Program instruction is developed and presented by faculty at St. Joseph’s University and adjunct faculty drawn from industry experts.
Dr. Stephen Porth
Professor of Management, Saint Joseph’s University
Dr. Stephen Porth is a Professor of Management in the Haub School of Business at Saint Joseph's University and the Senior Editor of the Journal of Jesuit Business Education. Dr. Porth has chaired three academic departments at SJU – Management, Food Marketing, and Pharmaceutical Marketing.
Jim Hertel
Founder and Principal, 2nd Act Advisory LLC
Jim Hertel founded 2nd Act to help the consumer goods industry realize profitable growth by taking advantage of four decades of experience in the food and consumables business. He led analytics at Inmar as senior vice president, following decades as a tech-enabled consultant and CPG executive.
Deena Pitzele
Partner, The Partnering Group Partner
Deena Pitzele works with both manufacturers and retailers in Private Label and Foodservice industries through expertise in strategic growth and transformation, customer development, and organizational design and requirements for market activation. She has worked on development and commercialization of Private Label brands and proprietary products for...
Jen Linke
Vice President, Retail, Aramark
Jen Linke started her career in private brands working for Aldi. She was a district manager before she was promoted into their corporate purchasing team where she oversaw a variety of food & non-food categories and managed the advertising & marketing for the company. She was there 14 years before moving to Sears/Kmart.
Sara Williamson
PhD – Faculty, SUNY College at Old Westbury
Dr. Sara Williamson is an Assistant Professor of Marketing with an expertise in consumer psychology. Her research investigates how choice, consumption, and disposal of packaged goods can be impacted by contextual cues related to product design, labeling, and retailing. Her research has been featured in regional and national media outlets.
Jac Ross
VP Our Brands, Sprouts Farmers Market
Jac Ross joined Sprouts Farmers Market in May 2021 as Vice President Sprouts Brand where she is focused on bringing exclusive and innovative private label products to the fast-growing grocer’s base of shoppers who are enthusiastic about health and wellness. She has extensive experience within the Private Label industry across product development...
Jac serves on the Board of Directors for Women Impacting Storebrand Excellence™ (WISE), a non-profit professional development organization that champions the power of diversity and inclusion within the store brands industry. She graduated from University of Reading, United Kingdom with an Honours Degree in Food Technology and has been recognized by a number of industry organizations: Store Brands Game Changer 2023; Senior Executive honoree in Progressive Grocer’s 2018 Top Women in Grocery; Honoree in The Shelby Report / The Griffin Report 2017 Women of Influence in the Food Industry; Rising Star honoree in Progressive Grocer’s 2016 Top Women in Grocery; and R&D/QA Award honoree in the 2015 Top Women in Store Brands (TWISB) recognition program of WISE and Store Brands magazine.
Christopher Gardier
Chief Sales Officer, Oratium
Chris Gardierhas had a distinguished career in the CPG space with stints at Kraft Foods, Frito Lay, Pepperidge Farm, Hain Celestial and JBSS (John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc.). He has developed a remarkable track record for transforming organizational performance. In 12 years leading sales at JBSS, he commercialized their Private Brands value proposition.
Kevin Williamson
Chief Executive Officer, RJW Logistics Group
With over 29 years in the transportation and supply chain industry and as a second-generation owner, Kevin Williamson is the Chief Executive Officer of RJW Logistics Group, where he oversees 2,200+ employees, multiple business units and revenue streams, and a rapidly growing retail logistics operation that successfully accelerates supplier performance at retail.
Brian Gornall
Cash-Wa Distributing , VP Category Management
Brian Gornall began his retail career with Albertsons where he worked in Merchandising, and later in the planning and strategy arm of Marketing. He became a leading force in Private Label consumables during his years with Target and the UP & UP brand, and later became one of the founding leaders to establish Amazon’s launch of several Private Label Food and Beverage brands.
Theo Schweitz
Chief Executive Officer, Drive Wheel Peer Groups
Theo Schweitz is the CEO of Drive Wheel Peer Groups, where he organizes peer groups for Food and Consumer Packaged Goods Leaders. He is driven to create opportunities for: collaboration, benchmarking, networking, and strategizing. These methods give leaders assurance they have the information they need to make confident business decisions.