James Quincey is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Coca-Cola Company. Before becoming CEO on May 1, 2017, he led all of the company’s operating units worldwide as President and Chief Operating Officer from August 2015.

From 2013 to 2015, Quincey served as President of The Coca-Cola Company’s Europe Group, which is comprised of 38 countries including the Member States of the European Union, the European Free Trade Association countries and the Balkans. Under Quincey’s leadership, the Europe Group, the company’s most profitable operating group, strategically expanded its brand portfolio and improved execution across the geography. These actions helped drive solid topline growth and expanded the company’s leading market share position in total nonalcoholic ready-to-drink (NARTD) beverages despite the volatile and prolonged macroeconomic challenges in the region.

Quincey also played an instrumental role in leading the merger of Coca-Cola Enterprises, Coca-Cola Iberian Partners and Coca-Cola Erfrischungsgetranke AG to form Coca-Cola European Partners Plc., which is now the world’s largest independent Coca-Cola bottler based on net revenues.

Prior to his role as head of the Europe Group, Quincey served as President of the Northwest Europe and Nordics business unit (NWEN) from 2008 to 2012. Among Quincey’s many accomplishments during this time was his leadership during the acquisition of innocent juice in 2009. Innocent is now sold in more than 14 countries and is well on its way to becoming one of the company’s brands that generates more than $1 billion in annual revenue.

From 2005 to 2008, Quincey was President of the Mexico Division. During his tenure in Mexico, Quincey grew market share for brand Coca-Cola and expanded the company’s portfolio with the re-launch of Coca-Cola Zero and the acquisition of Jugos de Valle, one of the company’s 21 billion-dollar brands and is now sold in 16 countries.

Quincey joined the company in Atlanta in 1996 as Director of Learning Strategy for the Latin America Group. He went on to serve in a series of operational roles of increased responsibility in Latin America, leading to his appointment as President of the South Latin Division in 2003. During his time in South Latin, Quincey was instrumental in developing and executing a successful brand, pack, price and channel strategy, which has now been replicated in various forms throughout Coca-Cola’s global system.

Prior to joining Coca-Cola, Quincey was a Partner in strategy consulting at The Kalchas Group, a spin off from Bain & Company and McKinsey. Quincey, who is bilingual in English and Spanish, received a Bachelor’s degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of Liverpool.

View Sessions

Ena Williams is the senior vice president and head of international for 7-Eleven, Inc. She leads 7-Eleven’s team that oversees international operations, licensing and global expansion. She is also a member of 7-Eleven’s executive committee.

The company’s current international portfolio includes more than 32,500 licensed, franchised and joint-venture stores operating in 16 countries generating approximately $27 billion in system revenue and $100 million in royalty income.

Previously, Ena served as Senior Vice President of Operations for the west region for 7-Eleven Inc. She was responsible for over 3,800 stores in a dozen states generating over $6 billion in merchandise sales and over $11 billion in total system revenue. Prior to that, she held the position of Vice President of the Southwest division and was responsible for franchised and corporate store in Southern California

Ena joined 7-Eleven, Inc. in 2008 following an extensive career with Mobil Oil and ExxonMobil. Most recently, she was Division Manager for the West Coast and Midwest Dealer/Franchise Business Units of ExxonMobil. Other positions she held within ExxonMobil were Global Financial Analyst, National Merchandising Category Manager and Operations Manager for corporate stores.

Ena holds a bachelor’s degree from University of Virginia and an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

View Sessions

Cathy has been defining his role in “customer service” for more than 40 years — even before officially joining Chick-fil-A, Inc. in 1970. As the eldest son of one of the most influential restaurateurs of the last century, Dan has dedicated much of his life to building upon his father S. Truett Cathy’s pioneering vision to care for people by providing food and customer service that exceeds expectations.

When he’s not traveling, speaking, and sharing the Chick-fil-A story at corporate gatherings, business schools, and other events, he can be found behind the counter of a Chick-fil-A restaurant, because “that’s where the people are.”

Several years ago, Cathy played an integral role in opening Hatch, an innovation and design center located inside Chick-fil-A’s Atlanta corporate headquarters, recently renamed the Support Center. A second facility, a 30,000-square-foot space called The Kitchen, was also recently opened for culinary development.

Under Dan’s leadership, Chick-fil-A has experienced tremendous growth — not just in numbers of restaurants and sales, but also geographically. With recent restaurants going up in cities like Los Angeles and downtown Chicago, Chick-fil-A opened its first restaurant in the Big Apple in 2015, where the Manhattan location enjoys nearly constant out-the-door lines.

