Rick Stein joined FMI in 2014, and is responsible for developing a portfolio of services and activities to assist members in formulating and executing their fresh food strategies. These categories include everything from – dairy, frozen, meat, poultry, seafood, and produce to service departments – deli, bakery and fresh prepared meals and related solutions for take-out or in-store dining. Prior to joining FMI, Rick spent 30 + years in a wide range of retail grocery merchandising and marketing responsibilities. Most recently Stein was the Vice President of retail marketing execution for Safeway Stores, Inc. Previously he held both divisional and corporate responsibilities in his tenure at Safeway in retail/store operations, category management, sales, and marketing/merchandising. He has experience in virtually every facet of the retail food business and helped lead Safeway to achieve operational excellence and increased market share and revenues. Stein graduated from the University of Maryland with a bachelor of Arts in Behavioral and Social Sciences. He has earned continuing educations credits in marketing, merchandising and management, most recently with the Disney Institute. Rick serves on numerous nonprofit boards such as the Children’s Cancer Foundation and Easter Seals of DC/VA/MD.

Jonna has been an innovator in the fresh foods space for nearly two decades driving the evolution of consumer-centric decision making and big data analytics throughout the perimeter. She has worked extensively in each perimeter department: meat, bakery, deli, produce, seafood, dairy and floral with both suppliers and retailers. Jonna joined IRI in 2016 and leads IRI’s Fresh Center of Excellence focusing on solution enhancement, thought leadership and client consultation across both suppliers and retailers. As an industry thought leader, Jonna has regularly contributed content to and been quoted in publications including Bakery and Snacks, National Provisioner, Winsight Grocery Business and CSP Daily News. She has also participated in notable events including the FMI Midwinter Executive Conference and IDDBA Show.

Laura Nicklin is a seasoned market researcher with extensive experience in research consulting and storytelling with Fortune 500 clients. Within EnsembleIQ, she oversees a team of senior-level research consultants and partners with the Path to Purchase Institute to provide business intelligence relevant to brands, agencies, and retailers in the shopper marketing industry. Nicklin has worked closely with hundreds of clients in consumer goods manufacturing, retail, technology, and agencies to understand their business goals and design research programs to inform their decisions. Prior to EIQ Research Solutions, Nicklin led a research team at Maritz Research and was responsible for the design and execution of customer experience programs within the retail and hospitality industries. She has also worked in product development research with several large CPG manufacturers. Nicklin holds a Master of Marketing Research (MMR) degree from Southern Illinois University and has over 17 years of experience in the market research field.