2026 Accelerate Speakers

Prosper Accelerate

2026 Accelerate Session Speakers

A select group of leaders from a cross section of the foodservice and hospitality industry.

Lois

Alexis-Collins

Chief People Officer, Field Operations

Chipotle Mexican Grill

Bennett

Speaker, Author, Entrepreneur

Leadership Inc

Susan

Berg

Sr. Manager National Accounts

DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS®

Jim

Bitticks

Chief Executive Officer

Dave’s Hot Chicken

Ray

Blanchette

Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Sugarloaf Holdings, LLC

Liz

Bohannon

Founder & CEO and Bestselling Author

Liz Bohannon

Erika

Burkhardt

Chief Legal & Corporate Secretary

YUM! Brands Inc.

Jeff

Burrus

SVP of Supply Chain, QA and Food Safety

El Pollo Loco, Inc.

Garrett

Calderwood

VP, Operations Services

Chipotle Mexican Grill

David

Cantu

Chief Executive Officer

Craftable

Greg

Creed

Founder

Creed UnCo, LLC

Nai

De León

Incoming Chief People & Culture Officer

YUM! Brands Inc.

Jennifer

Dodd

Chief Executive Officer

Main Squeeze Juice Co.

Adam

Dumey

Global VP – Retail

World Wide Technology (WWT)

Steph

Earleywine

President

RealTime Solutions by Buyers Edge Platform

Laurel R.

Elliott

Director of Culinary Consulting , Sales & Offer Development

Entegra Procurement Services

Rich

Faltot

VP, Restaurants & Hospitality

Point B

Candy

Foust

VP of Growth

Ambiance iQ

James

Fripp

Chief Culture, Opportunity and Belonging Officer

YUM! Brands Inc.

Eleni

Gates

Founder & Strategic Communications Advisor

Gatehouse Communications Strategies

Kirk

Grogan

Chief Operating Officer

TipHaus Inc.

Katie

Hards

SVP, Customer Experience

Olo Inc

Eric

Henley

Sr. Manager National Accounts

DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS®

Shannon

Hennessy

Chief Executive Officer

Habit Burger & Grill

Melissa

Hughes, Ph.D.

Keynote Speaker, Author & Human Potential Alchemist

The Andrick Group

Amanda

Hyde

Chief Operating Officer

SPB Hospitality LLC.

Suresh

Iyer

Chief Operating Officer

Henny Penny Corporation

Sara

Jamshidi

Sr. Director, Corporate Partnerships

Share Our Strength | No Kid Hungry

Robert E.

Jones

VP, Strategic Partnerships & Industry Leadership

Culinary Institute of America

Jen

Kern

CMO

Qu POS, Inc.

Kristi

Kingery

Chief Supply Chain Officer

Tropical Smoothie Café

Scott

Klososky

Founder & CEO

Industry Defenders

Rebecca

Kurowski

VP, Sales and Marketing

RealTime Solutions by Buyers Edge Platform

Tori

Lasiter

Regional Sales Director

Paradox, a Workday Company

Ryan

Leak

Motivational Speaker, Author & Chief Executive Officer

The Ryan Leak Group

Matthew

Logan

Chief Executive Officer

Arrowfly

Jesse

Maddox

Strategic Partnerships Manager

DoorDash

Aaron

Marshall

VP, Strategic Planning

McLane

James

McGehee

CFO & Founding Partner

Dave’s Hot Chicken

Amy

Mrozinski

Sr. Director of Sales – West

Grande Cheese Company

Brad

Newberger

President & Co-Founder

Ambiance iQ

Shara

Orem

VP of Community Engagement and Strategic Partnerships

Datassential

Carl

Orsbourn

SVP – Enterprise Sales & GTM

Invisible Technologies

Christine

Petersen

Senior Director, Account Management

Avendra International

James

Pogue, Ph.D.

President & Chief Executive Officer

JP Enterprises

Pat

Riley

VP, Sales & Marketing

DataDelivers, LLC

Olivia

Ross

Director of Growth & Digital Innovation

El Pollo Loco

Ranjith

Roy

Chief Financial Officer

YUM! Brands, Inc.

Atul

Sood

CEO

Sood Advisory

Reggie

Stover

Chief People Officer

Henny Penny

Steve

Sturm

Chief Operating Officer

Firebirds Wood Fired Grill

Ali

Templin

VP of Enterprise Sales

Palona AI

Sean

Tresvant

Global Chief Executive Officer, Taco Bell, Chief Consumer Officer, Yum! Brands, Inc.

Taco Bell, YUM! Brands Inc.

Chris

Turner

Chief Executive Officer

YUM! Brands Inc.

Jackie

Walker

Chief Experience Officer

Creative Realities, Inc.

Angie

Young

Vice-President of Experience

Compass Group/FLIK Hospitality

2026 Accelerate Speakers

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