Prosper Accelerator Retreat Agenda
October 27-28, 2026
Tuesday, October 27, 2026
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
2:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Bus Staging and Loading to take Accelerators and CIA/MC to YUM HQ for Opening Session
2:30 PM - 3:00 PM
3:00 PM - 3:20 PM
3:20 PM - 4:40 PM
3:20 PM - 3:25 PM
James Fripp, Chief Culture, Opportunity, and Belonging Officer, YUM! Brands, Inc.
Presented by: Yum! Brands
3:25 PM - 4:00 PM
Leadership gets discussed in terms of performance, growth, influence and results. Far less often do we talk about what it actually costs to carry that responsibility.
This candid conversation goes beyond the traditional leadership playbook to explore the realities that emerge as careers advance: the decisions that stay with you, the loneliness that can come with senior leadership, the politics of influence, and the uncomfortable realization that sometimes the behaviors that made you successful are the very ones holding you back.
From firing someone you care about and backing the wrong leader to navigating boards, protecting your integrity, balancing family and career, and confronting what comes after the climb, this session creates space for leaders to talk about the parts of leadership that rarely make it onto the stage.
It’s a conversation about judgment, influence, identity, personal cost and perspective, and what it takes to build not only a successful career, but one you can look back on and feel good about.
Moderated by:
Luke Kircher, President, Prosper Events, SVP Arrowfly
Panelists:
James Fripp, Chief Culture, Opportunity, and Belonging Officer, YUM! Brands, Inc.
Hattie Hill, Strategic Consultant, Arrowfly
David Jobe, SVP, Arrowfly
Presented By: Yum! Brands
4:00 PM - 4:45 PM
What does leadership look like at the highest levels of one of the world’s largest restaurant companies?
In this exclusive, small-group experience, Prosper Accelerators will have the opportunity to sit down with members of the Yum! Brands executive leadership team for candid, personal conversations about leadership, career growth, decision-making, and navigating the complexities of a global organization.
Rather than a traditional panel, executives will join individual tables to engage in facilitated discussions built around a shared set of thought-provoking questions. Each conversation will offer an inside look at the experiences, perspectives, and lessons that have shaped these leaders, while creating space for Accelerators to ask their own questions.
No stage. No scripted presentations. Just meaningful conversations with leaders who have helped shape the industry, and an opportunity to learn from them across the table.
Speakers:
Erika Burkhardt, Chief Legal & Corporate Secretary, Yum! Brands, Inc.
Jim Dausch, Chief Digital & Technology Officer, Yum Brands & President, Byte by Yum, Yum! Brands, Inc.
Naiara De León, Incoming Chief People & Culture Officer, Yum! Brands, Inc.
Shannon Hennessy, Chief Executive Officer, Habit Burger Grill
Ranjith Roy, Chief Financial Officer, Yum! Brands, Inc.
Sean Tresvant, Global Chief Executive Officer, Taco Bell, Chief Consumer Officer, Yum! Brands, Inc.
Chris Turner, Chief Executive Officer, Yum! Brands, Inc.
Presented By: Yum! Brands
4:45 PM - 5:00 PM
5:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Accelerators will get on busses and head over to the Middleby Innovation Kitchen.
5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Dinner and Reception at the Middleby Innovation Kitchen
Presented By: Middleby
8:30 PM - 9:00 PM
Wednesday, October 28, 2026
7:00 AM - 5:30 PM
6:45 AM - 8:15 AM
8:30 AM - 10:00 AM
8:30 AM - 8:35 AM
James Fripp, Chief Culture, Opportunity, and Belonging Officer, YUM! Brands, Inc.
Hattie Hill, Strategic Consultant, Arrowfly
David Jobe, SVP, Arrowfly
Luke Kircher, President, Prosper Events, SVP Arrowfly
8:35 AM - 9:15 AM
Your career is thriving. Your calendar is full. Your family depends on you. Then something changes. A parent falls, a spouse gets sick, an unexpected diagnosis arrives, or suddenly you’re the one who can’t step in. When Monday morning comes, does anyone know what to do?
Businesses invest significant time preparing for disruption through succession plans, backup systems, insurance, cybersecurity, and emergency procedures. Yet many successful leaders have never created the same level of continuity for their own lives and families.
This practical conversation challenges leaders to think beyond professional preparedness and build a personal Life Continuity Plan. From wills, trusts, powers of attorney, beneficiaries, and insurance to passwords, financial accounts, aging parents, senior-care decisions, and emergency contacts, participants will examine the critical information and decisions that are often postponed until they become urgent.
Participants will leave with:
Because leadership preparedness isn’t only about making sure the business can operate without you. It’s making sure the people you care about know what to do when life doesn’t go according to plan.
