What Will Drive the Food & Beverage Industry in 2025?

As we step into 2025, join CFBN and our hosts from Clayco for our first in-person event of the year!  We will be exploring the key topics and trends poised to shape the food and beverage industry this year. A panel of industry experts will share their insights and outlooks for what promises to be an interesting 2025.  Hot Topics discussed will include: Global Supply Chains, Health & Wellness Trends, Hiring & Labor Challenges, Digital Transformation, the Evolution of Sustainability, Future Food Policies, and more.

Following the panel, join us for a networking reception including amazing food and drink at the historic and beautifully renovated Jeweler’s Building.  Enjoy cocktails, appetizers, and great industry connections while taking in the breathtaking downtown views.  

AGENDA
5:00pm  Doors Open/Registration
5:30pm  Panel Discussion
6:15pm  Q&A with Audience

6:30pm  Networking Reception 

7:30pm  Events Ends

(Opening Remarks)

MICHAEL FASSNACHT

Chief Growth Officer & President, Chicagoland

CLAYCO

A seasoned business executive, marketing and strategic thought leader with more than 30 years of experience, Michael joined Clayco, one of America’s largest fully integrated design and engineering centric builder and real estate development firm across the commercial, industrial and residential sector as its first ever Chief Growth Officer and President of Chicagoland in early 2024. Prior to this role between, Michael led as President and CEO World Business Chicago, the City’s economic development organization, with more than 100 C-Suite executives from all over Chicagoland on its business centric board between 2020 and early 2024. The organization’s core focus is on growing its industry sectors by supporting the expansion of existing Chicagoland based companies and by attracting new corporate relocations to the region, all with a focus on equitable economic prosperity across all 77 neighborhoods and the region. Additionally, Michael worked alongside the Mayor’s Office as the Chief Marketing Officer to ensure that all marketing, branding, and business development activities for the city were aligned with Mayor Lightfoot’s and then Mayor Johnson’s economic growth plan focused on inclusive growth across Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods.

DAVID HENKES

Senior Principal and Head of Strategic Partnerships

Technomic

Since joining the firm in 1996, David Henkes, Senior Principal, has managed a wide variety of proprietary and multi-client engagements, both domestic and global. As a senior member of the firm, his specific responsibilities include client development, engagement oversight, and industry relations. His range of experience is wide and includes market and strategic planning, customer satisfaction benchmarking, opportunity analyses, acquisition due diligence evaluations, new product evaluation and concept testing, usage/attitude analyses, and distribution systems analyses. He also oversees the firm's Beverage Practice.

Dave is a well-known commentator on the food and beverage industry and has appeared on regularly on Bloomberg TV, Thompson Reuters, CNBC,Fox Business, MSNBC, CBS, NPR, ABC and First Business, among others. He has been cited by a wide variety of sources, including The Wall Street Journal, TheStreet.com, Time Magazine, Crain's Chicago Business, Reuter's and Associated Press syndicated articles, as well as industry trade magazines such as Restaurant Business, Nation's Restaurant News, Beverage Industry Magazine, and others. 

LIZ MOHR

Global Market & Consumer Insights Director

ADM

Liz’s insights expertise comes from over 20 years experience leading future-focused teams to drive growth through consumer, customer, & analytic insights to drive actionable strategies.   Her recent emphasis has been on global future trends, growth strategy, and leveraging AI technologies across ADM’s vast pantry of ingredients. Her insatiable curiosity about consumer and customer behavior motivates her to delve deep into the "why" behind their actions.  Liz has a long history in food and personal care across top CPG firms including Quaker/Pepsico, Unilever, and Conagra, and leading Insights at Ingredion, another ingredient company.  All while being based in Chicagoland.

R DELACY PETERS, Jr.

Partner

R Delacy Peters Jr. | Esquire

R Delacy Peters, Jr. is an attorney with a practice that focuses on the Food and Beverage Industry.   Mr. Peters offers clients unique legal representation with respect to all areas of the food industry. Mr. Peters has represented global food and beverage companies, as well as food processors, manufacturers, suppliers, growers and producers, retailers, restaurants, warehouse clubs, wholesalers and distributors and innovative startups. On a personal note, Mr. Peters is also a Chef and graduate of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts.

SCOTT RAHN

Sr. Vice President, Market Leader Consumer Products & Supply Chain

CLAYCO

Scott has been instrumental in growing Clayco’s industrial business unit to new heights from a $800 million of revenue in 2017 to over $3 billion today. In that time, he has been promoted multiple times to instrumental leadership roles—from senior project manager to project director to vice president to senior vice president. Currently, Scott is overseeing 30 large-scale projects for national industrial developers representing e-commerce giants and Fortune 500 clients, including NorthPoint Development, Prologis, and Scannell Properties and for companies such as Walmart, Amazon, Dollar General, Chewy, Home Depot, and many others. Scott also has introduced client relationships with the St. Louis Blues and Enterprise Center renovation work to Clayco, modeling a way to deliver Clayco’s integrated services to a new client. From West Coast to East Cost, Scott travels weekly to make sure projects are running smoothly and to introduce the team to potential new clients. Scott has also been instrumental in helping lead Clayco’s expansion into the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) market segment, providing engineered solutions for companies such as AppHarvest and Bright Farms.

SARAH RIGSBEE

CFO

FARMER'S FRIDGE

As CFO of Farmer's Fridge, Sarah Rigsbee has played an integral role in the company's growth from 100 to 1,700 Fridges and 400+ retail locations across the country. She oversees the finance, HR and legal functions of the business and works across the organization to support 100% year-over-year growth. Sarah joined the team in 2018 as the Director of FP&A and served as Chief of Staff to the CEO in 2019-2020. Prior to Farmer's Fridge, Sarah spent nearly 10 years at The Boeing Company, where she held several roles in accounting, FP&A and corporate strategy. Sarah holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Masters of Business Administration from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

(moderator)

LISA  M. DZIEKAN

Principal, Economic Development

LAMAR JOHNSON COLLABORATIVE

Lisa is a results driven executive working across the built environment, at the intersection of real estate, economic development, design, and public private partnerships. She is committed to driving impact and results and building innovative partnerships.

As Principal, Economic Development at the Lamar Johnson Collaborative, she works across the Clayco enterprise to build partnerships that drive growth and innovation across the enterprise. Formerly, as Senior Vice President of Business Development at World Business Chicago, she spearheaded the development and execution of strategies to attract new investment, foster economic growth, and create job opportunities in Chicagoland. She collaborated with government entities, corporate partners, startups, research centers, education institutions, real estate partners, and other stakeholders.

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