New York, NY – January 5, 2018 – ICR, a leading strategic communications and advisory firm serving over 550 private and public company clients, today announced the schedule for its 2018 conference taking place at the Grand Lakes Resort in Orlando, Florida January 8-10.
The annual growth company event will commence with public company presentations on Monday, January 8th and Tuesday, January 9th followed by private company presentations on Wednesday, January 10th. A comprehensive conference schedule, including public and private company presentations and breakout sessions, can be found by visiting www.icrconference.com.
“For the past 20 years our conference has served as the most comprehensive forum for exchanging knowledge and insights on corporate strategy and industry trends for the year ahead,” said Tom Ryan, Chief Executive Officer, ICR. “The event has grown exponentially since its inaugural year in 1998 and we are proud to have assembled a record number of management presentations over a three-day period. Additionally, this year’s panels and keynote speakers will offer a timely analysis, insight and substantive discussion points on some of the most pivotal business topics in the coming year.”
The ICR Conference agenda will look closely at big picture trends and changes that are taking place. In addition to a world class three-day conference program comprising more than 160 company presentations, the event will feature several collaborative panels which will cover a variety of thought-provoking industry hot topics, including restaurant technology and labor, delivery solutions, the growing cannabis industry, and the retail industry. The topics and panelists are as follows:
Disruption in Restaurant Technology: Hear from tech leaders on how they are evolving to stay ahead of restaurant needs
In the ever-changing restaurant industry, operators are vying for traffic and seeking out new technology to get ahead of the competition. Hear from the companies behind the technology that are bringing greater efficiency and new ideas to the business. The executives will speak to how they are changing the game and even reinventing their own business models.
- Moderator: Fred LeFranc, Chaos Strategist, Results Thru Strategy
- HotSchedules, David Cantu, Co-founder, Chief Customer Officer
- SimplyPaid by Green Dot, Chris Ruppel, GM
- Xenial (Formerly Heartland Commerce), Christopher Sebes, President
- LevelUp, Christina Dorobek, Chief Sales Officer
The Delivery Revolution Panel: Hear from leading e-commerce companies who are bringing convenience to consumers’ front door
With consumers craving convenience in all facets of their life, foodservice delivery has become a booming industry with a race to bring food directly to consumers’ doorsteps. Hear from Amazon Restaurants and Olo on their partnership to deliver favorite restaurant brands to your table, and from HelloFresh on the meal delivery business for the at-home chef.
- Moderator: Anton Nicholas, Managing Partner, ICR
- Olo, Noah Glass, Founder & CEO
- Amazon Restaurants, Gus Lopez, General Manager
The Cannabis Panel: The State of the Growing Cannabis Industry
The North American Cannabis market generated nearly $7 billion of retail sales in 2016 and is estimated to be growing at a 25% CAGR. As the legalization trend spreads state by state across the US for both medical and recreational use, the outlook for growth is robust, and the sector is attracting significant investment. While the US public equity markets have yet to be active in the sector, the Canadian equity markets are fertile with a rapid pace of new issues and capital raising activity. The Cannabis panel will leverage experience across publicly traded and private cannabis companies, private equity and the financial media to address the development of the market, consumer trends, key industry developments and how the financial markets are participating in the growth of the industry.
- Moderator: Vivien Azer, Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst Specializing in the Beverage, Tobacco, and Cannabis Sectors, Cowen
- MedReleaf, Neil Closner, CEO
- MedMen, Adam Bierman, CEO
- Acreage Cannabis Holdings, Kevin Murphy, CEO
- Green Market Report, Debra Borchardt, Co-Founder, CEO and Editor-In-Chief
Retail Panel: Mastering Multi-Channel Distribution in 2018: How to seamlessly navigate consumer connections across physical & digital channels
2017 was a year of dramatic change, as both retail and CPG brands were forced to adapt to a new reality, one where demanding consumers transcend across digital, mobile and physical channels, with greater brand expectations and purchasing options at their fingertips every day. Hear from leading retail and CPG CEOs on the importance of multi-channel distribution; creating authentic consumer connections across platforms and finding a balance between our digital and physical worlds.
- Moderator: Anton Nicholas, Managing Partner, ICR
- The Honest Company, Nick Vlahos, CEO
- l.f. Beauty, Tarang Amin, Chairman & CEO
- Purple Innovation, Sam Bernards, CEO
- Helen of Troy, Julien Mininberg, CEO
For more information and to stay updated on the ICR Conference, please visit www.icrconference.com or download the free conference mobile app on your iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile and other devices. Follow the ICR Conference on Twitter at @ICRPR and join the conversation using the #ICR2018 and #ICRConference hashtags.
About The ICR Conference
The ICR Conference is a unique platform where public and private company management teams, institutional investors, sell-side research analysts, investment bankers, private equity professionals and select media connect and network with one another as the year begins. The event is one of the largest investment conferences of the year, featuring presentations by more than 160 public and private companies, with attendance regularly exceeding 2,300. For more information please visit http://www.icrconference.com.
About ICR
Established in 1998, ICR partners with companies to optimize transactions and execute strategic communications programs that achieve business goals, build credibility and enhance long-term enterprise value. The firm’s highly differentiated service model, which pairs capital markets veterans with senior communications professionals, brings deep sector knowledge and relationships to more than 550 clients in approximately 20 industries. Today, ICR is one of the largest and most experienced independent communications and advisory firms in North America maintaining offices in New York, Norwalk, Boston, San Francisco and Beijing.
Learn more at www.icrinc.com. Follow us on Twitter at @ICRPR.
Media Contact:
Julia Young / Christine Beggan
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