Rev is a New York City restaurant owner and knows exactly how hard it is to operate and brand a hospitality business. He is a hospitality marketing consultant, customer and technology evangelist at Branded Strategic Hospitality, with more than 20 years experience in B2B digital marketing and business development, specializing in hospitality marketing, content, local SEO, reputation management and demand generation. He helps technology companies, brands and restaurants to acquire and retain more customers. Rev is known as an “expert burger taster,” pens hospitality and marketing tips on his Instagram @revciancio, as well as his LinkedIn Profile and hosts the Restaurant Marketing Podcast. He believes that Pizza is a religion.

After service in the U.S. Marine Corps, Amanda Kahalehoe integrated the values of adaptability and determination into her professional journey. From Long Island, NY, she melds her disciplined nature with exceptional communication skills and sharp critical thinking. Amanda's career embarked on its trajectory at a New York security firm, where she rose from the position of a data communication specialist to Chief Operating Officer of Business Operations. Throughout her profession, Amanda consistently led the charge in pioneering innovation across sales, operations, accounting, HR, and IT domains. Following her relocation to Charleston, she collaborated with George McLaughlin, becoming a pivotal member of the Vicious Biscuit team and contributing to its growth through the implementation of innovative strategies and practices.

Jim Sullivan, chief development officer at Smashburger, is a seasoned restaurant industry executive with more than 29 years of experience in real estate, construction, facilities, franchise development and site acquisition management. In his role with Smashburger, Sullivan leads all restaurant development activities, including market planning, site selection, real estate negotiations, franchising and more to support the company’s aggressive growth plan. Sullivan has held leadership positions with many prominent restaurant brands including Qdoba, CKE Restaurant Holdings, Friendly’s Ice Cream Corporation and American Hospitality Concepts. He received his Bachelor of Science from University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a Mini MBA from University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, MN.

Before joining Networld Media Group as Vice President of Events, Cherryh Cansler spent several years as VP of Editorial managing the Networld’s nine B2B publications. Throughout her 20-year career as a journalist, she’s written about a variety of topics, ranging from the restaurant industry and technology to health and fitness news. Her byline has appeared in a plethora of newspapers, magazines and websites, including Forbes, The Kansas City Star and American Fitness magazine. She also serves as the managing editor for FastCasual.com.