7:00 am – 6:00 pm

Food On Demand Conference Registration / Badge Pickup Opens

7:30 am – 12:00 pm

Pre-Conference
Catering Growth Forum in partnership with ezCater

8:30 am – 12:00 pm

•Data-Driven Decisions: Unlocking the Power of Food for Work Insights
Industry expert David Meiselman, CMO of ezCater, provides industry and customer insights drawn from millions of B2B catering transactions as well as external research commissioned by ezCater. You’ll dig into the details of industry growth, customer ordering behaviors, and more, learning how high-value corporate customers choose catering partners. All attendees will gain access to the full report containing these insights — a valuable resource as you look to scale your catering business.

David Meiselman, ezCater

•Elevating Occasions: Delighting Influential High-Value Customers Off-Premises
What do high-value catering customers want or need? What are their pain points? Learn all this and more — straight from the source. The customers on this panel are some of the nation’s largest purchasers of B2B catering, in charge of choosing the right catering partners for their high-spend, high-stakes orders. You’ll have the unique opportunity to ask questions and interact directly with these high-value customers, learning what drives their decision making – gaining valuable insights for your own business.

Moderator: Genevieve Babineau, ezCater
Jewelressa Dunbar, Luxury Retail
Vlad Ivanov, Amazon
Emily Egan, Salesforce
Erin Pettygrove, Santa Clara University
Erin Murdock, Boston University

•Scaling an Irresistible B2B Offering
Join industry expert Tzurit Or as we explore the secrets to evolving a dynamic catering offering that prioritizes the customer experience. Tzurit Or is the founder and Chief Creative Officer of Tatte Bakery, a 35-location emerging brand renowned for its fanatically loyal customer base. Tzurit & the team at Tatte Bakery are fanatic about customer experience and how it translates beyond the four walls. Learn actionable insights for building a best-in-class offering, including menu ideation, packaging optimization for off-premises orders, and how to use branding as a strategic tool for efficiency and brand awareness. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to set your brand apart from the competition by curating a highly reliable offering.

Moderator: Michelle Smart, ezCater
Tzurit Or, Tatte Bakery

•Scaling Off-Premises Expansion: Building Trust Through Highly Reliable Customer Experiences
Join us for a dynamic session where industry leaders discuss the critial role of reliability in off-premises operations and how it drives customer trust and loyalty, paving the way for growth and expansion. Learn how to achieve organizational alignment and build a brand vision for a catering program that drives sustainable and incremental growth. Understand the experiebces and fulfill brand promises with every order. Discover strategies to expand your brand’s reach, including insights into digital marketing, advertising and leveraging technology to meet customer needs. Explore how reliability plays a pivotal role in exceeding customer needs, helping to build long-term brand success.

Moderator: Courtney Smith, ezCater
Lindsay Crasnick, bartaco
Jim Gerlock, Panera Bread
Eric Tucker, Salad and Go
Yassie Entekhabi, CAVA

1:00 pm – 1:10 pm

Opening Remarks
Jared Pfeifer, Food On Demand

1:10 pm – 1:35 pm

A Conversation with Travis Kalanick
Travis Kalanick, City Storage Systems, the parent company of CloudKitchens & Otter

1:35 pm – 2:35 pm

Off-Premises Round Table
A conversation with the heads of off-premises to discuss how the industry’s changed in the last year and where the on-demand ecosystem is heading next.

Moderator:  Bernadette Heier, Food On Demand
Michael Boyan, Shake Shack 
Andrew Garfrerick, Papa Johns
Wade Allen, Costa Vida 
Angela Coppler, Cousins Maine Lobster 

2:35 pm – 3:25 pm

Take Multi-Channel Marketing to the Max
Top restaurant CMOs detail how they’re helping their brands become the most successful restaurants in the country.

Moderator: Laura Michaels, Franchise Times
Danielle Porto Parra, GoTo Foods
Cindy Syracuse, BurgerFi
Molly Catalano, Five Guys

3:25 pm – 3:35 pm

Refreshment Break

3:35 pm – 4:15 pm

Data & Insights
Get in sync with your customers and what they’re looking for in this new era of delivery. Two industry research providers share exclusive findings about consumer expectations, market insights and technology adoption, with an eye toward upcoming trends under the radar.

