Virtual Foodservice Forum
August 25 | August 26
A forum for the foodservice industry focused on recovery, change,
and future growth after the COVID-19 crisis
Join CRC later this summer when we host our annual Foodservice Forum. This event will bring together manufacturers, distributors, and operators looking for actionable intelligence and fresh ideas to consider for your business.
We’re curating a virtual program that will bring foodservice focused insights to you. Our interactive event will provide the latest insights on the foodservice industry and spotlight what you should hone in on to make better, smarter, and more profitable business decisions over the next 1-2 years.
Attendees can expect robust dialogue, high-level thought leadership, and ground-level action items to prepare foodservice professionals for the post-COVID world.
*For a seamless registration experience, we recommend using a web browser other than Internet Explorer.
Virtual Foodservice Forum Agenda
DAY 1
Wednesday, August 25, 2021
12:00 pm ET | 11:00 am CT
Opening Remarks & Macroeconomic Overview
Adrienne Moncrief & Skylar Xie, CRC
12:30 pm ET | 11:30 am CT
State of the Restaurant Industry
Annie Ariens, CRC
1:00 pm ET | 12:00 pm CT
Fireside Chat with Kitchen United
Guest Speaker: Atul Sood, Chief Business Officer, Kitchen United
2:00 pm ET | 1:00 pm CT
Top Consumer Trends
Ginny Tredway, CRC
2:30 pm ET | 1:30 pm CT
Convenience Store Food & Beverage
Nick Fischietto, CRC
3:00 pm ET | 2:00 pm CT
Live Q&A with CRC’s Foodservice Analysts
DAY 2
12:00 pm ET | 11:00 am CT
Opening Remarks & Protein Commodities
Adrienne Moncrief, Sarah Havala & Michael Piken, CRC
12:30 pm ET | 11:30 am CT
Guest Speaker
To be announced…
1:30 pm ET | 12:30 pm CT
Foodservice Distribution
Steven Gojak, CRC
2:00 pm ET | 1:00 pm CT
Non-Commercial & Contract Management
Adrienne Moncrief
2:30 pm ET | 1:30 pm CT
Lodging Food and Beverage
Vince Ciepiel, CRC
3:00 pm ET | 2:00 pm CT
Live Q&A with CRC’s Foodservice Analysts
*Session topics, speakers, and forum agenda are subject to change.
Virtual Foodservice Forum Presenters
Adrienne Moncrief
Director, Foodservice Council
Cleveland Research Company
Adrienne is the Director of the Foodservice Council at Cleveland Research Company, focused on writing research and hosting events. Adrienne is responsible for industry trend analysis and product development across the restaurant, distribution, and non-commercial foodservice channels, with the goal of providing business intelligence and actionable insights for manufacturers. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Professional Writing and Strategic Communication and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Steven Gojak
Senior Analyst & Partner
Cleveland Research Company
Steven is the Foodservice Sector Lead and Partner at Cleveland Research Company. His coverage includes the Foodservice industry specializing in generating proprietary research with a goal to identify trends and inflections that impact the financial performance and outlook across the food industry. Recently, Steven expanded Cleveland Research’s coverage to increase its impact on helping institutional investors and suppliers make more informed decisions. He is frequently invited to speak at numerous industry events and leadership conferences over the years both domestically and abroad. Steven is a 2006 graduate of Miami University.
Nick Fischietto
Research Associate
Cleveland Research Company
Nick is a Research Associate at CRC focusing on the Foodservice industry. In his role, he helps lead the research process specializing in gathering channel insights to identify key inflections and trends within the industry. His goal is to take the proprietary market intelligence and help clients navigate the dynamic Foodservice industry to make better strategic decisions and smarter investments. He routinely advises operator, broker, manufacturer, and investor partners. Nick holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from The Ohio State University.
Annie Ariens
Market Research Associate
Cleveland Research Company
Annie is a Market Research Associate at Cleveland Research Company. She is focused on gathering insights and expanding CRC’s coverage in the foodservice industry to find valuable inflections and trends for both institutional investors and supply chain partners. Annie holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance and Marketing and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Skylar Xie, CFA
Director of Macro Research
Cleveland Research Company
Skylar is the Director of Macro Research at Cleveland Research Company. She was one of the founders of CRC’s macro research, connecting the dots between CRC’s bottoms-up channel research and top-down economic data.
Skylar holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Beijing Jiaotong University in Beijing, China. She also holds a Master of Science in Finance and graduated with Dean’s Academic Reward from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She also recently completed her MBA at Wharton Business School in Philadelphia, PA in May of 2021.
Ginny Tredway
Executive Director, Advisory
Cleveland Research Company
Ginny has over 15 years of international experience working within the world of talent management and business consulting. She has partnered with businesses across the globe to support their strategic goals in the areas of talent management, organizational development, strategy, and process optimization. At CRC, Ginny leads our Advisory Services focused on creating and implementing robust programs to meet the strategic and operational needs of our clients. She works with our teams to create offerings which leverage our insights and expertize so that the projects she and her team deliver impact the business metrics which our clients care about.
Ginny earned her B.A. from the University of South Africa and her Honors and Masters of Commerce in Organizational Psychology from the University of Cape Town in South Africa. In her spare time, Ginny spends time with her husband and son, and can be found in the gym or exploring a new foreign country.
Vince Ciepiel, CFA
Senior Analyst & Partner
Cleveland Research Company
Vince is a Senior Analyst and Partner at Cleveland Research Company covering hotel, cruise, online travel agencies, and luxury brands. Prior to his current role, Vince was a Research Associate covering the environmental and oilfield services. Before joining CRC, Vince had internships in trading at Deutsche Bank in New York and as a Hedge Fund analyst at AJS Capital in Boston.
Vince received a B.S. in finance and decision sciences from Miami University. He is a CFA® charterholder and member of the CFA Institute.
Michael Piken
Senior Analyst & Partner
Cleveland Research Company
Michael is a Senior Analyst and Partner at Cleveland Research Company covering the agricultural commodity markets with a particular emphasis on the protein, grain, fertilizer and seed markets. Prior to joining CRC, Michael was an Equity Research Associate at FTN Midwest Securities.
Michael received a B.A. in economics from University of California, Berkley. He is a CFA® charterholder and member of the CFA Institute.
Sarah Havala, MS-MBA
Director of Protein Commodities
Cleveland Research Company
Sarah is the Director of Protein Commodities at Cleveland Research Company analyzing supply and demand trends in the meat industry and forecasting prices for a wide range of commodity items in the beef, pork, and chicken sectors. She is responsible for product development in delivering insights and outlook to protein buyers, suppliers, and other industry participants. Prior to her time at Cleveland Research, Sarah provided her analytics and forecasts to meat procurement teams.
Sarah holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Agricultural Economics from University of Illinois, an MS in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University, and an MBA from Indiana University – Kelley School of Business.
Atul Sood
Chief Business Officer
Kitchen United
Atul Sood is the Chief Business Officer for Kitchen United and is responsible for spearheading strategic partnerships along with administrative and financial management. Prior to his role with Kitchen United, Atul was the Director of Business Development for McDonald’s Global Digital organization, where he was responsible for launching and managing McDonald’s food delivery partnerships. Atul began his career in investment banking and has, amongst other roles, founded, grown and sold his own start-up in the sales technology space.
