent 20 years across financial services, technology, strategy consulting and big data startups.

The CGT/RIS Executive Council is a forum for industry innovators and disruptors from retail and consumer goods to identify the latest technology and consumer value chain trends across channels. The network focuses on sharing insights and learnings to help drive inspiration, action, and purpose-driven leadership across the industry.

MEET THE MEMBERS

COUNCIL INSIGHT

For details on how to get involved, contact VP/group publisher Albert Guffanti aguffanti@ensembleIQ.com | 973-459-2824

PRESENTED BY

TONY COSTA Callaway Golf

GIB BASSETT Alteryx

RON GILSON Organic Valley

JUSTIN HONAMAN Amazon Web Services (AWS)

E.J. KENNEY SAP

LISA MALLEUS Colgate-Palmolive

SHUBHAM MEHRISH Mars Inc.

RALPH NIEBLES Invicta Stores

ANDRE PERSAUD Rite Aid

STEPHEN SIGRIST Newell Brands

ELINA VIVES Signify

ETHELBERT WILLIAMS Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health

KRISTEN GROH Publicis Sapient

Tony Costa has over 30 years of leadership experience, from Fortune 50 to startup companies. In his current role, he’s been instrumental in creating the vision and strategy around a global corporate computing architecture focused on driving innovation, digital transformation and strategic alignment with customers.

SVP & CIO, Callaway Golf

Tony Costa

Gib Bassett leads solutions marketing for supply chain and related industries retail, CPG, and manufacturing. He is passionate about helping leaders and their teams achieve best-in-class outcomes with analytics.

Solutions Marketing Director, Alteryx

GIB BASSETT

Ron Gilson is CIO of Organic Valley. He was most recently CIO of Johnsonville, where he spent three decades.

CIO, Organic Valley

Ron Gilson

Kristen Groh leads the Consumer Products Industry for North America at Publicis Sapient and is responsible for fostering relationships and leading and growing cross-functional teams to deliver value for its clients. For 20 years, Kristen has helped companies leverage digital to grow their businesses and define new ways of working.

Consumer Products Industry Lead, Publicis Sapient

KRISTEN GROH

Lisa Malleus leads e-commerce transformation and digital solutions by empowering strategy activation and defining solutions for growth across pure-play and omni-retailers, and DTC and B2B e-commerce. Her key focus is unifying marketplace strategy while bridging the gap between marketing, sales, operations and technology.

Worldwide Director, Global Digital Capabilities & Solutions, Colgate-Palmolive

LISA MALLEUS

Senior VP and Global Head of Consumer Products, SAP

E. J. Kenney

E. J. Kenney leads the consumer products and agribusiness industry sector for SAP, where he’s responsible for strategic growth, customer satisfaction and solution portfolio development. In his 35 years of business leadership he’s developed and implemented innovative transformational strategies to drive business outcomes for global companies.

Andre Persaud is an accomplished senior executive with broad and diverse experience with P/L responsibility in multiple retail channels and formats, ranging from $3B-$32B in both public and private equity owned companies.

Chief Retail Officer, Rite Aid

Andre Persaud

As VP of customer service at Newell Brands, Steve Sigrist directs the order-to-cash execution and customer support business activities with its trade customers. He’s held a variety of roles since joining in 2001, including VP sales operations, VP supply chain global Walmart, and director of operations for key accounts.

VP Customer Service, Newell Brands

Stephen Sigrist

Elina Vives is responsible for driving commercial strategy, organizational design and sales and marketing at Signify’s U.S. consumer business. She previously served as VP of marketing for Samsung’s computing and wearables and home appliances divisions, and spent a significant portion of her career at Molson Coors.

VP, General Manager, Signify

ELINA VIVES

Cheryl Williams joined Wakefern 1996 as manager of retail systems and has held such roles as director of information system services, director of applications development, VP of marketing, and VP of digital commerce and innovation. She became CIO in 2016 and also serves on the executive team.

CIO, Wakefern Food Co.

CHERYL WILLIAMS

CHERYL WILLIAMS Wakefern Food Co.

RICHARD Widdowson SAS

Ethelbert Williams is head of US e-commerce at Johnson & Johnson Consumer Healthcare, where he works to accelerate sales growth and profitability for the business. He was previously with The Boston Beer Company, as well as Kimberly-Clark, P&G and Unilever.

Head of eCommerce, US Customer Development, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health

ETHELBERT WILLIAMS

Richard Widdowson has 25 years of leadership in diverse multi-retail environments, including mass merchants, grocery stores, national chain drug stores and department stores. Over his career, he’s developed a portfolio of international business experience working for companies in the U.K., U.S. and Canada and overseeing operations in 14 countries.

