Bob Garrison earned his Bachelor’s degree in 1985 from Indiana University’s School of Journalism. Then he was a Kokomo (Ind.) Tribune newspaper reporter from 1985 to 1987, before joining Chicago-based Gorman Publishing and its Bakery Production & Marketing title. In 1990, Garrison was one of 12 people who founded Stagnito Publishing in Northbrook, Ill. At the time, Garrison was executive editor for a start-up publication entitled “Dairy & Frozen Foods.” From 1995 to 2012, he served as editor for the magazine, which is now known as Refrigerated & Frozen Foods. In 2012, Bob became Editor-in-Chief at Prepared Foods (www.PreparedFoods.com), the largest audited titles serving more than 40,000 food and beverage manufacturing professionals (all channels) in R&D, marketing, innovation, culinary and health/wellness/nutrition. Prepared Foods operates across three platforms with a digital magazine, online media as well as the industry’s oldest running in-person new product innovation event: the New Products Conference.

Since 1977, Barb has been at Mattson, a Silicon Valley-based insights, strategy, and development firm. She is currently President and Chief Innovation Officer at the country’s most successful independent developer of foods and beverages for the retail foods and chain restaurant industries. Barb is known as a taste, food trend, innovation, consumer insights, and product development expert. As part of Barb’s role in the innovation projects that make up her daily job, she is required to taste food and figure out how to make it better. After more than 2 decades doing this, she’s honed her tasting skills and ability to help others make food taste better. She shared this insight with the world in 2012 when her book TASTE WHAT YOU’RE MISSING was published (the paperback edition was released under the simplified title TASTE). Barb was instrumental in helping The San Francisco Cooking School integrate the science of taste into their curriculum. She now teaches the Fundamentals of Taste to each entering class. Barb is a regular contributor to Forbes.com where she writes about the food industry. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Plant Based Foods Association, and was previously on the boards of the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, as well as La Cocina, the San Francisco-based food incubator for low income women of color. Barb lives with her hypertaster husband and two artisan cats, and splits her time between San Francisco and Healdsburg, in the heart of Sonona wine country. She can be bribed with good tomatoes.

Lu Ann Williams is director of innovation at Innova Market Insights, provider of market research services including the Innova Database. With more than 20 years’ experience, Lu Ann leads a team of analysts to discover and understand the latest trends shaping the global food market.

Monisha Dabek, SVP and Chief Commercial Officer, USA, is an accomplished executive and leader in the management consulting, sales, brand marketing, innovation and strategy arenas. There are equal parts magic and value creation in finding the authentic connection point between consumers and brands. Whether building upon history and recognition or making a difference in a consumer’s life through innovation, there is nothing more exciting than bringing a brand to life. Monisha leads Ocean Spray’s Sales, Marketing, Innovation, Consumer Insights and Public Relations in the U.S. region, with oversight and management of the profit and loss (P&L) for these critical areas.