OmniCommerce
LeadershipJuly 27-31, 2026 at Cornell University in Ithaca,

NY

Dan Hooker is a global retail and consumer packaged goods executive with broad experience across diverse business environments and formats, leading traditional food retail operations and merchandising, as well as product development, consumer and category analytics, sourcing and procurement, global trading, national sales, and e-commerce. An outstanding strategist and general manager, he has led the successful startup of multiple diverse businesses.

Known for and recognized as one of the world’s leading authorities on retailers’ proprietary brands, Dan has shaped clients’ programs across four continents and eight classes of trade. His passion is in helping companies recognize their unique DNA and positioning then creating actionable marketing and sales strategies essential for their success.

Peter V.S. Bond works as Partnership Acceleration Lead at Flywheel, a division of Omnicom. Prior to Flywheel, Mr. Bond was the Senior Vice President of Commercial Strategy and Business Development at Fetch Rewards, a mobile loyalty platform. He has also held leadership roles at PowerReviews, CVS Health, dunnhumby, IRi, and Priceline.com. Mr. Bond holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University, an MBA from The Stern School of Business at New York University, and Executive Education certificates from the business schools at Columbia University and Cornell University.

Parag Shah is co-founder and Chief Growth Officer at Think Blue, a consulting firm that helps transform businesses by melding digital innovations with traditional expertise.

Formerly, at The GIANT Company, Mr. Shah led the Center Store and Omnichannel Merchandising initiatives, guiding a dedicated team to blend traditional retail excellence with digital innovation, significantly enhancing both customer experience and business performance. Mr. Shah’s tenure at Wakefern Food Corporation saw him ascend through various pivotal roles, culminating in a vice-presidential position where he spearheaded initiatives that transformed merchandising practices and nurtured collaborative success across the cooperative.

Beyond his professional endeavors, Mr. Shah is passionately committed to mentorship and advocacy, particularly focusing on educational empowerment for underprivileged communities and fostering diversity within the industry. His goal is to inspire and uplift, sharing the knowledge and insights he’s gained to nurture the next generation of industry leaders.

As Director of Category & eCommerce Strategy, Nicole is responsible for driving thought leadership and strategy across the entire path to purchase. Nicole creates the category strategy for the total Frozen business by bringing insights, vision, and growth drivers together to influence the Division strategy and the OMNI commercial plans. Nicole is also responsible for developing the short and long-term eCommerce strategy for Total Frozen. She also manages the Frozen Retail Media investment strategy and execution.

Nicole has been with Nestle for 15 years and has held a variety of roles with Nestle Purina and Nestle USA. Prior to this role, Nicole led Shopper Marketing and Functional Development for Nestle USA. She is the mother of three children, Vinny (9), Luca (7), and Cecilia (4). She and her family reside in Cleveland, OH. Nicole earned her Bachelor’s degree in International Business and Spanish from St. Francis University.

As VP, Sales Growth & Capabilities, Clare Galvao is responsible for the strategic planning process and driving synergies across the Sales Center. She sits on the US Sales Leadership Team and leads the Category Management, Trade Strategy & Sales Planning, E2E Commercial Operations, Commercial Capabilities, Portfolio Strategy, and Business Reporting & Analytics teams at Kellanova.

Clare has been with the company since March 2020.

Prior to this role, Clare led Channel & Customer Strategy for Kellanova, and Sales Continuous Improvement for Kellogg, which included establishing two separate sales organizations as a result of spinning off the cereal business. Prior to joining Kellogg North America, Clare was on the Global Growth Team leading Global Channel Strategy & Capabilities.

Prior to joining Kellogg, Clare spent 11 years at Coca-Cola in various sales and marketing assignments across four countries and three continents – including Sales roles in USA, Brand Management in Central Europe (Czech/Slovak); Venue Operations & Licensing at Expo 2015 in Italy; Channel & Customer Development in Thailand; and she led Commercial Strategy & Planning for a top US bottler.