Moderator:
Reggie Stover, Chief People Officer, Henny Penny Corporation
Panelist:
George Yedinak, Chief Operating Officer, Arrowfly
9:15 AM - 10:15 AM
Join Candace Barnes for a compelling session designed for professionals seeking to elevate their impact and advance with intention. Drawing on the PIE framework, Performance, Image, and Exposure, Candace will explore how to craft a powerful personal narrative that aligns with your leadership goals. Through strategic insights and real-world examples, she’ll guide you in identifying the key elements that shape perception and influence progression. This session offers the tools to own your journey, amplify your voice, and position yourself for continued growth in the evolving foodservice landscape.
Presenter:
Candace Barnes, Founder & Principal, Luminary Leadership Partners
Presented By: Alsea
10:15 AM - 10:45 AM
10:45 AM - 1:00 PM
10:45 AM - 11:30 AM
High performers don’t just communicate—they connect. They don’t just inform—they inspire.
In today’s fast-paced world, the ability to capture attention, build trust, and drive action isn’t just a soft skill—it’s a high-performance strategy. The best leaders, salespeople, and influencers know that storytelling isn’t just a way to share ideas—it’s a way to elevate results.
Drawing from the insights in his bestselling book, The Power of Storytelling, Ty Bennett reveals how mastering this skill can transform the way you sell, lead, and influence—ultimately driving higher engagement, stronger relationships, and greater success. This keynote delivers a proven framework for crafting compelling stories that move people to action.
What You’ll Learn in This High-Impact Keynote:
The High-Performance Communication Blueprint – Learn how top professionals use storytelling to simplify complex ideas, overcome objections, and inspire change.
The Leadership & Sales Edge – Why the highest performers in business leverage storytelling to lead teams, close deals, and create lasting impact.
Practical Storytelling Techniques for Immediate Results – Discover when and how to use storytelling in daily conversations, presentations, and all interactions to drive performance.
The Science Behind Why Stories Drive Action – How storytelling engages emotions, increases influence, and enhances decision-making.
With over 2,000 speeches delivered, Ty Bennett translates the power of storytelling into a tangible skillset that fuels high performance—giving you the tools to communicate with more confidence, clarity, and impact.
This keynote is a game-changing experience designed to unlock a competitive edge, enhance your influence, and take your results to the next level.
Presenter:
Ty Bennett, Speaker, Author, Entrepreneur, Leadership Inc.
Presented by: Keurig Dr Pepper
11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
The higher you rise, the more your words carry weight. Whether you’re sitting for an interview, speaking on a panel, joining a podcast, responding to a difficult question, or representing your organization in a high-stakes moment, great leadership requires knowing how to communicate clearly when the pressure is on.
This interactive media training session will put Prosper Accelerators in the hot seat and give them practical tools for navigating today’s increasingly complex communications environment. Participants will learn how to sharpen their message, answer difficult questions without losing control of the conversation, eliminate habits that weaken their delivery, and communicate with greater confidence and authenticity.
More than preparing for the media, this session is about preparing for visibility. Because as your leadership platform grows, knowing what you want to say is only half the equation. You also have to know how to make it land.
Presenter:
Eleni Gates, Founder & Strategic Communications Advisor, Gatehouse Communications Strategies
Presented by: WIRL
12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
Being ready for the next level and being seen as ready for the next level are not always the same thing.
As leaders advance, performance is often just the starting point. How you communicate, navigate complexity, build trust, influence decisions, and show up when the stakes are high all shape how others perceive your readiness for greater responsibility.
This session explores the unwritten signals that influence who gets considered for the next opportunity. Participants will examine the behaviors and perceptions that build executive credibility, identify the gaps that may be holding them back, and learn how to demonstrate readiness before the title arrives.
Because the next step in your career isn’t only about proving you can do the job. It’s about giving others the confidence to see you in it.
Moderated by:
April Love, JD, Vice President, Chief Inclusion & Community Impact Officer, Sysco Corporation
Panelists:
Steve Berger, CHRO & SVP Corporate Services, C.H. Guenther & Son
Kevin Stockslager, Managing Partner, Wray Executive Search
12:30 PM - 1:00 PM
Ambition gets celebrated as a virtue, but the brain tells a more complicated story. Sometimes what we call drive is a dopamine loop that rewards the chase and never the arrival, which is exactly why high performers can hit every target and still feel restless, empty, or quietly burned out.
This session opens with a 15-minute TED-style masterclass that decodes the lie at the center of ambition: why dopamine fuels wanting far more than liking, how reward-prediction error keeps us escalating, and where healthy drive ends and performance addiction begins. We then flip the stage into a guided Think Tank where leaders interrogate their own motivation. What is actually driving me? Am I chasing the right goals, or just the next hit of “done”? Participants leave able to tell the difference between fuel and compulsion, with the cognitive clarity to lead from intention, not impulse.
