Ming-Tai Huh
Ming-Tai Huh
Ming-Tai Huh is a James Beard–nominated restaurant owner and technology executive – he currently serves as the Head of Food and Beverage for Square, and he is also a Partner at Cambridge Street Hospitality Group with seven restaurant concepts located in Greater Boston. Ming recognized the need for better restaurant technology when he opened his first restaurant in 2012, and he founded a loyalty software and hardware startup before later joining Toast to lead consumer product development. After working at Toast for seven years, Ming joined Square in 2023. He is a proud resident of Cambridge, MA.
Kristen Hawley
Kristen Hawley
Kristen Hawley is a freelance journalist and founder of Expedite, a newsletter about restaurant technology and the future of hospitality. Her work has appeared in Fast Company, Insider, Eater, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, and more. She lives in San Francisco.
Matthew Tucker
Matthew Tucker
As the Head of Tock, Matthew Tucker oversees the commercial success and growth of the Tock business which includes a reservation system, table management, carryout operations, and events for operators across 33 countries. Matt came to Tock with nearly two decades of experience building teams and operating companies of all sizes and has a strong background in hospitality tech and the startup world. Most recently, Matt served as President & Chief Operating Officer of Olo, the leading provider of SaaS solutions to the chain restaurant industry, serving almost 90,000 locations across North America. Matt spent nearly nine years at Olo, taking the company from 10 people and one product to a public company with over 700 people, six core products, and nearly $200mm in revenue. Prior to Olo, Matt was on the founding team of LendingTree and was also the founder of Rely Software. He holds an MBA from Georgetown and a B.A. in Political Science from The University of Michigan. Additionally, Matt sits on the Board of 7Shifts, and Vita Mojo.
Larissa Zimberoff
Larissa Zimberoff
Larissa Zimberoff is a freelance journalist and author covering the intersection of food and technology. Her book, "Technically Food: Inside Silicon Valley's Mission to Change What We Eat," covers how what we eat is rapidly changing and the startups behind it. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Businessweek, Wired, The Atlantic, and more. She appeared in the new documentary Food Inc, 2.0. After working in high tech for a decade, she earned her MFA from The New School in New York city. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and will gamely try any new food.
Dan Frommer
Dan Frommer
Dan Frommer is the founder and editor in chief of The New Consumer, a publication exploring how and why people spend their time and money. He also publishes the popular Consumer Trends research series, in partnership with Coefficient Capital. Frommer is a longtime business journalist and media entrepreneur, previously serving as the editor in chief of Recode. After starting his career at Forbes, he helped create Business Insider as its second employee. A graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Frommer lives in Los Angeles.
Tim Noonan
Tim Noonan
Tim Noonan is the Senior Vice President of Operations Innovation & Services at Sweetgreen, where he leads the rollout of the company’s next-generation automation concept, the Infinite Kitchen. Tim also oversees the integration of Store Design, Construction, Facilities and Real Estate into Sweetgreen's 230+ restaurants. With over 15 years of experience at Sweetgreen, Tim’s in-depth knowledge of the brand and his forward-thinking approach to restaurant experience design have played a critical role in shaping the company’s operational strategies. He is also responsible for the introduction of Sweetgreen’s various formats—from the Infinite Kitchen to Sweetlane—as well as the successful implementation of technology in its kitchens and restaurants. During his tenure at Sweetgreen, Tim has held leadership roles across Store Design, Construction, Facilities, Research & Development, and Operations Services. Tim holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Marketing from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. He resides in Los Angeles with his wife and three children.
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Malcolm Livingston II
Malcolm Livingston II
Malcolm Livingston II is the founder of August Novelties, a groundbreaking dairy-free dessert brand based in Los Angeles. A Bronx native, Malcolm’s culinary journey began at the Culinary Art Institute of New York City, where he studied Culinary and Restaurant Management. After graduation, Malcolm honed his skills at the youngest kitchen staff member at Sirio Maccioni’s Le Cirque. After going on to work at some of NYC’s most elite restaurants, such as Per Se, he led culinary innovation at wd~50 as the restaurant’s pastry chef. When wd~50 closed, Malcolm moved to Copenhagen, Denmark to become head of pastry and research and development at noma, five-times recognized as the world’s best restaurant. Since leaving noma, Malcolm has collaborated with brands and partners across the U.S., Japan, Australia, and Europe, including Sweetgreen, Rogan Gregory, and Nike. His work has been covered by international media including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Vogue, Wallpaper, and Condé Nast Traveller, and he recently appeared as himself in the acclaimed FX/Hulu series, The Bear. Malcolm has been listed among Dessert Professional’s Top Ten, Zagat’s 30 Under 30, and as a James Beard Rising Star Chef nominee.
