Ray Gaul
Co-Founder & CEO
Retail Cities
Over the last 20 years, Ray has focused on understanding the retailer-on-retailer competition and how that changes brand strategies and investments, and through the years has become a world-renowned expert on the dynamics of retail competition and the future of the commerce. Previously, during his time at Kantar Consulting as Vice President of Research and Analytics, he was a founding member of Kantar Retail’s global retail forecasting team, where he was responsible for the direction of Kantar Retail’s global data that supports all of Kantar Retail Market Insights’ retailer forecasting products worldwide.
Now at Retail Cities, he continues to expand his skills in understanding the current wave of retail reinvention that is disrupting blue-chip companies around the world. Retail Cities is a global retail data and insights firm, primarily focused on fast growth industries and markets.
Jens Sievert
Director of Design and Branding
Daymon Design
Internationally awarded Designer and Director of Design and Branding at Daymon. Jens has specialized in the creation and transformation of private brands across the globe, having also an aggregated experience in sustainability.
With over 23 years of experience, Jens was responsible for the launch of Daymon’s International Design Agency in 2013. Since then, he has led retail focused projects that define visual strategies to solve complex problems, entire portfolios of brands and products’ packaging, from big FMCG retailers to small boutique stores and online businesses. Helping companies, entities and brand owners achieve success with solutions that effectively connect and motivate people. Having created and evolved more than 120 brands over the last 11 years.
Daymon Design creates effective brands, packaging and communication solutions to set businesses apart from competition and help them achieve tangible success. They work for big and small brands, from the biggest retailer to the smallest entrepreneur and business owner.
Marijn Overvest
Founder, Procurement Tactics
Marijn Overvest is a procurement expert and entrepreneur dedicated to advancing procurement professionals through education and strategic sourcing. As the founder of Procurement Tactics, he leads an online academy that trains procurement teams worldwide, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses. Before launching Procurement Tactics, Marijn held key procurement roles at Albert Heijn for 19 years, specializing in strategic sourcing, supplier negotiations, and private-label development. He spearheaded post-merger synergy programs following Albert Heijn’s integration with Delhaize and played a pivotal role in category management.
With a deep understanding of procurement strategy and innovation, Marijn is committed to empowering professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to excel.
Rachel Sibson
Senior Insight Analyst
IGD
Rachel is a Senior Insight Analyst in IGD’s Global Insight Team with 10 years experience in retail analysis. She specialises in European retail and the health and beauty channel. She regularly travels internationally to meet retailers and manufacturers and to explore new concept stores, bringing back inspiration and examples of best practice from around the world. Rachel also played a key role in developing IGD’s Global Sustainability Trends report.
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.
Marielle Bordewijk
Founding Partner
Food by Design
Marielle is a food designer, a food innovator, and a pioneer in food design thinking. She assists organizations worldwide in achieving successful innovation to make our food and food production more sustainable, healthier, and better tasting.
She graduated ‘cum laude’ as an Industrial Designer from TUDelft, worked as a food marketer at Unilever, and is a founding partner of Food By Design (www.foodbydesign.nl). This is the first innovation agency specializing in 'food design thinking,' where she and her team aid clients globally in food innovation, brand positioning, and strategy development.
Over the past two decades, she has helped over 100 (inter)national clients, including start-ups and multinationals, both local and international, operating in B2C and B2B across the entire food chain. This encompasses A-brands, private labels, retailers, food service entities, ingredient suppliers, and agricultural companies.
In addition to her agency work, she delivers lectures at universities and colleges. She is a partner at the food, design, and eating lab of Technical University of Delft and teaches the new class Food Design at the faculty of industrial design engineering. Moreover, she serves as a member of the advisory board of the HAS research group Healthy food and healthy living.
Marleen Zaalberg
Founding Partner
Food by Design
Marleen is a strategist, food innovator, and pioneer in food design thinking. She helps organizations worldwide build meaningful, future-proof brands and strategies and drive successful innovation that truly resonates with consumers and customers.
She graduated as an Industrial Designer from TUDelft, She previously worked as a marketer in both Food and Home & Personal Care at Unilever, ultimately serving as Marketing Director for the Margarines business. She is also a founding partner of Food By Design (www.foodbydesign.nl). This is the first innovation agency specializing in 'food design thinking,' where she and her team aid clients globally in food innovation, brand positioning, and strategy development. Recently, the agency has launched a second pillar beyond food, with a strong focus on FMCG non-food categories such as personal care.
Over the past two decades, Marleen and the Food By Design team have helped over 100 (inter)national clients, including start-ups and multinationals, both local and international, operating in B2C and B2B with main focus on food. This encompasses A-brands, private labels, retailers, food service entities, ingredient suppliers, and agricultural companies. In addition, Marleen has supported multiple non-food clients, primarily in retail and among A-brand suppliers.
Arjan Both
Board member
Superunie
Arjan Both is an accomplished expert in the global food and retail industry with over 40 years of experience spanning senior roles across major multinational companies. He has held strategic leadership positions at Unilever, Ahold, AMS Sourcing and Agenor, and most recently served as Senior Vice President of Food Sourcing at Walmart in the United States, where he drove large-scale sourcing and supply-chain initiatives.
Currently, Arjan is the Independent Chairman of Superunie, the Dutch purchasing cooperative representing major supermarket organisations, and was appointed Interim CEO to guide the organisation through a key leadership transition. His deep international expertise, collaborative leadership style and strategic vision help strengthen the cooperative’s role in the dynamic food retail landscape.
Arjan is a trusted voice on topics including global sourcing, food retail strategy, and collaborative leadership in complex networks, and he regularly shares insights on how organisations can navigate change and create value in today’s competitive market.
Alexander Bilsing
Partner
Simon-Kucher
Alexander Bilsing is a seasoned consultant with over 15 years of experience helping mid-sized companies and multinationals achieve sustainable, profitable growth. Currently a Partner at Simon-Kucher, he specialises in advising ingredients players and private label manufacturers. Alexander is a proactive leader with deep expertise in pricing, sales, and strategy. He has a strong track record of guiding executives through complex transformations, delivering actionable strategies, and driving implementation across global markets. Passionate about enabling “Better Growth,” he combines analytical precision with a hands-on approach to change management.
Simon-Kucher is a global consultancy specializing in unlocking better growth through commercial strategy optimization. With over 2,000 employees across 30+ countries, the firm helps clients drive measurable revenue and profit by refining pricing, product, innovation, marketing, and sales strategies. Backed by nearly 40 years of experience, Simon-Kucher is recognized as the world’s leading expert in pricing and growth.
Markus Goller
Partner
Simon-Kucher
Markus Goller advises leading retailers across all industries and channels on strategies for better growth comprising brand positioning as well as pricing, assortment and promotion excellence. Markus has extensive project experience, covering all stages from concept development to implementation within the organization. The key element of his work is the development of new innovative concepts via the combination of advanced analytics with retailer data, sharp analysis of market trends and understanding of customer view and actual purchase behavior. In addition, he is involved in the development of software solutions on revenue management for retailers.
Prior to joining Simon-Kucher & Partners, Markus gained initial consulting experience in boutique consultancies based in Germany, Switzerland and the UAE. He holds two master’s degrees from the University of Innsbruck (Political Science and Economics).