Paulo Goelzer, Ph.D | President Emeritus

Paulo Goelzer joined IGA in 1994 and focused his attention on international growth, licensee development, and global learning. Today, he is the President of the IGA Coca-Cola Institute, a corporate university that provides the international retail industry with learning & development programs.

The Institute serves more than 8,000 retail businesses, providing learning strategies,  online courses,  coaching and leadership development.  As a consultant he worked with executives and business owners to foster and refine effective organizational culture,  design and implement learning  programs,  corporate universities, and leadership development.  He manages the ongoing production of strategic course curricula, including determining budgets, selecting vendors and securing subject matter experts, and acts as the leadership development facilitator and coach for multiple companies and executives.

Paulo began his career in the food industry very early, working in his family’s food business. He was also a Senior Strategy and Consumer Package Goods Industry Consultant for a German/Brazilian consulting company, a researcher and consultant for the Brazilian Wholesaler Association (ABAD) and a marketing director for a CPG company.

He is a Visiting Scholar in postdoctoral program at University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, and a visiting professor at the Graduate School of Business at UNISINOS in Brazil.  He served as Distinguished Visiting Scholar for the PhD program in Organization Development at Benedictine University, and adjunct professor at UNISC -Brasil. Contributed numerous articles on management, organizational culture, learning & development, and leadership. He co-authored the textbook Distribuição de Classe Mundial (IMAM) and a chapter in Advances in Global Leadership (Elsevier Science).

John Ross | President & CEO

Mr. John Ross has been the Chief Executive Officer and President at IGA, Inc. since October 2017. Mr. Ross is responsible for IGA’s domestic and global operations. He served as the Chief Marketing Officer, Executive Vice President of Inmar, Inc. and also served as the President of Inmar Analytics. He served as President of Inmar Promotion Network.

Mr. Ross served as President of IPG Emerging Media Lab at The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. He also founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of IPG’s Shopper Sciences, where he led the media brands retail practice, working with retailers and brands across the world on branding, shopper marketing, media strategy and innovation. He has spent a majority of his career in retail, serving in store operations and merchandising, e-commerce and marketing. His early career was in retail in-store operations, merchandising, e-commerce and marketing.

Before joining IPG, he spent 11 years with Home Depot in various marketing roles, including e-commerce, branding, global marketing and advertising. He worked to launch Home Depot into international markets; developed marketing plans to launch the chain into new categories like major appliances; supported the development of proprietary brands, many of which, like Hampton Bay and Ryobi, have become industry leading brands; and during his tenure, saw the chain more than double in size. He has dedicated his career to listening to shoppers, understanding their evolving needs and delivering differentiated experiences that inspire loyalty both in-store and online. He has extensive shopper analytics expertise and executive management experience. He has championed the rise of the technology-empowered shopper and advanced the role data analytics play in marketing and retail.

With more than 30 years of retail, data science and marketing experience, he has been a contributor to the company’s initiatives to use technology and data to improve the delivery of information, goods and services that make a difference in the lives of shoppers and those who serve them across the globe. Foremost in his accomplishments was pioneering new customer scoring and analytics tools to parse shopper data and manage loyalty for retail clients in categories ranging from specialty pharmacy and health to traditional grocery, convenience, discount and mass merchandising. He serves as a Member of Strategic Advisory Board at Inmar, Inc. Mr. Ross is the Author of the book “Fire in the Zoo”, covering retail marketing science, shopper marketing and the value of data-driven listening. He co-authored the Google shopper marketing book, “The Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT),” and founded both IPG’s Shopper Sciences and the “Neural Shopping Matrix” path-to-purchase research methodology. Mr. Ross holds an MBA from Tulane University.

Dr. Doris Martin | Business Professor

Dr. Doris Martin is an enthusiastic, creative, and passionate educator and visionary leader with thirty years of successful business experience in computer technology, management, sales, human resources, and education. As an educator, she is dedicated to guiding students to succeed while inspiring them to become life-long learning. As a consultant, she has worked with non-profit and for-profit organizations in strategic planning, leadership development, and employee engagement. Her work at Fortune 500 companies has been presented nationally and internationally.

