Colonel Terry Virts

International Space Station Commander, Space Shuttle Pilot, Fighter Pilot, Test Pilot, Filmmaker, Author

Colonel (USAF retired) Terry Virts spent over seven months in space during his two spaceflights, piloting the Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-130 in 2010 and commanding the International Space Station during Expedition 42/43 in 2014/2015.

He served in the US Air Force as a fighter pilot, test pilot, NASA astronaut, and is a graduate of the US Air Force Academy, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and Harvard Business School. He is currently working as an executive coach as well as advising businesses that focus on energy, aerospace, and technology.

Terry is a guest-lecturer at the Harvard Business School where he won the 2021 Alumni Achievement Award. He provides management consulting services and speaks around the globe on a variety of business and motivational topics.


He has directed several films, including One More Orbit (2019) and The Night After (2023), and is a guest lecturer at the USC School of Cinematic Arts where he teaches about his IMAX movie A Beautiful Planet.


Virts hosts the podcast 'Down to Earth with Terry Virts', and is the author of 'The Astronaut’s Guide to Leaving the Planet', an illustrated children’s book (2023), 'How to Astronaut: Everything you Need to Know Before Leaving Earth (2020)', 'Apo11o: To the Moon and Back (2019)', a limited-edition reproduction of the Apollo 11 flight plan, as well as the National Geographic photography book 'View From Above' (2017).

From 24th May, 'View from Above' can also be seen in a unique exhibition premiering in Augsburg, Germany. See more at Home - View From Above

Anirban Basu

Chairman & CEO, Sage Policy Group

Anirban founded Sage Policy Group in 2004. He has been called an economist with a sense of humor, which is considered high praise in the dismal science. He has twice been recognized as one of Maryland’s 50 most influential people and also been named one of the Baltimore region’s 20 most powerful business leaders. In 2014, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan appointed Dr. Basu as Chairman of the Maryland Economic Development Commission, a position he held through 2021. He serves the Chief Economist function for a number of organizations around the country and currently lectures at Goucher College as their distinguished Economist in Residence.

Dr. Basu currently serves on the boards of the University of Maryland School of Law, St. Mary’s College, the University System of Maryland Foundation, the Lyric Opera House and the Archdiocese of Baltimore School System. He is also on Truist Bank’s advisory board.


Dr. Basu earned his B.S. in Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He earned his master’s in public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and his master’s in economics from the University of Maryland, College Park. He acquired his Juris Doctor at the University of Maryland School of Law. He completed his doctoral work at University of Maryland, Baltimore County with a concentration in health economics.

Carey Berger

President, Business Service Resource Group

Carey Berger is president of the Business Service Resource Group, a consulting firm specializing in developing estate and business plans for family-owned businesses primarily in the Grocery Industry.

Mr. Berger received his undergraduate degrees as well as his law degree from the University of Kansas. He is a member of the American and Kansas Bar Associations and maintains his knowledge of the insurance field with CLU and ChFC designations.

The BSR Group works with family-owned companies to build and guide resource teams composed specifically for each company’s unique need – the singular goal is to help clients make their own informed decisions. Prior to his work with BSR, Carey practiced law in the specialized field of business succession and estate planning. He is the author of numerous articles and co-author of two books. He has had the pleasure of speaking in front of numerous groups and associations.

Carey practices what he preaches as he is working with two of his sons as they build and expand a group of convenience and liquor stores including a new “Ground up build” as we speak.

Tony Cartolaro

Weidenhammer

Tony is a senior leader with over 25 years of experience. Prior to leading Weidenhammer’s Cloud & Infrastructure team, he led a consultancy serving clients as fractional CIO with his expertise in IT governance, vendor management, procurement, bid development, compliance, cyber security, and IT operations. Tony helps clients to modernize growth by aligning business goals with technology initiatives and investments.

Douglas Madenberg

Chief Listening Officer of The Feedback Group

Doug Madenberg is Chief Listening Officer of The Feedback Group. Since 1995, Doug has been providing supermarkets, food distributors, and industry associations across the United States with strategic research guidance. Doug was the first to work with grocers to measure experiential feedback through FG's Constant Customer Feedback™ program and an early pioneer in helping supermarket retailers measure their employee culture. The Feedback Group’s national and regional consumer studies have made Doug an in-demand speaker and analyst of in-store and online grocery shopping trends. He is co-author of Feedback Rules! published by Brigantine Media as part of their popular Rules! series.

Earlier in his career, Doug was a manager in the retail practice of Deloitte Consulting. He holds MBA and BS degrees from Cornell University in Marketing and Strategic Human Resources.