VP, Global Retail & CPG Solutions, SAS

RICHARD WIDDOWSON

ETHELBERT WILLIAMS Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health

Justin Honaman is head, worldwide business development, consumer products - food & beverage at AWS. He was previously VP, data, analytics and digital transformation at Georgia Pacific, and also has a background with Accenture, Teradata and Coca-Cola.

Head, Worldwide Business Development, Consumer Products - Food & Beverage, Amazon Web Services (AWS)

JUSTIN HONAMAN

Suzanne Kopcha is a results-driven executive with over 20 years of experience transforming innovation & supply chain operations with breakthrough technology solutions. Prior to Siemens, she spent 25 years at Procter & Gamble in a diverse set of leadership roles.

VP Strategy, Siemens Digital Industries Software

suzanne KOpcha

JUSTIN HONAMAN Amazon Web Services (AWS)

SURABHI POKHRIYAL Colgate-Palmolive

Surabhi Pokhriyal is a retail and consumer goods sector leader with experience having worked with companies like Johnson & Johnson, P&G, Kimberly Clark, Estée Lauder and PepsiCo for over 15 years.

Worldwide Director, Head of Global Digital Commerce, Colgate-Palmolive

Surabhi Pokhriyal

FRANK BRUNI Target

Frank Bruni joined Target in 2019 and leads all supply chain capabilities for food & beverage, inclusive of the food distribution network and inventory management. He previously served as VP of supply chain and procurement at Kroger and also spent more than 10 years at FedEx.

SVP, Food and Beverage Supply Chain, Target

Frank Bruni

FRANK BRUNI Target

SVP, Food and Beverage Supply Chain, Target

FRANK BRUNI

SURABHI POKHRIYAL Colgate-Palmolive

Surabhi Pokhriyal is a retail and consumer goods sector leader with experience having worked with companies like Johnson & Johnson, P&G, Kimberly Clark, Estée Lauder and PepsiCo for over 15 years.

Worldwide Director, Head of Global Digital Commerce, Colgate-Palmolive

Surabhi Pokhriyal

KIRK BALL Giant Eagle

Kirk Ball joined Giant Eagle in June 2020. He brings an extensive background in senior leadership technology roles, most recently as VP and CIO at The Christ Hospital Health Network. Prior to that, he was the chief technology officer and VP enterprise retail solutions at Kroger.

EVP, Chief Technology Officer, Giant Eagle

KIRK BALL

DEREK GASKINS Yesway

Derek Gaskins directs all marketing, merchandising and procurement efforts for the Yesway brand, and leads efforts to establish a marketing and merchandising playbook to improve the organization’s go-to-market strategy. Prior to joining Yesway, he served as chief customer officer for Rutter’s.

CMO, Yesway

DEREK GASKINS

KIRK BALL Giant Eagle

EVP, Chief Technology Officer, Giant Eagle

KIRK BALL

DEREK GASKINS Yesway

CMO, Yesway

DEREK GASKINS

JOHN PHILLIPS PepsiCo

John S. Phillips has been with PepsiCo for over 30 years and is currently responsible for working with its largest customers on supply chain and collaboration initiatives. He also leads PepsiCo’s Go-To-Market COE focused on global process and technology tools to optimize go-to-market systems.

SVP, Customer Supply Chain & Global Go-To-Market, PepsiCo

JOHN S. PHILLIPS

BEN PIVAR Carter's

Ben Pivar is responsible for creating the vision and roadmap for IT while managing project delivery, applications, security, infrastructure, desktop, BI and support at Carter’s. He has 25 years of experience in retail, consumer products, merchandising, supply chain and IT, of which 15 years have been in leadership roles.

SVP, CIO, Carter's

BEN PIVAR

WERNER GRAF Visionet

Werner Graf is a familiar executive in the retail, consumer products and technology industries and Chief Customer Officer at Visionet. He has 35 years of operational, strategy and sales experience which includes executive positions at Procter & Gamble, IBM and Tata. His global experience as a trusted partner for C-level executives has resulted in recognition as a thought leader who also gets results.

SVP & Chief Customer Officer, Visionet

werner graf

WERNER GRAF Visionet

SVP & Chief Customer Officer, Visionet

WERNER GRAF

JON HARDING Conair

Jon Harding has worldwide responsibility for Conair Corporation’s IT and digital services in support of both day-to-day business operations and future business growth. Before joining Conair, he was divisional CIO for the U.S. Snacks Division of Kellogg Company (formerly the Keebler Company) that Kellogg’s acquired in 2001.

CIO, Conair

Jon Harding

MARIO VOLLBRACHT Siemens Digital Industries Software

Mario Vollbracht brings over 25 years of experience, combining direct industry experience, management consulting and an extensive background in IT leadership. He has traversed the entire value chain within retail and consumer goods, with a focus on the supply chain, sales and marketing, and business analytics.