Dr. Martin recently retired from Gwinnett County Public School where taught business courses in computer technology, financial literacy, entrepreneurship, marketing, management, leadership, accounting, risk management, and human resources. She currently teaches at several universities in Illinois and Georgia and has also served as a University Dean.

She earned a PhD in Organization Development from Benedictine University in Springfield, IL, an MBA in Information Systems and MA in Education from Roosevelt University in Chicago, and a BS in Business Administration from Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC.

Email: dorismartin103@gmail.com
Tel: 630-709-3312

John Abbene | President

During his 30+ year career at BRdata, John has worked specifically on developing software solutions and best practices for independent retailers and wholesalers in the grocery industry. He is persistently active with all aspects of the software business – immersed in software development, sales, implementations, and client and employee relations. He stays engaged with all stakeholders to ensure the company remains focused and committed to the client base, BRdata team, user group, and growth as individuals and as an organization.

John sits as the chairman of the board of the BRdata User Group (BRUG), leading the share group and advisory committee of seasoned grocery industry professionals, in addition to serving on the NGA board, ROFDA Retail Advisory Council and IGA National Retail Advisory Board. He has a BS degree in Leadership and Management Studies from NYU. John lives in Long Island with his wife Mary, two daughters, three dogs, and two cats. In his spare time, he enjoys playing golf, beach volleyball, and guitar in a metal rock band.

Email: Johna@brdata.com
O:631-391-8840
M:516-353-1972

Bill Alford | President

William (Bill) Alford, LPC, is President of ILH Group and Co-Founder & Former CEO of Circle The Wagons and President of International Lighthouse Group, a retail loss prevention consulting firm specializing in helping retailers increase profits by focusing on the reduction of losses through improved operational practices.

Bill has spent his entire career in the retail supermarket industry having directed loss prevention programs for Harris Teeter Supermarkets, BI-LO Supermarkets and Kash n’ Karry Food Centers. He is a Certified Retail LP professional and a lifetime member of the Loss Prevention Foundation.

His real world approach to the reduction of losses provides immediate returns and increased value to his clients.

Bill writes articles for various trade publications and is a featured speaker at retail trade conferences including presentations in Mexico and China.

Jim Wisner | Founder

Company Founder Jim Wisner has a long history in the food and drug industry, with a diverse background in marketing, merchandising, and store operations. He has served as a Vice-president at Jewel Food Stores, Shaw’s Supermarkets, and Topco Associates, the $14 billion store brand procurement and marketing cooperative. He was Vice President of Willard Bishop Consulting before starting Wisner Marketing in 1999. Jim holds a degree in Marketing from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

Tel: 847-680-3688
Email: jimwisner@wisnermarketing.com
Website: www.wisnermarketing.com

Doon Wintz | CEO

At REWCO/LearnNatural he continues the commitment to Natural Products education and literacy that his father Bob Wintz began in 1978, when he pioneered the concept of Natural Products in supermarkets.  Bob believed that, for retailers to be successful in Natural Products, their front-line teams needed to be fluent in the “Language of Natural” enabling them to communicate with their customers.  This led to the formation of REWCO’s education team, which has trained front line retail teams in over 4,000 stores, and the inevitable extension to REWCO’s LearnNatural program which provides the flexibility of virtual live training and learn-at-your-own-pace cloud-based sessions.

In addition to REWCO’s/LearnNatural venture, Doon heads up The Run-A-Ton Group and its family of Natural Brands including Wholly Wholesome organic baked goods, Wholly Gluten Free allergy friendly baked foods, Blissfully Better organic chocolate confections, Bon Devil plant based chilled desserts and Unique Belgique imported waffles.  Run-A-Ton’s venture into the “Free From” segment led Doon to co-found Allergen Free Bakers in 2015, a dedicated allergy friendly bakehouse.  He is also a leader of The Great Eastern Natural Alliance (G.E.N.A.), an association of 25+ Natural Products manufacturers and Natural Industry stalwarts.