Clare is the mother of one daughter; she and her husband reside in Glencoe, IL. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota – Carlson School of Management and her MBA from the Institut Universitaire Kurt Bösch (Switzerland) and University of New York in Prague.

Andrew Lipsman is an independent analyst and consultant at Media, Ads + Commerce. His industry coverage specializes in retail media—which he is known for anointing as “digital advertising’s third big wave”—and other areas of the digital media, advertising, and commerce ecosystem. He is also a founding advisor and strategist at retail media consultancy, Colosseum Strategy. 

Previously, Andrew was a VP & Principal Analyst at eMarketer, where he covered retail & ecommerce and led the retail media practice. Before that, he was SVP of Marketing & Insights at comScore overseeing the company’s global marketing insights and thought leadership initiatives. 

He has published more than a half dozen articles in the Journal of Advertising Research and is frequently quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, The Financial Times, Advertising Age, and Advertising Week.

Karan Girotra, Professor of Operations, Technology and Information Management (OTIM), is the recipient of the Charles H. Dyson Family Professor of Management chair, for a 5-year term. This chair was given by Rob Dyson, MBA ’74 to support a founding faculty position for Johnson instruction at Cornell Tech, in honor of his father, the founder of the Dyson-Kissner-Moran Corporation.

Karan Girotra is a Professor at Cornell Tech and in the Johnson School at Cornell University. Karan collaborates with companies building new business models in the areas of urban living, smart transportation and e-commerce, helping them build rigorous research based solutions.

Karan’s research team has been recognized by multiple awards including the prestigious Wickham Skinner Early Career Research Award and multiple best paper awards. He has also won teaching awards for his teaching on entrepreneurship and new business models and was featured in the Poets and Quant’s Best 40 under 40 business professors lists.

In addition to his academic work, Karan was one of the founders of Terrapass Inc., which the New York Times identified as one of the most noteworthy ideas of 2005. Since then, TerraPass has helped businesses and individuals reduce over hundred million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Karan holds PhD and AM degrees from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

With over twenty years in advertising and online marketing, Austin Leonard is known for pioneering efforts in the retail media sector via collaboration, transparency & keeping the customer at the center of the conversation. As the Senior Vice President of Business Development at Epsilon, he spearheads efforts to enhance retail media network platforms by integrating top-tier identity data with AI-driven ad server technologies.

His prior roles include Head of Sales at Sam’s Club MAP, Head of Food at Walmart Connect and Program Manager for the eBay Audience Platform, where he significantly increased revenue and advertiser engagement through innovative digital and in-store marketing strategies. Austin is a proud graduate of the University of Florida (Go Gators!) and holds an MBA from Georgia State University in Atlanta.

Liz Buchanan leads the North American business for NielsenIQ, a global information services firm serving the consumer goods and retail industries. In this role, she is accountable for the U.S. and Canadian markets, across all NIQ business lines and customer segments.

During her 17 years at NIQ, Liz has held various leadership roles in customer success, sales, product development and technology deployment. Most recently, she oversaw NIQ’s customer facing analytics and servicing teams around the world and led the successful rollout of the NIQ self-serve analytics platform, NIQ Discover, across 85 countries.

She has worked extensively across the U.S. and global markets. She has specific expertise in data governance and stewardship, data management processes, technologies and analytics. She regularly consults with customers to help them achieve their transformation goals in this rapidly evolving space.

Liz currently serves as an Executive Sponsor for the Women in NielsenIQ (WIN) employee resource group. She sits on the Board of Directors for the Chicago chapter of Cradles to Crayons, a non-profit organization focused on providing essentials to children facing clothing insecurity. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Chicago Humanities (formerly the Chicago Humanities Festival) and World Business Chicago.

Liz is an active champion for civic causes, regularly dedicating her time advocating for diverse political representation through fundraising, organizing and policy work at the local and national level. Liz is a Class of 2022 Leadership Greater Chicago (LGC) Signature Fellow and a member of the Economic Club of Chicago.