VP, Consumer Products and Retail Siemens Digital Industries Software

Mario Vollbracht

CARRIE THARP Google Cloud

Carrie Tharp is responsible for creating and executing Google Cloud’s global product, partner, and go-to-market strategy in the retail industry — helping retail and consumer businesses unlock the power of the Cloud, ML/AI to drive value for their businesses and improve customer experiences. She has broad retail experience through a range of CXO roles across different segments.

VP Retail & Consumer, Google Cloud

Carrie Tharp

ANTONIO PARRA Grupo Bimbo

During his 25+ years’ multinational career, Antonio Parra has played significant roles in Grupo Bimbo and other global leading companies as The Coca-Cola Company, Procter & Gamble, and Royal Bank of Canada, in areas that include supply chain management, information and technology, general management, and finance.

VP Global Digital Transformation and Data & Analytics, Grupo Bimbo

Antonio Parra

ANTONIO PARRA Grupo Bimbo

SVP, Customer Supply Chain & Global Go-To-Market, PepsiCo

JOHN S. PHILLIPS

CARRIE THARP Google Cloud

VP Retail & Consumer, Google Cloud

CARRIE THARP

At EY, Dave Holloman is focused on serving the firm’s global, multinational consumer goods clients. His 25+ year consulting tenure includes leadership roles across the transformation lifecycle, including transformation strategy, process reengineering, operational restructuring, change leadership and digital.

Senior Account Partner, Consumer Products, Ernst & Young (EY)

DAVE HOLLOMAN

DAVE HOLLOMAN Ernst & Young (EY)

With 20+ years’ experience, Liz Papasakelariou’s focus is on bringing CPG brands into the new era of digital transformation. She works to build relationships between client partners and the agency for best-in-class solutions, and has helped foster brands such as P&G, Edgewell, Nestle and L’Oreal.

EVP, Executive Client Partner, Publicis Sapient

LIZ PAPASAKELARIOU

DEB HANNAH Shoe Carnival

Deb Hannah leads marketing at Shoe Carnival, including e-commerce, integrated marketing, CRM, analytics, store design and creative development. Prior to Shoe Carnival, Deb spent over 20 years in various marketing roles at Kellogg, Starbucks and Kimberly-Clark.

SVP Marketing, Shoe Carnival

DEB HANNAH

DEB HANNAH Shoe Carnival

SVP Marketing, Shoe Carnival

DEB HANNAH

DAVID JIMENEZ Softtek

Managing Director for CPG, Softtek

DAVID JIMENEZ

David Jiménez holds the position of managing director for the CPG industry at Softtek, which he joined in 2012. As global leader, he’s responsible for the design of solutions and services, and the delivery of Softtek projects to all clients in this industry.

JASON JOHNSON Sweetwater

CIO, Sweetwater

JASON JOHNSON

Jason Johnson leads the in-house software development, cloud, and network infrastructure teams, who are responsible for continuous delivery and innovation of the IT services required to keep Sweetwater on the cutting edge. Holding 19 industry-related certifications, Jason has 20+ years of experience including working for the Department of Defense and the US Navy.

DANICA KONETSKI Treasure Data

Industry Principal, Consumer, Treasure Data

DANICA KONETSKI

Danica Konetski is the industry principal for CPG for Treasure Data. Previously, she was in insights and analytics at both Kraft and ConAgra, and she has also been a vendor-partner with consulting and sales roles at Kantar (a WPP company), and most recently, IBM.

AL LETTERA Tractor Supply Company

Senior VP, Information Technology, Tractor Supply Company

AL LETTERA

Al Lettera is SVP, IT for Tractor Supply Company, the largest rural lifestyle retailer in the United States with over 1,900 stores. Throughout his tenure, Al has led the re-implementation of e-commerce platforms, enabling Tractor Supply’s digital business to grow 10 times.

MERT DAMLAPINAR L'Oreal

Mert leads the global ecommerce tech and digital experience capabilities at Mondelez. He is recognized on Who is Who in eCommerce 2020, and he's on MIT Technology Review Global Insights Panel. His key focus areas are digital shelf acceleration, retail media, AI/ML automation and consumer insights.

Director, eRetail Strategic Insights & Tech Products, L'Oreal

MERT DAMLAPINAR

MERT DAMLAPINAR L'Oreal

Mert is recognized on Who is Who in eCommerce 2020, and he's on MIT Technology Review Global Insights Panel. His key focus areas are digital shelf acceleration, retail media, AI/ML automation and consumer insights.

Director, eRetail Strategic Insights & Tech Products, L'Oreal

MERT DAMLAPINAR