Dan Ochwat is the Executive Editor of Store Brands magazine, part of the EnsembleIQ network of publications. Dan's been involved in writing and editing for retail-based trades for nearly two decades.

Osterhues is the president of the Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation. At Kroger, Osterhues is the senior ESG leader, driving sustainability and positive social impact for Kroger. Osterhues connects the company's purpose to ESG strategy, operational improvements and reporting/disclosures as well as strategic philanthropy to unlock business value and achieve its Zero Hunger | Zero Waste mission.

Christie Zimmerman leads the sustainability and food standards work of Natural Grocers. Much of her time is spent on animal welfare, organic food/labeling policy, and how to bring positive change to the grocery shelf through transparency and consumer education. Her previous work includes five years at a healthcare think tank in Washington, DC and several stints in Latin American working with everything from microfinance to an organic quinoa and llama startup to economic development projects with schools and orphanages.

Hank Cardello currently serves as Senior Director of the Leadership Solutions Program for Health & Prosperity at Georgetown University’s Business for Impact Center and Chair of the Portion Balance Coalition. He is a regular contributor to Forbes on food industry matters pertaining to consumer health, sustainability and societal issues. The Leadership Solutions Program brings together business, public health, regulatory and nonprofit leaders to arrive at practical solutions to pressing industry problems. For over three decades, Hank was an executive at some of the world’s largest food and beverage companies, including President of Cadbury-Schweppes’ Sunkist Soft Drinks, Inc., Vice President of Marketing for Canada Dry, Director of Marketing for Coca-Cola USA, and Brand Manager for Anheuser-Busch and General Mills. He has served as Chief Executive Officer for several ingredient companies and, in 2000, was identified as a “Top 10 Innovator” in the Nutritional Foods industry. Hank’s perspectives have been shared in numerous publications, including the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, the Washington Post, The Economist, and TIME magazine, as well as in major broadcast media, such as CNN, NPR, the BBC, Good Morning America, CNBC, and the major television networks. Mr. Cardello is the author of the book Stuffed: An Insider's Look at Who's (Really) Making America Fat and the landmark report Better-for-you Foods: It’s Just Good Business. He has moderated expert panels at the White House, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Partnership for a Healthier America among others.

Michael Sands is a consumer packed goods CEO and Board-Member with both entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial experiences from start-ups to $1 billion blue chip companies. Major brands where he served in senior management and board level positions include YumEarth Organic Candy Company, Balance Bar Company, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Snapple Beverage Group, and LesserEvil Brand Snacks. He specializes in change management and turnarounds where emphasis on leadership, new business development, strategic innovation/ marketing, profit growth and manufacturing knowledge are needed.

Abby is a thought leader in the ethical and responsible sourcing industry. Working as a change agent with top global brands to implement Fair Trade certification for 5+ years, she is spearheading a movement that offers tangible solutions to address social and labor challenges in supply chains. Serving as the voice of the Fair Trade USA retail and factory programs, Abby’s mission is to awaken consumers to their purchasing power and support the shift towards a more responsible paradigm. Abby brings 10+ years of retail and brand development experience. Before coming to Fair Trade USA, she supported the launch of the Simple Truth Organic brand at Kroger where she built Fair Trade into the brand’s DNA, and ultimately where her passion for sustainable development and social responsibility was sparked.

Bill Patton is the Manager of Store Optimization at The GIANT Company. With over ten years of progressive retail grocery experience, Bill leads the company’s innovation and optimization initiatives, developing efficiencies and removing obstacles across stores, creating a better experience for team members and customers.

As Sustainability Specialist, Derrek Reitz spearheads Weis Markets waste and GHG emissions reduction initiatives. Derrek engages with customers, associates, and community partners to identify and strengthen sustainability efforts throughout the mid-Atlantic region.

Marissa Golison is the manager of packaging and sustainability at the Consumer Brands Association. At Consumer Brands, Golison works on issues such as recycling, circular economy, food waste and other sustainability topics important to the consumer packaged goods industry. Her work is instrumental to the organization's efforts to address the broken recycling system in the United States -- working to raise recycling rates, reduce the amount of packaging waste sent to landfills, prevent marine debris and ensure recyclable packaging gets recycled. She also leads the Food Waste Reduction Alliance (FWRA), a cross-industry initiative to reduce food waste sent to landfills and increase food donations to food banks in the United States. Golison volunteers as a “Skipper” for Sailors for the Sea, powered by Oceana, where she brings her expertise in packaging sustainability to educate the sailing community on becoming Green Boaters. She lives in Washington, D.C., and loves to try all kinds of innovative sustainable products, from soap tablets, to reusable packaging schemes.