Doon is a graduate of Notre Dame and is a judge and mentor for The Notre Dame McCloskey New Venture Competition.  He also serves in numerous boards and has founded many community service initiatives with an emphasis on youth leadership development and serving children with special needs. These endeavors include US Youth Soccer’s TOPSoccer and BuddEConnect.org.  He and his wife of 25 years have 4 children and live in Mendham NJ.

Email: doon.wintz@runaton.com
Tel:(908) 879-0880 ext 500

Rick Findlay | Vice President

Ana Velázquez | Senior Vice President

Robert Graybill | CEO & President

Robert Graybill, CPA, joined FMS in 2000, with over 18 years of experience in the retail grocery industry. FMS provides Benchmarking, decision support, and best practices to over 1800 stores across the United States and the Caribbean. Currently, Mr. Graybill works with retailers around the country helping them to interpret their financial results and transform them into operational plans for improvement.

Mr. Graybill spent 9 years working with A&P serving in various positions including, Director of Pricing, Group Accounting Manager, Inventory Control Manager and store operations.  Prior to joining A&P Mr. Graybill worked for a local independent grocer in the Baltimore market. He has authored FMI’s Annual Financial Review for the past four years and served as a speaker at the NGA Financial Symposiums. He has also served as a speaker at NGA’s annual conferences, FMI’s International Food Show, and various state associations food shows. Mr. Graybill holds a bachelors degree from the University of Baltimore and holds an MBA from the Executive Program at Loyola College of Maryland.

Jon Hauptman | President

For over 25 years, Jon has been known one of the supermarket industry’s leading retail pricing experts.  He has developed successful pricing strategies for over 50 supermarket chains across North America, first as a partner at Willard Bishop, then for six years at Inmar Intelligence, and now at Price Dimensions, a firm he founded in 2022.

Jon started his career serving in analytic roles with United Airlines and Dominick’s Finer Foods.  He earned his M.B.A. at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Tel: 847-226-5766
Email: jon.hauptman@pricedimensions.com
Website: www.pricedimensions.com

Bob Buonomano | Owner

Leigh Engelbrecht | President

Email: LEngelbrecht@igainc.com

Website: www.iga.com

Jow Himmelheber | Retired Director

Joe Himmelheber enjoyed a 34 year career with Caito Foods, a premier fresh produce and floral distributor based in Indianapolis, Indiana as Director of Retail Produce Merchandising. As Director, Joe has traveled throughout the Midwest teaching produce associates how to create distinctive and successful produce departments. He has been a frequent presenter at past International Supermarket Management classes, past NGA conferences and many regional training seminars and share groups.

Currently retired, Joe and his wife Jan enjoy reading and spending time with their grandchildren.

Tel: 317-946-5973
Email: himmelheberje@gmail.com
Website: www.caitofoods.com

Dipak Patel | Senior IT Systems Manager

Dipak Patel is a strategic IT leader with over 25 years of experience in enterprise end-user computing, IT operations, and technology transformation. He is skilled in client computing strategy, service management, security compliance, and leading large-scale device deployments across multi-site environments. Dipak is known for improving user experience, enhancing operational efficiency, and guiding high-performing technical teams. Alongside his industry leadership, he has served as a professor at Roosevelt University and Robert Morris University. His academic work includes teaching ITIL, CompTIA, networking, and modern desktop technologies.

Tel: 773-693-5905
Email: DPatel@igainc.com
Website: www.iga.com

Carlos Salazar | Senior Manager

Carlos Salazar is a consumer and category insights leader specializing in protein. As Senior Manager, Client Insights at Circana, he turns sales and shopper analytics into strategies across pricing, packaging, assortment, and innovation. He has presented for protein manufacturers and worked with media partners like National Provisioner and associations like IFPA and ASMI. Previously, he led financial analytics, marketing insights, and data reporting at Mars Inc., Taco Bell, and Not Your Mother’s Haircare. He holds an MBA from USF and a B.S. from Tulane University.

Email: Carlos.Salazar@circana.com
Website:https://www.circana.com

Jonathan Tan | Co-Founder

Russell Greenlaw | Vice President of Business Development