Moderator: Bernadette Heier, Food On Demand
Andrew Custage, Medallia
Mike Provencher, Brizo FoodMetrics

4:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Exhibit Hall Opening Reception

4:15 pm – 4:30 pm

Outstanding Operator Recognition
Sponsored by Qu, DoorDash, ezCater

4:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Food On Demand Showroom Opening Reception
Sponsored by Brizo FoodMetrics & InMarket Media

6:30 pm – 8:00 pm

Operator Only VIP Party
Sponsored by ItsaCheckmate, Nash and ezCater

7:30 am – 8:30 am

Networking Breakfast

8:30 am – 9:10 am

Moderators: Carl Orsbourn, Deliver the Dish & Meredith Sandland, Empower Delivery
Maria Rivera, Smalls Holding
Urvi Patel, GoTo Foods

9:10 am – 10:10 am

Third-Party Delivery Deep Dive
A cornerstone of the Food On Demand Conference returns for 2024, with the three biggest players sharing their highest priorities for the year to come, and insights on how restaurant operators should adapt to sea changes in consumer behavior and preferences.

Moderator: Bernadette Heier, Food On Demand
Ruth Isenstadt, Head of U.S. Restaurants, DoorDash
Steven Puchala, SVP of Restaurant Network, Grubhub
Brandi Villarreal, Head of Online Food Delivery, Uber Direct

10:10 am – 10:25 am

Refreshment Break

10:25 am – 11:15 am

Constructing Your Tech Stack for Off-Premises Excellence-Roundtable

Moderator: Fred LeFranc, Results thru Strategy
Vishal Agarwal, ItsaCheckmate
Amir Hudda, Qu
Perse Faily, Tillster

11:15 am – 1:00 pm

Food On Demand Showroom Open

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Networking Luncheon

1:00 pm – 1:50 pm
Breakout 1 of 3 

The New Reality of Delivery-Only Models
There is widespread skepticism about the viability of ghost kitchens and virtual brands. But are delivery-only models really dead? In this session, industry experts will take a hard look at why many of these ventures have not survived, what separates the successes from the failures, and what innovative strategies are leading the way forward.

Moderator: Meredith Sandland, Empower Delivery
Nick Kiouftis, California Grill
Markus Pineyro, oomi Digital Kitchen
Erik Frederick

1:00 pm – 1:50 pm
Breakout 2 of 3 

Around the Industry
Featuring short, solo presentations from diverse corners of the industry.

Moderator: Ryan Palmer, Lathrop GPM
Paul Barron, Rever Networks
Ashwin Kamlani, Juicer
Cynthia Hollen, Mavi.io
Mahmoud Ghulman, Nash

1:00 pm – 1:50 pm
Breakout 3 of 3 

Around the Industry
Featuring short, solo presentations from diverse corners regarding automation in the restaurant industry.

Moderator: Peter Backman, theDelivery.World
Yariv Bash, Flytrex
Kristin Howe Cole, Grubhub
Rob Grimes, IFBTA
Natalie Wild, Bite

2:00 pm – 2:50 pm
Breakout 1 of 3 

Capitalizing on GenAI for Restaurants
Describe the real world use cases, opportunities, risks & challenges associated with adopting GenAI within the food industry and how brands can capitalize on the major advancements in AI.

Moderator:  Steven M. Elinson, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
David Azose, DoorDash
Brian Lichorowic, Vistry

2:00 pm – 2:50 pm
Breakout 2 of 3 

Boosting Your Off-Premises Economics
Amid ongoing inflationary pressures optimizing the economics of your delivery and off-premises programs is more important than ever. Key decisions in pricing, menu management, technology and marketing are all parts of a strategy that’s built for the new multi-channel reality.

Moderator: Brita Rosenheim, Vita Vera Ventures
Michael Montagano, Dog Haus
Shelly Rupel, Devour.io
Jim Bitticks, Dave’s Hot Chicken

2:00 pm – 2:50 pm
Breakout 3 of 3 

Trends in Restaurant Loyalty: Platforms, Profits & Guest Relations
In a landscape saturated with loyalty programs, true customer devotion goes beyond mere apps. Join industry leaders as they delve into the realm of generational behavior data, including Gen Z, unveiling insights on how restaurant brands can tailor loyalty efforts to captivate this influential demographic. This engaging session features two leading restaurant CEO’s with decades of restaurant and CPG expertise. Get ready to uncover actionable insights peppered with humor and wit, as they unveil strategies to effectively engage your consumers.

