Edgar Elzerman
Retail Consultant
Elzerman Consulting International (ECI)
Since January 2014, Edgar is the owner of Elzerman Consulting International, based in The Netherlands. On a global scope, he provides consultant services focusing on both retail and private brand manufacturing. For many years Edgar is working as news anchor for PLMALive!.
Edgar Elzerman started his career at Royal Ahold in the Netherlands. In the 12 years that he has worked for the company, he entered in a Fast-Track-Development Plan as a Management Trainee, continued as a Senior Category Manager where he was responsible for the Portfolio of Categories.
Thereafter he worked as the Director of Business Development and subsequently as the Senior Director European Sourcing at Ahold Europe. For the next five years, Edgar worked at Ahold USA as the Senior Director Business Development, developing and implementing strategic initiatives and thereafter as the Vice President of Private Brands, managing the Ahold USA Private Brand Program.
Oliver Koll
Researcher, Trainer and Consultant
Europanel
Oliver is a marketing scholar, researcher, and consultant with more than 30 years of experience at Europanel, where he has led the development of innovative research and strategic solutions that help brands identify and capitalize on growth opportunities.
He holds the Chair of Marketing at the University of Innsbruck, where his research and teaching focus on stakeholder marketing, brand management, and retailing. His work has been published in leading academic journals, including the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, and Journal of Business Research, and he is a frequent presenter at international academic and industry conferences.
Europanel is a London-based global market research and business advisory partnership that provides consumer and shopper insights across more than 60 countries. By combining continuous consumer panel data with advanced analytics and expert consulting, Europanel helps brands identify growth opportunities, optimize marketing strategies, and make evidence-based business decisions.
Adam Leyland
Editor-in-Chief
The Grocer Magazine
Adam Leyland has led The Grocer since 2006. In that time he and his team have picked up a string of awards, as the publication, now celebrating its 160th anniversary, has been transformed into a multi-channel operation, comprising a weekly magazine, a vibrant website, multiple daily and weekly newsletters and a strong social media presence, as well as awards, conferences and webinars.
A well-known figure in the food and drink industry, Adam makes frequent appearances on TV and radio and regularly hosts conferences, webinars and awards. And his knowledge is as broad as the sector itself: from health & obesity, to online and rapid delivery; from sustainability to entrepreneurship; from farm shops and challenger brands, to the giant supermarkets and multinational suppliers. Adam was voted Editor of the Year at the British Society of Magazine Editors Awards in 2015 and 2009.
The Grocer is the UK's leading source of grocery retail news, analysis and insight, covering supermarkets, food and drink brands and the wider fmcg sector
Sneha Haria
Insights Manager
IGD
Sneha is an Insight Manager at IGD, where she delivers global retail insights, focused mainly on Europe. She uses analytical skills and market research to help industry players develop strategies that really drive growth and innovation in the grocery sector. Prior to working at IGD, Sneha had over 12 years’ experience across manufacturers and market research across both food and non-food as well as both brand and private label.
Toby Pickard
Retail Futures Senior Partner
IGD
Toby Pickard is passionate about store of the future concepts and digitalizing the path to purchase. He specialises in future trends, innovations and foresights. Toby helps brands and retailers future-proof their operations by updating on industry developments.
He has over 18 years’ experience, transforming companies such as P&G, Coca-Cola and Musgrave, and was awarded the Top Retail Expert by RETHINK Retail in 2025 and the 2024 RTIH Top 100 Retail Technology Influencer.
IGD (Institute of Grocery Distribution) serves as a unique, impartial force for good, driven by its charitable status and commitment to public benefit. Its purpose is clear: to unite and inspire everyone to deliver a thriving food system. They achieve this by acting as a trusted convener, uniting stakeholders from across the entire agri-food supply chain to address critical challenges.
Helen Herd
Group Head of Sustainability
McBride
Helen Herd is Group Head of Sustainability at McBride, where she leads the company's sustainability strategy across its international operations. With more than 25 years at McBride, she has held a range of senior leadership roles across product development, marketing, research and development, technical services, and category management.
Prior to her current role, Helen led product development and marketing for McBride's Liquids division, driving innovation and customer-focused solutions. To further strengthen her expertise, she completed an MSc in Sustainable Development, bringing additional insights and a strategic perspective to embedding sustainability into business operations and product innovation. Her broad cross-functional experience enables her to bridge commercial objectives with sustainable growth and long-term value creation.
McBride is a major European manufacturing and consumer goods company. They are the leading private-label manufacturer of household and professional cleaning, hygiene, and laundry products in Europe.
Erick Smet
Head of AI Innovation, TrendWatching
Erick is Head of AI Innovation at TrendWatching based in Amsterdam with a knack for bringing consumer trends to life through vibrant storytelling.
Formerly leading TrendWatching's Trend Analyst team as Content Director, he now spearheads AI initiatives – developing sophisticated prompt architectures that convert consumer insights into actionable innovations across industries.
At the intersection of content strategy and AI implementation, Erick builds systems that analyze consumer and industry data to uncover meaningful patterns for innovation. He guides the transformation of trend insights into diverse business applications, including product concepts, service improvements, marketing campaigns and future scenarios.
Erick has hosted TrendWatching keynotes, webinars and future-focused workshops for audiences around the world. He has presented to the likes of Mastercard, Google, PageGroup, Municipality of Amsterdam and Brookfield Properties.
TrendWatching is of the leading trend firms in the world, running a consumer trend intelligence platform that helps professionals spot, understand, and act on emerging consumer trends and innovations from around the world.