Dante Franceschelli

Director, The Food Partners

Dante has over 16 years of grocery wholesale, business development and merger and acquisition experience. Dante began his career with C&S Wholesale Grocers, holding various positions including Vice President of National Business and Franchise Development, Director of Corporate Development and Strategy and General Manager of C&S’s southeast region. Dante’s focus is merger and acquisitions valuation, modeling, loan underwriting, wholesale contract negotiations. Dante has led and participated in hundreds of grocery deals ranging in size from single store operators to large cap transactions. Dante holds a Bachelor of Science in Business and Supply Chain Management from the Pennsylvania State University and is a graduate of Cornell University’s National Grocers Association Executive Leadership Development Program.

Sunil Vatave

Co-founder at Canary Hiring Technologies

Sunil Vatave is a seasoned entrepreneur and executive with extensive experience in HR technology and product management. Currently serving as Co-Founder of Canary Hiring Technologies and President of Kaara, Vatave has a proven track record in developing innovative solutions aimed at reducing employee attrition and enhancing HR processes. Previous roles include Managing Director of PeopleSpheres, Founder and Head of Product at Canopy Workforce Solutions, and Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at PowWowHR, where successful technology launches have been achieved. Vatave has also held significant positions at A.D.A.M., Inc., TimeCentre, People-Trak, Xoriant Corporation, and was Managing Partner at a law firm specializing in labor and employment. Vatave holds an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, and a BA in Economics from UC Irvine.

Robert Graybill

President & CEO, FMS Solutions

Robert Graybill joined FMS in 2000, bringing over 25 years of experience in the retail grocery industry. He leads the company in supporting independent grocers through benchmarking, best practices, and financial decision tools designed to drive profitability and long-term success.

Starting his career at age 14 in a local meat market, Robert worked through store-level and corporate roles, including operations, IT, pricing, and finance with A&P’s SuperFresh. His extensive industry experience made FMS a natural fit, ultimately leading to his acquisition of the company and its subsequent expansion of services and international reach.

He is the author of the FMS/NGA Independent Grocers Financial Study and FMI’s Annual Financial Review, and a frequent speaker at grocery industry events. He also teaches at the IGA Coca-Cola Institute Supermarket Management Program, which supports both domestic and international operators.

Robert holds an MBA from Loyola University Maryland and completed the NGA Executive Management Program at Cornell University. He has served on advisory boards at the University of Baltimore and Babson College, and on the Board of Directors for Elon University’s Business School. In addition, he served on both the NGA Board of Directors and the NGA Foundation Board of Directors, where he also held the role of Treasurer.

A two-time finalist for EY Entrepreneur of the Year, Robert remains deeply committed to helping family-owned retailers thrive for generations.

Charlie Rapier

CRO, FMS Solutions

As Chief Revenue Officer, Charlie Rapier is responsible for all business development, including field sales, sales operations, and marketing. Prior to joining FMS, Charlie spent over 24 years in enterprise sales, marketing, and public relations. He started his sales career at Compuware, now BMC, where he sold development and productivity platforms to Fortune 500 companies by helping them grow revenue by deploying strategic applications faster, more securely, and with better customer experience. Charlie quickly learned that the technology marketplace was going to become all about the data. He made a strategic career decision to transition to the business intelligence and analytics market when he joined MicroStrategy in 2007. While at MicroStrategy, he helped retail, oil and gas, and healthcare companies thrive by increasing margins, identifying risk, and making institutional decisions based on data. As disruptive technology entered the marketplace and cloud computing took center stage, Charlie took on a new challenge at cloud trailblazer Salesforce, where he led multiple sales teams in several geographies, including the Central, West, and Southeastern U.S. In 2019, Charlie earned Regional Vice President of the Year for his leadership and revenue growth in the Marketing Cloud business unit. In 2020, Charlie moved to Delphix, where he was part of the Americas Sales Leadership team and helped lead the development and data security company through the COVID-19 Pandemic to almost $200M in ARR and a 2024 acquisition by Perforce Software, a global leader in application development and testing.

Charlie graduated from Texas Tech University with a BA in Journalism. A native Texan, Charlie resides in Austin and enjoys spending time with his family. He loves music and being outdoors on a bike or in the field hunting and fishing.

Doug Haworth

General Manager of GOT Systems at FMS

Doug Haworth is the General Manager of GOT Systems at FMS, where he leads the development and implementation of innovative shrink and inventory management solutions for independent grocers. With over 35 years of experience in the grocery industry, Doug brings a deep understanding of both store operations and the customer perspective, making him uniquely equipped to drive success for FMS and its clients.