Cathy’s passion for his community can be felt through his involvement in numerous organizations, including the Eagle Ranch, the Carter Center, the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, and the Georgia Aquarium. He is also a member of the Atlanta Committee for Progress, and in 2015 was awarded the Four Pillar Tribute by the Atlanta Council for Quality Growth.

He serves on multiple boards and remains actively involved in various ministries, philanthropies, and nonprofits, including: City of Refuge, Passion City Church, The Rock Ranch, and outreach ministries that make up the WinShape Foundation, an organization created by his parents in 1984.

At home, Cathy is first and foremost a family man. He and his wife Rhonda live on a farm south of Atlanta, where they regularly host gatherings with their two sons, Andrew and Ross and enjoy time with their three grandchildren.

View Sessions

Rami Abu Ghazalah, CEO and partner of ALBAIK Food Systems with more than 35 years of experience in the food and restaurant business in Saudi Arabia, is responsible with his brother Ihsan and their team for growing the family-owned quick service restaurant chain into one of the most trusted and loved brands in the Kingdom.

The ALBAIK team members are credited for leveraging best practices in management for the advancement of the local food business sector, ensuring that every step of the production, service and quality process is overseen with the highest attention to detail and efficiency to uphold the trust and confidence of the brand’s millions of customers.

Their deep belief that companies and organizations must play an active role in the communities they serve has resulted in ALBAIK becoming a catalyst for positive change in the Kingdom. In the past three decades, ALBAIK has launched more than 20 programs focusing on a wide range of topics ranging from vocational training for school children to environmental awareness and protection, and social values.

View Sessions

Born in Puebla in 1960, Federico has a degree from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Instituto Panamericano de Alta Dirección de Empresas.

He has acted as Chief Executive Officer of Domino’s Pizza Mexico, as well as Director of Casual Dining in 2010, after which he assumed the position of Director of Starbucks México.

He has been part of Alsea’s management team since 1997.

View Sessions

As president and chief executive officer of the National Restaurant Association, Dawn Sweeney leads the primary business association for the restaurant industry. The National Restaurant Association represents all types of restaurant and foodservice concepts, including quick service, fast casual, managed foodservice, casual and fine dining – along with manufacturers, suppliers and distributors – for an industry of nearly one million restaurant and foodservice outlets and 13 million employees.

Since taking the helm at the National Restaurant Association in late 2007, Sweeney has been instrumental in developing a unique, multi-year strategic plan for the organization, highlighting key areas of opportunity within the restaurant industry that guide the enterprise toward its vision of enhancing the quality of life for all it serves.

She has also led the Association to several major legislative victories and has launched the first-of-its-kind children’s menu initiative – Kids LiveWell. Under Sweeney’s leadership, the Association’s annual trade show – the National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show: the largest restaurant and hospitality industry trade show in the United States – has seen solid growth, while many other trade shows have struggled.

Sweeney also serves as the CEO of the National Restaurant Association’s Educational Foundation, a philanthropic foundation dedicated to enhancing the industry’s service to the public. The Foundation’s major goal is to educate students in the culinary arts through the ProStart program – which runs in high schools across the country – and through providing educational scholarships.

Before taking the helm of the National Restaurant Association, Sweeney was president and CEO of AARP Services, the wholly owned taxable subsidiary of AARP. She grew annual revenues from $175 million to $785 million during her tenure — revenues used to support AARP’s mission. Nearly 11 million AARP members used AARP Services products.

Her 25 years of marketing, advocacy and policy experience also include leadership positions at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, a membership organization of consumer-owned electric utilities serving over 30 million individuals, and the International Dairy Foods Association, the trade association for the nation’s dairy foods industry.

Sweeney has been named one of the perennial top association CEOs in the country, chosen from interviews with hundreds of CEOs, Washington insiders and executive recruiters as published in the September 2011 edition of “CEO Update.”

She serves on the boards of Save the Children, the U.S. Travel Association and the Women’s Foodservice Forum. Sweeney is an active member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Committee of 100, the International Women’s Forum, and the Committee of 200, an international network of female executives. She is also a charter member of Child Obesity 180; a unique multi-sector initiative of private, public, non-profit and academic leaders who have made a commitment to assuring a leadership role in preventing childhood obesity through evidence-based initiatives.

A native of Maine, she is a graduate of Colby College and earned her MBA at George Washington University. Sweeney lives in northern Virginia with her husband and teenage son.