Presenter:
Dr. Melissa Hughes, Keynote Speaker, Author & Human Potential Alchemist
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
2:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Bus Staging and Loading to take Accelerators and CIA/MC to YUM HQ for Opening Session
2:30 PM - 3:00 PM
3:00 PM - 3:20 PM
3:20 PM - 4:40 PM
3:20 PM - 3:25 PM
James Fripp, Chief Culture, Opportunity, and Belonging Officer, YUM! Brands, Inc.
Presented by: Yum! Brands
3:25 PM - 4:00 PM
Leadership gets discussed in terms of performance, growth, influence and results. Far less often do we talk about what it actually costs to carry that responsibility.
This candid conversation goes beyond the traditional leadership playbook to explore the realities that emerge as careers advance: the decisions that stay with you, the loneliness that can come with senior leadership, the politics of influence, and the uncomfortable realization that sometimes the behaviors that made you successful are the very ones holding you back.
From firing someone you care about and backing the wrong leader to navigating boards, protecting your integrity, balancing family and career, and confronting what comes after the climb, this session creates space for leaders to talk about the parts of leadership that rarely make it onto the stage.
It’s a conversation about judgment, influence, identity, personal cost and perspective, and what it takes to build not only a successful career, but one you can look back on and feel good about.
Moderated by:
Luke Kircher, President, Prosper Events, SVP Arrowfly
Panelists:
James Fripp, Chief Culture, Opportunity, and Belonging Officer, YUM! Brands, Inc.
Hattie Hill, Strategic Consultant, Arrowfly
David Jobe, SVP, Arrowfly
Presented By: Yum! Brands
4:00 PM - 4:45 PM
What does leadership look like at the highest levels of one of the world’s largest restaurant companies?
In this exclusive, small-group experience, Prosper Accelerators will have the opportunity to sit down with members of the Yum! Brands executive leadership team for candid, personal conversations about leadership, career growth, decision-making, and navigating the complexities of a global organization.
Rather than a traditional panel, executives will join individual tables to engage in facilitated discussions built around a shared set of thought-provoking questions. Each conversation will offer an inside look at the experiences, perspectives, and lessons that have shaped these leaders, while creating space for Accelerators to ask their own questions.
No stage. No scripted presentations. Just meaningful conversations with leaders who have helped shape the industry, and an opportunity to learn from them across the table.
Speakers:
Erika Burkhardt, Chief Legal & Corporate Secretary, Yum! Brands, Inc.
Jim Dausch, Chief Digital & Technology Officer, Yum Brands & President, Byte by Yum, Yum! Brands, Inc.
Naiara De León, Incoming Chief People & Culture Officer, Yum! Brands, Inc.
Shannon Hennessy, Chief Executive Officer, Habit Burger Grill
Ranjith Roy, Chief Financial Officer, Yum! Brands, Inc.
Sean Tresvant, Global Chief Executive Officer, Taco Bell, Chief Consumer Officer, Yum! Brands, Inc.
Chris Turner, Chief Executive Officer, Yum! Brands, Inc.
Presented By: Yum! Brands
4:45 PM - 5:00 PM
5:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Accelerators will get on busses and head over to the Middleby Innovation Kitchen.
5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Dinner and Reception at the Middleby Innovation Kitchen
Presented By: Middleby
8:30 PM - 9:00 PM
7:00 AM - 5:30 PM
6:45 AM - 8:15 AM
8:30 AM - 10:00 AM
8:30 AM - 8:35 AM
James Fripp, Chief Culture, Opportunity, and Belonging Officer, YUM! Brands, Inc.
Hattie Hill, Strategic Consultant, Arrowfly
David Jobe, SVP, Arrowfly
Luke Kircher, President, Prosper Events, SVP Arrowfly
8:35 AM - 9:15 AM
Your career is thriving. Your calendar is full. Your family depends on you. Then something changes. A parent falls, a spouse gets sick, an unexpected diagnosis arrives, or suddenly you’re the one who can’t step in. When Monday morning comes, does anyone know what to do?
Businesses invest significant time preparing for disruption through succession plans, backup systems, insurance, cybersecurity, and emergency procedures. Yet many successful leaders have never created the same level of continuity for their own lives and families.
This practical conversation challenges leaders to think beyond professional preparedness and build a personal Life Continuity Plan. From wills, trusts, powers of attorney, beneficiaries, and insurance to passwords, financial accounts, aging parents, senior-care decisions, and emergency contacts, participants will examine the critical information and decisions that are often postponed until they become urgent.
Participants will leave with:
Because leadership preparedness isn’t only about making sure the business can operate without you. It’s making sure the people you care about know what to do when life doesn’t go according to plan.
