INSIGHT 2017 CONFERENCE
TUESDAY, MARCH 7, 2017
Insight is an annual conference for the Ontario grape and wine industry that is co-sponsored by the Winery & Grower Alliance of Ontario, Grape Growers of Ontario, Wine Council of Ontario, Andrew Peller Limited and Constellation Brands Canada. Click on any of the presenters to download their presentations.
Dr. Robert Eyler
President, Economic Forensics and Analytics
Dean, School of Extended and International Education, Sonoma
State University
Dr. Robert Eyler is President of Economic Forensics and Analytics, specializing in public policy analysis for firms and governments. He is also Dean of the School of Extended and International Education and Professor of Economics at Sonoma State University. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis and a B.A. in Economics at CSU, Chico. He is often called up by the media for his expertise, provides economic impact analyses for both private firms and public entities to help guide public policy, and acts as an expert witness and forensic economist mainly for wine industry clients.
Chris MacDonald
Chief Commercial Officer, SkySquirrel Technologies Inc.
Upon completion of his MBA, Chris spent 8 years honing his business acumen in a strategic consulting role for companies across the United States and Canada, including Aerotech manufacturing and wineries (Napa). Previous to that, he earned his engineering stripes designing and field-testing agricultural harvesting machinery in the farm fields of North America, Australia, and Europe. Chris has a Master of Business Administration from the Tippie School of Management – University of Iowa and received his B.S. in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering from Iowa State University.
Danny Brager
Senior Vice President, Nielsen Beverage Alcohol Practice (U.S.)
Danny Brager is Nielsen’s Senior Vice President of its Beverage Alcohol Practice Area in the United States, supporting relationships with Nielsen’s many Beer, Wine, and Spirits clients, as well as with key industry groups and the media. In this role, Danny and his team provides business information, analysis and insights, focusing on the U.S. retail environment and consumer, as well as supports the differentiated needs of the U.S. Beverage Alcohol client base within the Nielsen products/services portfolio. Within his 30+ year career with Nielsen, Danny has over fifteen years of experience specific to the Beverage Alcohol industry, and is a frequent speaker at many client and industry events on the subject of U.S. Beverage Alcohol trends.
Jason Apps
Vice President, Client Service, Nielsen Canada
Jason Apps is a Vice President in Client Service at Nielsen Canada. In his role Jason has a pulse on the consumer packaged goods (CPG) landscape and has worked with major manufacturers like P&G and PepsiCo to provide them with strategic data and insights. He has helped his clients make critical and impactful business decisions. With 11 years of experience in the Canadian CPG landscape and a passion for consumer behaviour Jason thrives on supporting clients vision and strategy through insight into market trends and smart connected data.
Shari Mogk-Edwards
Vice President, Products, Sales and Merchandising, LCBO
The LCBO has 9,300 employees, 654 stores across Ontario, and boasts annual sales of over $5.5 billion. Since joining the LCBO in 1981, Shari has held a range of progressive and diverse positions within the Retail, Logistics, Sales, and Marketing divisions. More recently, Shari held the positions of Director of Vintages, Director of Spirits, and Vice President of Merchandising. She became the Vice President of Products, Sales and Merchandising in 2012.
Pamela Lawson
Director, Customer Insights & CRM, LCBO
Pamela Lawson is responsible for providing specialized business support to the organization from a consumer insights perspective. Her role includes managing a diverse team of market researchers and advanced data analysts responsible for measuring and tracking the health of LCBO’s brands and understanding customer behaviors, attitudes, needs, values, psychology and demographics. This information informs strategic initiatives relating to Strategic Planning, Marketing, Merchandising, Category Management and Social Responsibility.
Mandesh Dosanjh
Senior Vice President, Supply Chain
Mandesh Dosanjh oversees the operations of LCBO’s five logistics facilities, which are tasked with the timely and efficient transport of products from suppliers to store shelves of the LCBO and our wholesale customers. He is also responsible for the Grocery Operations (wholesale) group and the Quality Assurance department, which ensures the products we sell are authentic and safe for consumption. Mandesh is an experienced supply chain executive and business leader who has worked for some of Canada’s largest and most respected retail chains.
Bipasha Chiu
Vice President, Business Solution Delivery and Relationship Management, LCBO
Bipasha is responsible for transforming LCBO’s Integrated IT and Business Roadmap and IT investment into delivery success through major initiatives in the organization including Retail Stores, Grocery, Supply Chain, Merchandising, HR, and Finance. Bipasha is a graduate of the University of Waterloo with an Honours Bachelor of Mathematics in Operations Research and Computer Science. She started her career as a management consultant with Ernst & Young and Capgemini, delivering large complex systems implementations for financial institutions and retailers for more than 13 years.