View Sessions

Yousif Abdulghani is the CEO of Americana Food Company-Restaurants Division based in the UAE. He is a result oriented and seasoned professional in the Quick Service Restaurants sector with a strong cross-functional expertise in directing leadership teams to deliver strong financial results, operational excellence, and outstanding customer experience. He has a proven track record spanning over 23 years in strategic planning and execution, franchising relations, business development, and leading diverse multi-unit organizations.

Yousif started his career with McDonald’s in Bahrain in January 1994 as a Managing Partner before moving to McDonald’s Corporation in late 2000. In January 2001, he took on the position of Deputy Managing Director in McDonald’s Egypt in charge of restaurants operations and development.

Following his success in growing McDonald’s business in Egypt, Yousif was offered the position of Managing Director in Malaysia in 2004 where he played an influential role in building the brand and growing the business in Malaysia. Two years later, he returned as a Managing Director for McDonald’s regional office in Dubai, responsible for all McDonald’s operations in the Middle East and Africa and provided support to McDonald’s master franchisees in 16 different countries in the region. In 2013, Yousif became the Vice President of McDonald’s Middle East and Africa.

In March 2017, Yousif moved to become the CEO of Americana Food Company- Restaurants Division. Currently, he oversees its operations in about 1800 restaurants across 12 countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and Kazakhstan. Currently Americana’s network encompasses some of the world’s most recognized brands in the Quick Service, Casual Dining and Fine Dining categories, such as KFC, Pizza Hut, Hardee’s, TGI Friday’s, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Costa Coffee, Krispy Kreme, as well as a few of its own homegrown brands.

Born and raised in Bahrain, Yousif holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architectural Engineering from the United States, and a Master’s degree in Surveying Engineering & Digital Mapping from France.

View Sessions

Paul Brown is Chief Executive Officer of Atlanta-based Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc. (ARG). ARG is a leading global Fast Crafted™ restaurant company operating and franchising more than 3,300 Arby’s restaurants worldwide.

Joining the company in May 2013, Brown has led the Brand’s revitalization efforts, at the heart of which include boosting the company’s culture and instilling a sense of “Serve, Refresh and Delight.” Additionally, he has spurred a rebooted service culture, new restaurant designs and formats, new franchise financing options and the launch of the new “Meatcraft” marketing campaign and “Deli-inspired Delicious” brand positioning. These initiatives have led to 19th consecutive quarters of SSS growth.

Prior to joining Arby’s, Brown served as President of Brands and Commercial Services for Hilton Worldwide. The global hospitality company is comprised of ten brands including Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton and Embassy Suites Hotels. Brown was the company’s global leader for brand management, product standards, marketing, sales, pricing, e-Commerce, loyalty programs, franchise relations and information technology.

Brown also previously served with Expedia, Inc., the world’s leading online travel company, as President of Expedia.com and Expedia’s Partner Services Group. Prior to Expedia, Brown was a partner at McKinsey & Company. Based in London, he was a leader of the firm’s global travel and hospitality practice and served clients across the travel, hospitality and retail sectors. Brown has worked with InterContinental Hotels Group as Senior Vice President of Global Brand Services and was responsible for global sales, reservations, the Priority Club loyalty program, e-Commerce and purchasing. He was also a Manager for The Boston Consulting Group in the firm’s Chicago and Atlanta offices.

Brown is an alumnus of Georgia Tech where he received his Bachelors of Science degree in management. Later, Brown graduated from Northwestern University with an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and a master of engineering management from the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Brown is a member of the board of directors of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB), and Linbad Expeditions (NASDAQ: LIND), and is active in the Atlanta community, serving on the boards of the Georgia Tech Foundation, The Woodruff Arts Center, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and the Buckhead Coalition. He has also served as an executive-in-residence at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration.

View Sessions

Hattie Hill is president and chief executive officer of WFF, the largest national organization focused on the advancement of women and gender parity on executive teams in the foodservice industry. Hattie is an international leadership development expert, business owner, best-selling author and globally renowned thought leader.

Prior to WFF, she served as CEO of Hattie Hill Enterprises, Inc., a global management, human relations and leadership development firm that provided leadership development for thousands of senior leaders at numerous Fortune 500 companies and major organizations throughout North America and 51 countries—including such foodservice companies as McDonald’s, Frito-Lay, Aramark and Compass.

Hattie is regularly quoted in local and national news publications, including: The Wall Street Journal and USA Today. She has been recognized by several organizations including: Forbes Magazine, Ernst & Young, the Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce and Meeting Professionals International.

Her current and past board memberships include: the Federal Reserve, Emory University Gozuieta Business School, Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Society of International Business Fellows and past chair of the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau.

