John Matthews is the president and CEO of Gray Cat Enterprises and is responsible for the management of all consulting activities for the firm. His twenty-five years’ experience in retail management includes marketing and operations management; category management; mergers and acquisitions; facilities management; and real estate and corporate communications in a spectrum of industries, including quick service restaurant, convenience store operations, and general retail. In recent years, Matthews has performed consulting and senior project management for Quiznos, Sylvan Learning Centers, Starbucks and many others in both marketing and operations functions. His views have appeared in various newspapers and industry trade publications. He has spoken before hundreds of business groups and appeared on numerous radio and television media outlets. In addition, Matthews has written two step-by-step manual’s, Local Store Marketing Manual for Retailers and Grand Opening Manual for Retailers. His latest book, Game Changing Strategies for Retailers is now on Amazon. Matthews holds a bachelor of arts in communications from Michigan State University.

Joyce is a Director of Sales and Marketing for Foodservice IP, a Chicago-based research and consulting firm. For more than 20 years, Joyce has served in marketing, sales and research capacities with food manufacturers and research firms. Her vast experiences include executing sales and marketing strategies for Solazyme Roquette Nutritionals, Nu-Mega Ingredients and Technomic. In her current role, Joyce manages strategic accounts for Foodservice IP by identifying solutions that will assist clients with achieving differentiation and efficiencies in go-to-market strategies.

Tom’s primary responsibility is to oversee and direct the strategic and operations management of King-Casey. This role entails King-Casey’s core business processes: client service delivery, client business development, design and implementation delivery, new service development and new business development. Tom’s expertise in marketing, new business development and strategic design spans a broad range of clients and industries that includes PepsiCo, McDonald’s, Subway, Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Safeway, Nestle and Ralston Purina among others. Tom frequently speaks on marketing, design and retail strategy issues and has had articles published in leading trade publications such as QSR Magazine, Nations Restaurant News, Convenience Store News, Franchise Times, Progressive Grocer and Shopper Marketing Magazine. Tom is also a former Board Member of the Association of Professional Design Firms and a member of the Institute of Store Planners.