Moderator: Anna Tauzin, Big Chicken
Sam Stanovich, Big Chicken
Gregg Majewski, Craveworthy Brands

2:50 pm – 3:10 pm

Refreshment Break

3:10 pm – 4:00 pm
Breakout 1 of 3 

First-Party Conversion: Alternatives & Answers
While leveraging third-party marketplaces has its benefits, converting customers to first-party ordering brings several advantages from gaining more control over the customer experience, boosting repeat orders, loyalty and cost-saving opportunities.The session will dive into alternative last-mile delivery solutions and creative ways to create a superior first-party ordering experience

Moderator: Joe Reinstein, Digital Restaurant Association
Chris Heffernan, dlivrd
Kimberly Carducci, Freebirds World Burrito
Andrew Nakkache, FIRST

3:10 pm – 4:00 pm
Breakout 2 of 3 

Build or Buy? Steering Through the Maze of Custom vs. Commercial Tech
As the restaurant industry increasingly leans on technology, the imperative to tailor tech to your brand’s unique needs has intensified. With a surge in available solutions, operators face a growing web of subscriptions, dashboards, and partnerships with top-tier providers.
Join this exclusive operator-only panel for a dynamic discussion featuring three industry leaders from Emerging Enterprise, Enterprise, and Large Enterprise segments. Hear what goes on behind the scenes of selecting the technology that will drive their operations forward. This session will dissect the advantages and challenges of developing custom solutions versus opting for off-the-shelf technology, focusing on optimizing capital expenditure, enhancing risk management, and leveraging the transformative potential of AI.

Moderator: Juan George, 858 Partners
Deena DePhilips, Red Robin
Mark Lohmann, Birdcall
Keith McLellan, Whataburger

3:10 pm – 4:00 pm
Breakout 3 of 3 

Marketing to the Digital-First Customer
This session will dive into marketing tactics to attract and retain customers across multiple channels. It will highlight startegies to best market on digital platforms to generate sustainable revenue while also maintaining a postive ordering experience for customers.

Moderator: Sterling Douglass, Chowly
Jess Shuraleff, Uber
Jessica Jami, P.F. Chang’s
Dave Pavelko, Google

4:00 pm – 6:30 pm

Food On Demand Showroom Reception
Sponsored by Qu, ezCater, DoorDash

8:00 am – 9:00 am

Networking Breakfast

9:00 am – 9:50 am

Moderator: Jim Rand, Rand Parker Group
Erle Dardick, Off-Premises Growth Academy
Aaron Hoffman, DeliverThat
Jennifer Saunders-Haynes, Subway
Michelle Smart, ezCater

9:50 am – 10:40 am

Packaging Solutions for Off-Premises Operations
Foodservice packaging is essential for maintaining food quality during delivery, take-out, and catering. It’s not just about protection but also ensuring freshness and presentation while keeping costs down. These partnerships require seamless coordination between restaurants, delivery platforms, and packaging suppliers to uphold.

Moderator: Ashley Elzinga, Foodservice Packaging Institute
Gracie Prasanson, Jason’s Deli
Alistair Levine, KitchenSync/Vine Hospitality
Jeff Rinke, Hungry Howie’s Pizza

9:50 am – 10:40 am

Strategies to Best Manage Reconciliation & Chargebacks
Recent studies reveal that chargebacks impose a significant financial burden on businesses, costing them over $3 for every dollar of the original transaction amount. For instance, a $50 refund can potentially cost a restaurant $150 or more. In the current economic climate marked by escalating inflation and wage costs, restaurants can ill-afford to overlook the impact of chargebacks, especially in the context of delivery disputes. In this panel discussion, experts will explore automated solutions to mitigate delivery disputes.

Moderator: Nancy Luna, Food On Demand
Sean Thompson, Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers
Chris Munz, Voosh
Jeff Barney, Nékter Juice Bar

11:30 am – 11:45 am

Conference Closing Remarks
Jared Pfeifer & Bernadette Heier, Food On Demand