View Sessions

With a breadth of retail, food service, operations, finance and public company experience, Steve DeSutter has joined FOCUS Brands in March 2014. Prior to joining FOCUS Brands Mr. DeSutter served as President and CEO of Stripes LLC and Executive Vice President of Susser Holdings its parent company from June 2008 to February 2014. He also served as Executive Vice President of TurnWorks, Inc. September 2006 to June of 2008. At Burger King Corporation he served as Executive Vice President and President of Europe, Middle East operations from December 2005 to August 2006, President of Europe, Middle East and Asia from December 2004 to November 2005 and Senior Vice President Corporate Communications from August 2004 to November 2004. Prior to joining Burger King Mr. DeSutter was Senior Vice President of TurnWorks Inc. from July 2001 to July 2004. He began his career at British Petroleum where he worked in a variety of operations, marketing, communications and finance roles during his 18 years at the company.

Most recently Steve has been a member of the Board of Directors and past officer for the United Way of Coastal Bend, The Coastal Bend Blood Center, The Texas State Aquarium and the Corpus Christi Economic Development Corporation.

Mr. DeSutter holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce from Niagara University in upstate New York. Steve and his wife Nancy have six adult children and enjoy biking, running and the outdoors.

View Sessions

Mr. Wright joined the Company in December 2013 and has served as Executive Vice President, Chief Operations Officer and International of the Company since May 2016. Mr. Wright previously served as Chief Operations Officer of the Company from March 2014 to December 2014. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Wright served as President, Chief Operating Officer and Interim Chief Executive Officer for Charley’s Grilled Subs from December 2010 to December 2013. Prior to that, he served as Executive Vice President of Company and Franchise Operations at Checkers Drive-In Restaurants Inc. from January 2008 to August 2010. Previously, Mr. Wright worked for 10 years at Wendy’s International in various corporate roles, including as Franchise Area Director from 1998 to 2000, as Director of Area Operations from 2000 to 2005, as President of Cafe Express, LLC from 2005 to 2006, and as Vice President of Operations and Training Integration from 2006 to 2008. Prior to joining Wendy’s International, Mr. Wright worked as a Senior Franchise Consultant at Domino’s Pizza from 1993 to 1998.

View Sessions

Since taking on the role in 2013, Debbie has turned Novo Cinemas into the household entertainment brand it is today, offering more than just a venue to watch movies, but an immersive state-of-the-art destination for a variety of entertainment options through strategic partnerships and organic growth. The cinema chain operates across the GCC region including the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain, with further expansion plans to continue across the region in the coming years.

As an accomplished leader with more than 25 years of experience in the entertainment, events and hospitality industries, Debbie is a CEO with an extensive understanding of public, government and private organizations with a proven track record of driving growth and successful business development. Kristiansen brings a vast corporate understanding gained at such companies as Regent Exhibitions – IMEX Frankfurt, where she served as VP for Global Sales from 2001 until 2005. In 2005 she moved to the Middle East to help establish the Bahrain Exhibition & Convention Authority and during her tenure quickly rose to the position of Deputy Chief Executive by 2008. In 2010 she was appointed as CEO of events@bahrain, a company owned by Bahrain Mumtalakat Holdings Company, where she spearheaded significant growth despite the challenging economic landscape.

Respected by her peers and her partners, Debbie has worked with her Executive team to elevate Novo Cinemas from a standard cinema experience to an innovative entertainment hub through strategic partnerships, technological advancements, new experience offerings and alternative content opportunities for consumers. Under her leadership, leading global brands have partnered with Novo such as IMAX, Coca-Cola, Qatar Airways, Mashreq Bank, BEin Sports, Emirates Airline, Etisalat, Ooredoo and the Bolshoi Ballet.

With her expertise guiding the expansion plans, Novo Cinemas has increased its regional screen count from 129 screens in 2015 to more than 220 screens by 2018.

Debbie’s vision and commitment have transformed Novo Cinemas into the regional go-to filmtertainment hub that it is today, featuring unparalleled film technology, diverse content, cinema design and comfort, all of which are served up to customers with gourmet concessions and the highest level of customer care.

Awards include:

• Voted #4 globally out of 25 Women CEO’s in the Cinema Industry by Celluloid Junkie
• AEO Excellence Awards 2005 – Best Trade Visitor Experience (IMEX 2005)
• Regent Exhibitions, the Arabian Travel News Nov 2009
• The Arabian Power 50 (voted #49) 2009
• 2015 Asia Retail Leadership Award.

View Sessions

Bill Mitchell joined Dunkin’ Brands in October 2010 and currently serves as President, Dunkin’ Brands International. Bill has responsibility for nearly 8,400 Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins restaurants in 61 countries outside the U.S.

