Opening General Session
Location: Grapevine BallroomThis candid, fast-paced session reveals the five habits of non-obvious thinkers and will show you how to apply them to understanding and preparing for the future of restaurants and technology. In this signature keynote from award winning and "non-boring" trend expert Rohit Bhargava, you will understand how the fundamental forces of disruption are shifting consumer behavior and beliefs, and what this means for the future of the restaurant industry. Through engaging stories from inside and outside the restaurant and foodservices space, this keynote will help you see the world differently and use trends to prepare for a future by seeing what others miss.
Founder
The Non-Obvious Company
Restaurant ordering and payment is becoming something of a one-way street these days. The rise of things like QR codes, self-service kiosks and even artificial intelligence means guests are handling more of the process themselves, which has implications for restaurant labor, operations, and marketing. In this session, you’ll hear from leading operator experts about the benefits and challenges of this technology as well as what’s next for ordering and payment.
Senior Vice President, Technology
Portillo’s
Chief Development Officer & President, International
Dine Brands Global
Chief Information Officer
Checkers & Rally’s Drive-In Restaurants
Senior Editor | Moderator
Restaurant Business
This exciting quick-fire lighting round will put some of the industry’s most innovative restaurant leaders in the hot seat! You’ll hear from CEOs of emerging brands to some of the clever concepts who are making waves and poised to become the next big chain!
Chief Executive Officer, President, Taco Maker
Velvet Taco
President and CEO
White Castle System, Inc.
Chief Executive Officer and President
CEC Entertainment
Chief Executive Officer
Virtual Dining Concepts
Founding Partner
Dog Haus Worldwide
EVP, Conferences | Moderator
Informa Connect
Editor-at-Large and Vice President of Content Innovation | Moderator
Restaurant Business