5:00 – 6:00pm | Keynote Session

Larry Winget is known as the Pitbull of Personal Development®, the Rockstar of Personal Finance and has been called the King of Common Sense. His talk pulls material from three of his bestsellers, Shut Up, Stop Whining & Get a Life, It’s Called Work for a Reason and People Are Idiots and I Can Prove It. Larry attacks traditional business wisdom and offers simple truths in his caustic, thought-provoking, and hilarious style. He offers a realistic approach that will work for anyone, at any time and in any business. The principles he discusses are the foundation for true success and can be applied to life, money, parenting, customer service, sales, leadership and more.

8:00 – 9:00am | Breakout Session

Industry experts weigh in on everything from menu trends to health care and how government regulations will affect your business.

9:30 – 10:30am | Breakout Session

About 63 percent of consumers say they are more likely to visit a foodservice operation they view as socially conscious, according to Technomic, and that can include a number of different elements from humane treatment of animals to conservation to local community involvement. Although most operators want to meet these initiatives to remain competitive, the biggest obstacle they face is the higher costs associated with them. Consumers, however, expect restaurants to exhibit social consciousness and sustainability points at any cost. This session shows operators how to meet customer demands without losing profits.

11:00am – Noon | Breakout Session

Customers are doing everything on their mobile devices – finding restaurants, engaging with brands, placing orders, sharing experiences with friends, and even paying with their phones. Engaging customers anywhere, anytime, and in the right context leads to big opportunities to learn about them, and bring them back. In this session, you’ll learn how using mobile for consumer engagement, customer analytics, and integration with POS and social media can lead to sales increases, higher customer participation rates, 50 percent-plus repeat rates and new customer referrals.

12:15 – 12:30pm | Executive Brief

12:30 – 1:30pm | Working Lunch (Keynote)

We live in an era where consumers demand more. More authenticity, more transparency and more participation in “their” most loved brands. How can CEOs and brand leaders create integrated marketing programs that will fuel their employees and brand fans? Learn more about best practices in developing and implementing innovative integrated brand marketing programs with Jeff Fromm and Greg Vodicka, co-authors of “Marketing to Millennials.”

4:00pm – 5:00pm | Breakout Session

Research firm Gartner estimates that mobile payments will top $720 billion a year by 2017, up from $235 billion last year. Now is the time for restaurant operators to get a piece of the action. Learn how those who have already adopted mobile payments inspired their customers to use them and how the adoption has led customers to become brand committed.

9:30am – 10:30am | Keynote Session

Lon Southerland, former sr. director global food and beverage for Marriott International, will describe how and why he chose to break from the standard hotel buffet options to create The Bistro, a fast casual concept inside Marriott lobbies that serve more than 50,000 guests a day, while maintaining its reputation as a sustainable brand with healthy menu items. Southerland will speak about the strategies he’s used to grow the concept to 750 units in just a few years and will share his expertise on transforming menus, launching F&B promos and creating partnerships to help grow brands.

11:00am – Noon | Breakout Session

Hear from a panel of leading experts about how to apply an academic framework to successfully grow, implement and market  an off-premise sales program for maximum profit growth. This session will highlight the business framework that operators can use to launch a successful off-premise business, focused on takeout, delivery, catering and food trucks.