Moderator:
Reggie Stover, Chief People Officer, Henny Penny Corporation
Panelist:
George Yedinak, Chief Operating Officer, Arrowfly
9:15 AM - 10:15 AM
Join Candace Barnes for a compelling session designed for professionals seeking to elevate their impact and advance with intention. Drawing on the PIE framework, Performance, Image, and Exposure, Candace will explore how to craft a powerful personal narrative that aligns with your leadership goals. Through strategic insights and real-world examples, she’ll guide you in identifying the key elements that shape perception and influence progression. This session offers the tools to own your journey, amplify your voice, and position yourself for continued growth in the evolving foodservice landscape.
Presenter:
Candace Barnes, Founder & Principal, Luminary Leadership Partners
Presented By: Alsea
10:15 AM - 10:45 AM
10:45 AM - 1:00 PM
10:45 AM - 11:30 AM
High performers don’t just communicate—they connect. They don’t just inform—they inspire.
In today’s fast-paced world, the ability to capture attention, build trust, and drive action isn’t just a soft skill—it’s a high-performance strategy. The best leaders, salespeople, and influencers know that storytelling isn’t just a way to share ideas—it’s a way to elevate results.
Drawing from the insights in his bestselling book, The Power of Storytelling, Ty Bennett reveals how mastering this skill can transform the way you sell, lead, and influence—ultimately driving higher engagement, stronger relationships, and greater success. This keynote delivers a proven framework for crafting compelling stories that move people to action.
What You’ll Learn in This High-Impact Keynote:
The High-Performance Communication Blueprint – Learn how top professionals use storytelling to simplify complex ideas, overcome objections, and inspire change.
The Leadership & Sales Edge – Why the highest performers in business leverage storytelling to lead teams, close deals, and create lasting impact.
Practical Storytelling Techniques for Immediate Results – Discover when and how to use storytelling in daily conversations, presentations, and all interactions to drive performance.
The Science Behind Why Stories Drive Action – How storytelling engages emotions, increases influence, and enhances decision-making.
With over 2,000 speeches delivered, Ty Bennett translates the power of storytelling into a tangible skillset that fuels high performance—giving you the tools to communicate with more confidence, clarity, and impact.
This keynote is a game-changing experience designed to unlock a competitive edge, enhance your influence, and take your results to the next level.
Presenter:
Ty Bennett, Speaker, Author, Entrepreneur, Leadership Inc.
Presented by: Keurig Dr Pepper
11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
The higher you rise, the more your words carry weight. Whether you’re sitting for an interview, speaking on a panel, joining a podcast, responding to a difficult question, or representing your organization in a high-stakes moment, great leadership requires knowing how to communicate clearly when the pressure is on.
This interactive media training session will put Prosper Accelerators in the hot seat and give them practical tools for navigating today’s increasingly complex communications environment. Participants will learn how to sharpen their message, answer difficult questions without losing control of the conversation, eliminate habits that weaken their delivery, and communicate with greater confidence and authenticity.
More than preparing for the media, this session is about preparing for visibility. Because as your leadership platform grows, knowing what you want to say is only half the equation. You also have to know how to make it land.
Presenter:
Eleni Gates, Founder & Strategic Communications Advisor, Gatehouse Communications Strategies
Presented by: WIRL
12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
Being ready for the next level and being seen as ready for the next level are not always the same thing.
As leaders advance, performance is often just the starting point. How you communicate, navigate complexity, build trust, influence decisions, and show up when the stakes are high all shape how others perceive your readiness for greater responsibility.
This session explores the unwritten signals that influence who gets considered for the next opportunity. Participants will examine the behaviors and perceptions that build executive credibility, identify the gaps that may be holding them back, and learn how to demonstrate readiness before the title arrives.
Because the next step in your career isn’t only about proving you can do the job. It’s about giving others the confidence to see you in it.
Moderated by:
April Love, JD, Vice President, Chief Inclusion & Community Impact Officer, Sysco Corporation
Panelists:
Steve Berger, CHRO & SVP Corporate Services, C.H. Guenther & Son
Kevin Stockslager, Managing Partner, Wray Executive Search
12:30 PM - 1:00 PM
Ambition gets celebrated as a virtue, but the brain tells a more complicated story. Sometimes what we call drive is a dopamine loop that rewards the chase and never the arrival, which is exactly why high performers can hit every target and still feel restless, empty, or quietly burned out.
This session opens with a 15-minute TED-style masterclass that decodes the lie at the center of ambition: why dopamine fuels wanting far more than liking, how reward-prediction error keeps us escalating, and where healthy drive ends and performance addiction begins. We then flip the stage into a guided Think Tank where leaders interrogate their own motivation. What is actually driving me? Am I chasing the right goals, or just the next hit of “done”? Participants leave able to tell the difference between fuel and compulsion, with the cognitive clarity to lead from intention, not impulse.
Presenter:
Dr. Melissa Hughes, Keynote Speaker, Author & Human Potential Alchemist
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