30+ years of grocery retail experience working in various functions from retail operations, category management, merchandising planning, sourcing, eCommerce merchandising, and retail media. Responsible for driving sales growth through meaningful customer engagements across all of our media channels and the digital shelf. Ensure ADUSA’s capabilities deliver on our connected customer ambition and create stronger partnerships with our CPG and agency partners.

Manish Sharma is a seasoned leader with over 20 years of experience in digital retail, global marketing, and P&L management. He excels at transforming challenges into opportunities and inspiring change through strategic thinking. Mr. Sharma is the co-founder and CMO of Think Blue, a consulting firm that transforms businesses by melding digital innovations with traditional expertise. He has held various leadership positions across different continents, including leading the marketing function for Asia Pacific, serving as the global lead for the Kellogg Masterbrand, and most recently as the Vice President and General Manager of Omni-commerce at Kellogg USA.

A builder at heart, Mr. Sharma is deeply passionate about building businesses and brands as well as mentoring talent. His areas of expertise encompass marketing, e-commerce, breakthrough innovation, and integrated communication planning. In his free time, Mr. Sharma enjoys spending time with his dogs, traveling, and trying new foods.

Neil Reynolds has worked within the commercial functions of CPG business for 24 years, spending 20 years in total at Mars.  He has worked across Customer Leadership, Strategic Sales and broader Demand Leadership roles and has led teams and business across both Food and Non-Food categories.  

In 2016 Neil joined Johnson & Johnson where he led the UK Consumer business, before re-joining Mars in 2019 to design and lead Global Transformation Programs across both the Supply and Sales functions.  He was appointed Global VP Digital Commerce in June 2022, and after 2.5 years being immersed in the fascinating world of Digital Transformation became Global Chief Customer & Digital Commerce Officer in November 2024.  Neil is based in Wokingham, UK with his wife Rachel and their three young boys aged 10, 8 and 5. 

Mari Kokka is a senior executive with deep expertise in building and scaling retail media businesses across Walmart, Sam’s Club, and eBay. With over 20 years of experience, she brings a strategic mindset, commercial acumen, and a people-first leadership style to one of the fastest-growing sectors in digital advertising. Her leadership spans fully outsourced, hybrid, and fully insourced media models—giving her a unique ability to design adaptable operating structures that align execution with long-term growth. Mari has built and led high-performing teams across every stage of retail media maturity, from early go-to-market through scaled monetization and omnichannel integration.

As Group Director of Operations for Sam’s Club Member Access Platform (MAP), Mari leads the teams responsible for revenue operations, business systems, creative ops, and campaign execution. Previously, she launched Walmart Connect’s Sales Center of Excellence, scaling the organization to support a $1B+ business through centralized operations, sales enablement, and client service strategy. Mari is known for turning complexity into strategic clarity and operations into strategic advantage. She has improved go-to-market velocity, monetization and built scalable systems that strengthen both client outcomes and team engagement.

For executives exploring retail media, Mari offers a rare combination of strategic clarity, executional depth, and deep experience leading organizations through rapid growth and transformation.

Dr. Li Chen is a Professor of Operations, Technology and Information Management and Breazzano Family Term Professor of Management at Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. Dr. Chen’s research interests concern supply chain management, operations strategy, and Bayesian methods for predictive and prescriptive analytics. He has published research works in top journals in the operations management field, such as Management Science, Operations Research, and Manufacturing, Service and Operations Management. Prior to joining Johnson School, Dr. Chen was an Associate Professor of Business Administration at The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. Before his Duke appointment, Dr. Chen spent four years at TrueDemand Software, a supply chain software company in Silicon Valley, where he was the cofounder and lead scientist of the company. Dr. Chen obtained his PhD in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University in 2005.

With over 30 years of experience with the companies of Ahold Delhaize and more than 20 years working in grocery eCommerce, Daniël started his career as a parttime associate at Albert Heijn in The Netherlands. He worked in various store leadership roles for the brand, before joining Albert Heijn’s Online division. With Albert Heijn Online, Daniël held various roles that helped shape the brand’s eCommerce strategy, including, eCommerce Project Lead, Inbound Supply Chain Manager and Manager of Logistics and Replenishment.

