ORLANDO Fla. "Keeping Cool When the Heat is On" will be the theme of the 2009 International Foodservice Technology Exposition here next Feb. 4-7, and organizers of FS/TEC's educational program say its advisory board's input represents "ICEing" on the cake.
Feedback and suggestions by the distinguished slate of volunteer advisors is helping conference programmers devise educational sessions that underscore how technology can enhance "integration, communication and efficiency" — or ICE. The FS/TEC 2009 expo will be co-located at the Orange County Convention Center with the NAFEM Show of the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers.
On tap are FS/TEC panels and presentations touching on such key issues as human resources management tools, handheld computing devices, wireless networks, systems and services to help generate and report menu item nutrition metrics and career advice for aspiring chief information officers, or CIOs.
New to the FS/TEC advisory board for 2009 are David Starmer, vice president, information technology, or IT, for Back Bay Restaurant Group Inc. of Boston, and Glenn West, senior vice president of information systems and ecommerce for Papa John's International Inc. of Louisville, Ky. They join 15 other operators and hospitality school academicians on the panel that helps shape the yearly conference produced and managed by Nation's Restaurant News with Robert N. Grimes of Accuvia.
"The FS/TEC advisory board plays a very important role for both the event and the industry," Grimes noted. "It is key to the success of the board that its members represent all segments of the foodservice industry and companies of all sizes, including those with international operations as well as domestic branches. The makeup of the current board certainly meets those requirements."
Grimes, himself a restaurateur as a franchisee of the Needham Heights, Mass.-based Fresh City chain, as well as a technology company executive, added that some companies represented on the advisory board are "innovators in the development of new and leading edge technologies."
In addition to providing input to conference programming staff, advisory board members, at times, make presentations or moderate panels at FS/TEC. For example, newcomer Starmer, whose company operates 34 full-service restaurants, including 12 Papa Razzi and 14 Joe's American Bar & Grill locations, will moderate and take part in an FS/TEC 2009 panel discussion about data security. That session will address the technology and procedural requirements of the newest version of the Payment Card Industry group's Data Security Standards, as well as some ways restaurant companies and third-party security auditors can work together better to avoid problems uncovered by some recent merchant data breaches.
West, of Papa John's, which operates or franchises 2,785 domestic restaurants and another 547 units overseas, will join Starmer and other operators for the annual "CIO Panel" general session. During that event, moderator Grimes asks tech mavens from multiple foodservice organizations about trends and to share some of their companies' IT wins and challenges, among other questions, before inviting the audience to join the inquiry.
Returning to the FS/TEC advisory board for 2009 are Steve Barrow, vice president of IT for cafeteria operator Luby's Inc., of Houston; Delaney Bellinger, CIO, for KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell parent Yum! Brands Inc., Louisville, Ky.; Jeff Chasney, executive vice president of strategic planning and CIO, CKE Restaurants Inc., Carpinteria, Calif.; and Cihan Cobanoglu, associate professor, University of Delaware, Newark, Del.
Also back for 2009 are Ron DiNella, senior vice president and chief financial officer, Morton's Restaurant Group, Chicago; Mary Hamill, vice president, human resources and IT, Max & Erma's Restaurants, Columbus, Ohio; Martyn Holland, senior vice president of systems and CIO, HMSHost Corp., Bethesda, Md.; Michael Kasavana, NAMA Professor, school of hospitality business, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich.; and Elizabeth King, vice president, partner resources, Starbucks Corp., Seattle.
Other 2009 board members include Alan Liddle, managing editor of conferences and technology, Nation's Restaurant News, New York; Stuart Mann, dean, William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration, University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Peter Nyheim, author and technology instructor, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa.; and Mark Ozawa, president, Accuvia, Potomac, Md.
Rounding out the 2009 board are Mike Plunkett, senior vice president, purchasing and International operations, Dave & Busters Inc., Dallas; Patti Reilly-White, senior vice president and CIO, Darden Restaurants Inc., Orlando, Fla., owner of the Longhorn Steakhouse, Olive Garden and Red Lobster, chains, among others; Rob Watkins, CIO, Compass Group, North America, Charlotte, N.C.; and David Weick, senior vice president and CIO, McDonald's Corp., Oak Brook, Ill.