Sara Kramer
Sara Kramer
Sara Kramer, a born-and-bred New Yorker and former Broadway performer, is the co-chef and co-owner of the Kismet and Kismet Rotisserie restaurants in Los Angeles, along with partner Sarah Hymanson. She is a first-time author with the recent release of Kismet: Bright, Fresh, Vegetable-Loving Recipes, which makes the duo's repertoire of recipes accessible for the home cook. Some of her many accolades include being named a Food & Wine Best New Chef in 2017, and Kismet being nominated for a James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in 2018 as well as consistently landing on the LATimes 101 Best Restaurants list. She and her recipes have been featured in publications from Bon Appetit to Vogue. In addition to being sustainability-minded regarding sourcing practices, Sara's focus is on creating inclusive spaces that serve the restaurants' teams as well as the broader community. Visit the restaurants in LA or on Instagram at @kismetlosangeles and @kismetrotisserie, and Sara can be found at @sarakramersarakramer.
Chris Kenney
Chris Kenney
Chris leads the work with restaurants at Zipline, the leading provider of drone delivery services globally. He is responsible for developing Zipline's food delivery service and bringing together a broad range of partners ranging from local heroes like Pagliacci Pizza to the largest restaurant operators in the country like Flynn Restaurant Group.
Jonah Bliss
Jonah Bliss
Jonah Bliss founded and runs Curbivore, OttOmate & Modern Delivery - the only media and event group focused on delivery, mobility and restaurant tech and the curb. Prior, he held senior positions at organizations that include CoMotion, EVELO, Turo and more. He also advises and invests in the sector, as a Venture Partner at the MobilityFund consortium.
Eran Groner
Eran Groner
Eran Groner, the co-founder and CEO of Yo Egg, is a seasoned entrepreneur with two decades of experience in the food and agricultural technology sectors. Throughout his career, Eran has focused on developing industrial animal farming in over 13 countries across four continents, primarily in Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and Africa. His main focus was helping communities, governments, and food corporations, produce more with less by implementing innovative agricultural technologies to maximize food production with limited resources. After specializing in cost-effective methods for producing meat, eggs, and dairy, Eran shifted his attention to transforming the entire food production system. This led him to explore alternative proteins, recognizing their potential impact on sustainable food production. In mid-2021, Eran joined forces with Yosefa and Nisim Ben Cohen to establish Yo Egg. Their mission is to become the world's largest and most sustainable egg company without involving chickens. Yo Egg's groundbreaking efforts have resulted in the creation of the world's first egg-free Sunny Side Up and poached eggs. The company launched its operations in the USA in April 2023 and expanded nationwide distribution in foodservice with Dot Foods. Moreover, in April 2024, Yo Egg introduced both of its products in retail stores across the west coast, including Mother Market, Bristol Farms, Lassens, New Seasons, and others.
Kimberlie Le
Kimberlie Le
Co-founder and CEO Kimberlie Le started Prime Roots as a proud meat eater determined to dramatically transform global food systems and reduce the burden animal agriculture has put on our planet. As a chef’s daughter, her love for cooking, brewing, and fermenting was ignited early along with her understanding of the impacts of food on the planet. With a microbiology background and culinary passion, Kim was at the forefront of the alternative protein innovations launching Prime Roots in 2017. Kim's achievements include being a Forbes '30 under 30' and Inc.'s 2024 Female Founders honoree, receiving the Game Changer Idea Award from Food and Wine Magazine, and Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Award.
Chris Neider
Chris Neider
Chris Neider is Vice President of Business Developments and is responsible for Starship's US delivery business, including Sales, Account Management, Marketing, Brand Partnerships, as well as overall P&L responsibility. He has been in the startup space for over 20 years and with Starship Technologies for 6 years helping grow Starship from 5,000 commercial deliveries when he started to over 7 million commercial deliveries and counting. He is passionate about entrepreneurship, robotics, and bringing Starship's incredible service to the world.
Dr. Eric Schulze
Dr. Eric Schulze
Dr. Schulze is a professional molecular biologist and startup executive currently serving as Founder and CEO at GoodHumans Strategy and Design, an LA-based agency blurring the line between food, pharma, and the boundaries between species all to combat climate change. Eric serves as a fractional C-suite member for his clients and launches companies that create competition in the alternative protein space. Eric specializes in federal-level cultivated meat, poultry, and seafood policy as well as pioneer product food safety establishment and continues to work alongside FDA and USDA to build efficient food policy. He has most recently developed the approach and led the team that has secured the first-ever FDA safety greenlight for a cultivated meat product and is a frequent speaker on emerging technology policy, STEM education improvement, and novel foods challenges in a global economy. Previously, he was VP of Product, Regulation, and Policy for UPSIDE Foods, where he led the establishment of the world’s first Food Safety, Quality, and Regulatory Affairs team for a cultivated meat company as well as the associated federal policy to complement. He also established and led the world’s first cultivated meat cell line development team and first cultivated meat food product design team, and food safety/quality assurance team. Dr. Schulze is trained in broadcast communication and speechwriting. As a former Federal regulator, he has developed and executed regulatory policy for pioneer products within food and animal biotechnology industries for the US FDA. Dr. Schulze has also served in a federal STEM education policy role for the US NSF and has advised the Roundtable for Transforming Undergraduate STEM education at the National Academy of Sciences.
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