Doug began his career in the grocery business as a carry-out associate and worked his way up to Vice President of Operations, gaining hands-on experience in every aspect of store management along the way. Since joining the FMS team in 2022, Doug has leveraged his extensive operational expertise to enhance the capabilities and effectiveness of GOT Systems, ensuring it meets the evolving needs of independent grocers.

Doug’s unique blend of operational and customer-focused insights allows him to deliver practical, results-driven solutions that help grocers reduce shrink, optimize processes, and improve profitability.

Rachael Gideo

Senior Director of Solutions Engineering at FMS Solutions

Rachael Gideo is the Senior Director of Solutions Engineering at FMS Solutions, where she leverages over 13 years of accounting experience to drive strategic innovation and operational excellence. She holds a Master of Accounting from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and has built a diverse career spanning multiple industries, with a specialized focus on grocery retail over the past six years. Rachael’s expertise encompasses traditional accounting, budgeting, and advanced analytical solutions, making her a trusted leader in financial strategy and performance optimization.

Don Heinerichs

VP Apps Services, FMS

William Burrns

President of The Grocery Basket

William Burns is a fourth-generation grocer and the President of The Grocery Basket, a 50-year-old independent grocery store serving rural Mississippi. He leads vision, strategy, and growth initiatives while safeguarding a family legacy in food retail. As a Co-Founder & COO of MFO USA, William focuses lower middle market M&A—helping owners professionalize operations, structure acquisitions, and compound value across family-owned enterprises.

He cut his teeth at the University of Mississippi by launching and exiting several service businesses, and has since partnered in multiple small-business acquisitions and advised dozens of Main Street companies and startups on strategy, finance, and execution. A supporter of the Woody Williams Foundation’s Gold Star Families Memorial Monuments, William is originally from San Antonio, Texas, and is bilingual in Spanish.

Paul Rowton

Executive Vice President of GES Inc

Paul Rowton currently serves as Executive Vice President of GES Inc, a family-owned supermarket chain in Arkansas that operates fifteen stores across the state. They own and operate locations under the Edwards Food Giant banner as well as cost-plus stores that operate as Edwards Cash Saver. Over the past 65+ years, Edwards has become known as “The Meat People” and has successfully operated and succeeded against larger national chains by placing a heavy emphasis on FRESH. The company continues to focus on delivering the highest quality fresh products and signature dishes, especially in their Meat, Produce and Deli departments. Paul has been with the company since 2002, when he started out as a Store Manager in one of the company’s then four stores. The company has experienced significant growth in the past 16 years made possible by focusing heavily on excellent customer service. Prior to joining GES, Paul held multiple management roles with the Hershey Foods Company. Paul has remained active in several state and local organizations, including currently serving his sixth term as Chairman of the Arkansas Retailers Association. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Grocers Association. In 2021 Paul was appointed by Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson to serve on the Board of Trustees of the Arkansas State University System. In 2024 he was named Arkansas Business Financial Executive of the Year. Paul and his wife Ashley live in Harrisburg, Arkansas and have two sons, JP and William.

Mandy Tomlin

EVP & CFO, Brookshires Grocery Company

Amanda (Mandy) Tomlin, EVP & Chief Financial Officer – Brookshire Grocery Company. Mandy oversees Brookshire’s FP&A, tax, treasury, payroll and accounting departments and plays a key role in supporting the Company’s strategic long-term growth and financial health.

Mandy brings more than 25 years of senior financial leadership experience across the retail grocery industry. Her career in grocery began in 1999 at United Supermarkets, where she spent over 20 years serving as Controller and then CFO of United, eventually promoting to Corporate VP of FP&A for the Albertsons Companies in 2021, post United’s acquisition by Albertsons. In 2023, Mandy left the Albertsons Companies, moving to become CFO at HAC., Inc. (Homeland), a regional grocery chain located in Oklahoma City, before moving to Brookshire Grocery Company in 2025. 　

She has served as a board member on the Texas Retailers Association and as a committee member for the FMI Financial Executives and the Retail Finance Leaders Roundtable. In 2020 she was selected as a Top Woman in Grocery, as a senior level executive, by Progressive Grocer.

She holds both a BBA and an MBA in Accounting from Angelo State University and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Jimmy, Karen, and Jai Freeman

Freeman Foods

Jimmy Freeman began working in the grocery industry in 1975 and in 1998 he saw the chance to buy his first store.

Standing side-by-side, Karen and Jimmy built a multi- store operation and introduced their son Jai to the business.

As with any hard working business owning family, they have many stories of challenges and successes.

Jimmy, Karen, and Jai will share the story of developing their business and transitioning it to the next generation—exploring the motivations, tools, and perspectives of both the founding and succeeding generations.