Bill is a seasoned restaurant operations executive with extensive U.S. and global franchising experience. Prior to becoming President, Dunkin’ Brands International, Bill served as President, Baskin-Robbins U.S. and Canada, overseeing the brand’s return to positive comp sales growth from 2010 to 2015.

Prior to joining Dunkin’ Brands, Bill worked for Papa John’s International for 10 years, most recently serving as President, Global Operations for the $3 billion-dollar company with 3,400 restaurants in 29 countries. In that role, he led successful growth in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, North Africa, and Latin America.

Prior to Papa John’s, Bill held various operations roles with AFC Enterprise (Popeye’s), including the role of Senior Director of Operations, where he led the acquisition of 81 Hardee’s restaurants, which was the largest acquisition in Popeye’s 27-year history. Earlier in his career, he worked for the RM Restaurant Group as Vice President of Operations and for PepsiCo as part of the KFC national management team. Before entering the restaurant industry, Bill served as a Captain in the U.S. Army.

Bill received his Bachelor of Science degree from North Georgia College.

Bill is drinkin’ a Dunkin’ Dark Roast coffee, black, and scoopin’ Baskin-Robbins Love Potion #31® ice cream.

View Sessions

Simon Seaton joined Sodexo in 2012 as Chief Operating Officer for Sodexo’s Remote Sites Western Region, running operations in U.S. shale markets, Alaska, California, the Gulf of Mexico and four North Sea countries based in the USA. In September 2015 he moved to Singapore and assumed the new role of CEO Onshore Energy Worldwide and in January 2017 moved to Dubai and added the responsibility for Sodexo Middle East to his portfolio.

Under Seaton’s leadership, the Western Region experienced a dramatic improvement in health and safety performance, achieving 65 percent reduction in TRIR. It also saw improved cost efficiencies and lower overheads. Additionally, with Seaton at the helm, the region achieved a 20 percent improvement in GP, a 45 percent increase in EBIT and a 5.3 percent boost in employee engagement.
Since coming on board at Sodexo, he has presented at such conferences as Oil and Gas UK Piper and Society of Petroleum Engineers HSSE. Prior to Sodexo, Seaton spent 22 years at Halliburton in various operations, marketing and technology roles, during which time he was based in the U.K., U.S. and Africa.

He has been a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers for over 20 years and graduated with a degree in chemistry from the University of Wales in 1990. Seaton currently resides in Singapore with his wife and daughter.

Bio coming soon…

View Sessions

As CEO of the Middleby Corporation, Selim Bassoul has led the company to record-breaking revenues and the development of top innovation over the past two decades. Under his leadership, Middleby has grown from $100 million and a few brands to a $2 billion global powerhouse with 60+ brands and three business platforms. Today, one out of every three restaurants worldwide uses Middleby brands in their commercial kitchen.

Mr. Bassoul joined The Middleby Corporation in 1996 as President of the company’s Southbend division. In1999 he was promoted to Middleby’s Chief Operating Officer. A year later he was named CEO and in 2004 was appointed Chairman of the Board.

Selim strategically moved Middleby in a new direction by focusing on the development of disruptive innovation for the commercial kitchen. He spearheaded industry-changing products designed to give operators energy savings, cooking speed, labor elimintion, reduced water use, safety, top food quality and consistency, as well as greater overall efficiency in the commercial kitchen. Today is the company is focused on robotics and the next generation of cooking technologies.

Selim’s proven, effective and unconventional management style has been featured in The Wall St. Journal, Fortune, Forbes, CNBC and other top business media. He was named The Motley Fool’s “Best CEO of all time” by founder Tom Gardner. The company has also been one of the best performing companies on the NASDAQ exchange over the past 15 years and a Forbes “Best Small Company” for eight consecutive years.

Central in Selim’s life is giving back. Through his foundation, The Bassoul Dignity Foundation, he has developed a stove for refugees and personally delivered them to the camps. It is his goal to make life easier in the camps and to lessen the time women and girls spend searching for wood. In June, 2016 at the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the World Event in Monaco, Selim was awarded the EOY Alumni Award for Social Impact, on behalf of his efforts for refugees.

Selim has also been honored as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and YPO International Legacy Award recipient. He serves on the boards of several corporate, civic and philanthropic organizations. Selim attended the American University of Beirut where he received a B.A. in Business Administration with Distinction and was the recipient of the David Dodge Scholar Award. He later moved to the United States to continue his postgraduate education at the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management where he earned his M.B.A. in finance and marketing and a certificate in accounting.

View Sessions