FMI Executive Leadership Forum Challenges the Roles of the CIO and CTO Regarding Digital

ARLINGTON, Va., June 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Food Marketing Institute (FMI) announced today headliners addressing technology foresight, management and elevation at its Executive Leadership Forum on June 13. Executive leaders from key retail, insight and technology companies -- including The Kroger Co., Nielsen, Cisco, SAP America, Brookshire Grocery Company and RangeMe – will delve into prioritizing digital strategies and why and how these companies have put their chief information officers (CIO) and chief technology officers (CTO) at the center of enterprise-wide digital initiatives.

FMI Chief Collaboration Officer, Senior Vice President, Industry Relations, Mark Baum offered, "Our forum presenters will make the case that the position of the CIO/CTO has transformed into a strategic enabler in today's retail landscape, a departure from their traditional role as the interpreter of techno-talk or the head of a capital-hungry cost center. The developments will further challenge CEOs and other C-suite executives to co-lead technology discussion and decision in the board room, and subsequently better meet the changing needs of today's digitally engaged consumer."

Contributors to the forum include:

• John D'Anna, Executive Vice President Chief Strategic Officer, Brookshire Grocery Company
• Annette Franke, Vice President, Kroger Technology (Moderator)
• Glo Gordon, Vice President, IOT Cloud, Cisco
• Nicky Jackson, President & Co-Founder, RangeMe
• Lori Mitchell-Keller, Global General Manager Consumer Industries, SAP
• Laurie Rains, Group Vice President, U.S. Retail Consumer & Shopper Analytics, Nielsen

A supporting corporate partner for the event, SAP's Mitchell-Keller noted, "The CIO is the new strategic innovation and information officer - aligned to the CEO, and the enabler of new business processes - because the digital transformation of grocery is the future and is something the entire organization must embark on together."

SAP will also host roundtable discussions that focus on critical omnichannel infrastructure areas: digital store operations and commerce; digital supply chain; digital marketing and merchandising; and digital fresh. C-level industry participants from major grocery, regional, independent operators and wholesalers will participate and represent companies such as Brookshire Grocery Company, Meijer, Inc., Price Chopper Supermarkets, Publix Super Markets, Inc. and The Kroger Co.

"The industry has changed, retail has changed, and we've turned to technology leaders to take us into a new era of intelligence and scalability," RangeMe's Jackson said. "I cannot think of a more forward-thinking and appropriate group of leaders to address our new digital reality for the food retail industry."

Nielsen's Rains suggested, "Our joint initiative with FMI continues to help us gain a stronger understanding of the diverse, and rapidly evolving needs of the digital consumer. Today's retailers need to establish tighter digital connections with shoppers - and that starts with trust, value, experience and broadens to assortment, convenience and personalization. Retailer and manufacturers need to focus more deeply on the needs of consumers, their digital engagement requirements and the changing economics of food retail."

Now in its second year, the FMI Executive Leadership Forum is an exclusive event open to a limited number of food retail and wholesale executives and sponsors. Executives will garner actionable insights on the digitally connected consumer in an intimate format.

For Media
While the FMI Executive Leadership Forum is closed to press, we welcome the opportunity to share insights from panelists via scheduled interviews pre- or post-event.

About Food Marketing Institute (FMI)
Food Marketing Institute proudly advocates on behalf of the food retail industry. FMI's U.S. members operate nearly 40,000 retail food stores and 25,000 pharmacies, representing a combined annual sales volume of almost $770 billion. Through programs in public affairs, food safety, research, education and industry relations, FMI offers resources and provides valuable benefits to more than 1,225 food retail and wholesale member companies in the United States and around the world. FMI membership covers the spectrum of diverse venues where food is sold, including single owner grocery stores, large multi-store supermarket chains and mixed retail stores. For more information, visit www.fmi.org and for information regarding the FMI foundation, visit www.fmifoundation.org.

About RangeMe
RangeMe is the leading online platform that streamlines new product discovery between suppliers and retailers. The award-winning platform empowers retail buyers with an efficient way to source innovative new products and manage the inbound product submission process. For product suppliers and manufacturers, RangeMe gives increased control over the marketing of their products and greater access to retail buyers.

About SAP
As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 350,000 business and public sector customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more information, visit sap.com.

About Nielsen
Nielsen is a global performance management company that provides a comprehensive understanding of what consumers watch and buy. Nielsen's Watch segment provides media and advertising clients with Total Audience measurement services for all devices on which content — video, audio and text — is consumed. The Buy segment offers consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers the industry's only global view of retail performance measurement. By integrating information from its Watch and Buy segments and other data sources, Nielsen also provides its clients with analytics that help improve performance. Nielsen, an S&P 500 company, has operations in over 100 countries, covering more than 90% of the world's population. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.

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