In 2013, Daniël moved to the U.S. to join Peapod as part of an expatriate program to exchange knowledge on eCommerce between Europe and the United States. He made the decision to stay in the U.S. as Ahold Delhaize USA was standing up Peapod Digital Labs, ADUSA’s former eCommerce shared services organization. With PDL, Daniël held various leadership roles including, Senior Director of Fulfillment Strategy.

Daniël studied business administration at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam and holds an executive masters in logistics from the Dutch Association of Logistics Management. Daniël is a guest lecturer on Omnichannel Strategy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s MicroMasters in Supply Chain Management program.

Gordon Reid serves as President of Stop & Shop, a great local brand of Ahold Delhaize USA. Founded in 1914, Stop & Shop now has more than 400 stores across the Northeast and employs nearly 54,000 associates.

Prior to joining Stop & Shop in 2019, Gordon Reid served as President of Giant Food and led the brand to the number one market share position in each of its local markets. Under his leadership, the company made healthy eating easier and affordable, while also growing home delivery and transforming the shopping experience with the customer top of mind.

Reid has more than 35 years of international retail experience. Before joining Giant Food, he worked as CEO of China and Deputy Regional Director of North Asia for The Dairy Farm Group in Hong Kong. Previously, he spent time at Tesco in various leadership roles and worked in a variety of countries such as Hungary, India and China. He also previously worked at Boots in the United Kingdom for 15 years, where he held general management roles, and at A.S. Watson Group spending time in Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea. He started his career as a pharmacist in 1984.

Reid holds a bachelor’s of science in pharmacy from Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh, U.K., and a Master’s of Business Administration from Nottingham University Business School in the U.K. He serves on the Board of Directors at the Greater Boston Food Bank and Partnership for a Healthier America. Reid also serves on the National Academy of Sciences’ Roundtable for Obesity Solutions representing Stop & Shop, which was the first-ever grocery retailer to join this group in their work to address the obesity crisis. Gordon and his wife reside in Boston, Mass.

As the Chief Growth Officer at Monster Energy, Rob is focused on ensuring Monster is growing at the rate of consumption. His previous roles with Swire Coca-Cola, USA, Hershey and The Coca-Cola Company show his proven track record of transforming relationships with large customers from transactional to strategic partnerships through a deep understanding of their business and building high performing, diverse teams. Rob believes companies are stronger when they are data-driven and where every employee has the insights required to create a limitless approach to their own potential.

Andrew Quagliata is a Senior Lecturer in Management Communication at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, where he teaches courses in persuasive communication, interpersonal communication, entrepreneurial communication, real estate communication, and business writing.

Professor Quagliata is the author of “Build Better Slide Decks: Create Sharper Slides, Stronger Stories, and Standout Presentations” (November 2025) and several eCornell courses, including “Building Compelling Slide Decks and Reports,” “Developing Self-Advocacy Skills,” “Generative AI for Written Communication,” and “Preparing for Effective Presentations Using AI.”

As VP eCommerce & OmniChannel, Target and Emerging Platforms North America, Ajay Sharma is responsible for leading the end-to-end eCommerce commercial agenda developing strategies and programs that center on the consumer experience as well as overseeing the executional implementation across all retailers.

Ajay has a proven track record in eCommerce & OmniChannel and prior to his current role, he was a member of the Global eCommerce team in Switzerland and Head of eCommerce in the UK. Ajay spent the first 10 years of his career progressing through several commercial, trade marketing and eCommerce roles across multiple channels at Coca-Cola.

Bayer Consumer Health, North America, headquartered in Whippany, New Jersey, is among the largest marketers of over-the-counter (OTC) medications in the world. Bayer’s current portfolio of OTC products includes some of the most trusted and recognizable brands in the world, such as Bayer Aspirin, Afrin, Aleve, Alka-Seltzer, Claritin, Lotrimin, Midol, MiraLAX, One-A-Day, and Phillips’.