Andy began his career with Pacific Coast Producers in 1987, working his way up through various positions such as Logistics Coordinator in the Field Department, Sales Manager, Director of Sales, Vice President of Retail Sales, and now Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Customer Service. In his spare time, Andy likes to travel and camp the world with his best friend Kathy Russick along with his daughters when possible and he also likes surfing, skiing, golfing and baseball. In his post-Food Business career, Andy plans to be a guitar hero or at least an infrequent contestant on open mic days in the local Sacramento coffee shops.

Shelley Balanko has an informed understanding of social and cultural influences impacting the marketplace of today and tomorrow. Shelley regularly engages a diverse audience spanning the foodservice, consumer packaged goods and retail segments as she shares leading-edge consumer insights and implications from the field. As a member of The Hartman Group leadership team and head of business development, her focus is understanding industry challenges and needs. Shelley graduated from the University of Windsor with a Ph.D. in Applied Social Psychology. She has a MA in Applied Social Psychology from the University of Saskatchewan and a BA in Psychology from the University of British Columbia.

Jon Taffer is the entertainer, the entrepreneur, the strategic advisor, the thought leader that transforms industries. Utilizing his four decades of unprecedented industry experience, Taffer guides companies through remodeling, reprogramming, and restarting their business models to embrace the future. He has consulted for well-known brands, such as the NFL Network, Ritz-Carlton Hotels, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Anheuser-Busch to name a few. Taffer also rebuilds the lives of failing bar owners in his hit series Bar Rescue on Paramount Network. Taffer is a master of powerful presentations that rescues businesses from themselves to propel them towards success. Jon Taffer is an international celebrity and a New York Times best-selling author, but most people know him as the highly sought-after hospitality industry guru, who takes a no-holds-barred approach to helping hotels, restaurants, bars, and other businesses reach their full potential. With more than 40 years of global experience with powerhouse brands and award-winning ventures, Taer is a valuable asset for companies seeking guidance on transformation, training programs, and "reaction management strategies." His broad areas of expertise include product and brand recognition, merchandising promotions, and customer acquisition.

Jackson helps lead the investigation of new technologies, partnerships and business opportunities to solve business challenges using GS1 Standards. Drawing on his extensive IT background and experience implementing solutions for both large and small corporations in retail, grocery, healthcare and manufacturing, Jackson manages the exploration of collaboration opportunities to help businesses leverage emerging technologies including the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, machine learning and computer vision. Jackson has more than 20 years of experience facilitating collaboration in the information technology industry, previously working with Fortune 500 executives and solution providers to innovate and better serve the needs of customers. Prior to joining GS1 US, he was Sr. Business Development Manager for Cisco Systems, where he was responsible for the go-to-market strategy and continued growth of Cisco Tetration Analytics. In other various leadership roles, he helped bring together interdisciplinary teams within large organizations to share and leverage data to drive growth.

Claudio Gemmiti has led Club Coffee’s disruptive approach to innovation in the coffee world since 2013, with a focus on sustainable packaging solutions. Club’s first major breakthrough under his leadership was the world’s-first compostable single-serve coffee pod. Claudio’s latest project arrives on store shelves later this year when Club Coffee and its brand partners introduce Boardio™, a revolutionary, high-barrier, paper-based, recyclable packaging format. Before joining Club Coffee, Claudio earned a strong reputation as a strategic thinker with deep CPG R&D acumen in building a record of success with iconic brands at Loblaw Companies Ltd. and Procter and Gamble.

William Wollrab is the founder of AllPeople.co. As an angel investor and entrepreneur, Wollrab co-founded The Yard House restaurant chain, which was eventually sold to the Olive Garden for $585 million in 2012. Bill also created successful careers in investment real estate and investment banking. Over ten years ago, Bill began thinking about actionable solutions businesses could take to address economic inequality, which he believes is the root of many of today’s socio-economic problems. He founded AllPeople.co as a shared ownership, alternative e-commerce shopping platform which also pledges to give back to the non-profit organizations doing the work to improve our communities and environment.

Dan Ochwat is the Executive Editor of Store Brands magazine, part of the EnsembleIQ network of publications. Dan's been involved in writing and editing for retail-based trades for nearly two decades.