NACS State of the Industry Summit

Anirban Basu is Chairman & CEO of Sage Policy Group, Inc., an economic and policy consulting firm headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland with offices in Pennsylvania and Cambodia. The firm provides strategic analytical services to energy suppliers, law firms, medical systems, government agencies, and real estate developers among others.

In 2014, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan appointed him Chair of the Maryland Economic Development Commission. He also serves as chairman of the Baltimore County Economic Advisory Committee. He is also the Chief Economist to Associated Builders and Contractors and Chief Economic Advisor to the Construction Financial Management Association. He serves similar functions for Visit Baltimore, the Maryland Association of Realtors, and Marcum, LLC.

He lectures at Johns Hopkins University in Global Strategy and has also taught international economics, urban economics, micro- and macroeconomics at Hopkins. His radio show can be heard weekdays on 88.1FM, WYPR, Baltimore.

In both 2007 and 2016, the Daily Record newspaper selected Mr. Basu as one of Maryland’s 50 most influential people. The Baltimore Business Journal named him one of the region’s 20 most powerful business leaders in 2010.

Mr. Basu has been on many boards over time, including First Mariner Bank, the Baltimore City Public School System, Port Discovery, the Baltimore School for the Arts, and Union Memorial Hospital. He is currently on the boards of St. Mary’s College, the University System of Maryland Foundation, the Center for Emerging Media, the Lyric Opera House and the Archdiocese of Baltimore School System.

Mr. Basu earned his B.S. in Foreign Service at Georgetown University in 1990. He earned his Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and his Master’s in Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park. His Juris Doctor was earned at the University of Maryland School of Law.

Charlie McIlvaine is the Chairman & CEO of Coen Oil Company, LLC, a diversified holding company. Together with his brother Andy, they manage Coen Markets (a convenience retail chain in the Tri-State region of Pittsburgh, PA) and Coen Tire (a retail tire platform). Charlie is also Managing Partner of Thomaston Capital, LLC, a private investment firm that invests in growth or later stage companies primarily in the consumer/retail sector.

Charlie was previously a member of Avista Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in New York with $4 billion under management, where he focused on investments in the consumer sector. Prior to working in private equity, Charlie was Co-Global Group Head and Managing Director of the Global Consumer Group for Deutsche Bank. In this capacity, he had responsibility for managing a group of 50+ professionals across three global investment banking offices which generated revenues over $300 million. DB’s Global Consumer Group advised on mergers & acquisitions and raised debt and equity capital for clients in the food/beverage, household products/personal care, retail/restaurant and business services sectors. Previous to DB, Charlie was a senior member and Managing Director of J.P. Morgan’s Global Consumer Group in investment banking. While at J.P. Morgan, he executed financings and mergers and acquisitions for a wide range of consumer companies. He began his career as an investment banking analyst for Merrill Lynch based in New York and London.

Charlie holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, attended New College of Oxford University, and earned a BA in economics from Duke University.

Thomas H. Talbert, RD is the Vice President, Culinary Marketing at CSSI, Marketing + Culinary, a full-service culinary and marketing communications Marlin Network agency. He leads a team of chefs and account planners in creative culinary development and innovation for the foodservice industry.

Thomas has years of experience in the foodservice industry, with a multidimensional background in culinary arts, product development, and dietetics. He is a graduate of Johnson & Wales University with an associate’s degree in Culinary Arts and a bachelor’s degree in Culinary Nutrition as well as a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s dietetics programs.

Thomas has worked at an assortment of fine and casual dining restaurants and consulted with the industry’s leading manufacturers and operators and has led product innovation and introductions into the retail channel.

Helping food manufacturers and restaurant chain operators develop and implement successful innovation practices is Thomas’ major focus at CSSI. His depth of knowledge is firmly grounded in experience as a chef and registered dietitian—presenting new culinary concepts and menu trends that have driven innovation at many of the top restaurant chains. Coupled with his expertise in product development, sales support and marketing strategy, he has helped clients achieve foodservice success in the U.S., South America, Asia and the Caribbean.

For more than 20 years, Chris Wolf has been helping marketers to anticipate and address emerging consumer opportunities through strategy, innovation and brand development for companies including Tyson Foods, PepsiCo, 7 Eleven, Campbell Soup Co., M&M/Mars, Gerber/Novartis, McDonald’s, Nestle, Yum!Brands, Brinker International, Subway, Burger King, and Starbucks.

As a professional speaker and former journalist for The Food Channel and QSR Magazine, Chris’ forecasts, recommendations and ideas have attracted the attention of the media as well, including CBS This Morning, NPR, Psychology Today, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, as well as many trade publications. Wolf has a master’s degree in strategy and marketing from Kellogg Graduate School of Management and has taught marketing at Missouri State University and Drury University.

Chris has held roles at agencies, innovation consultancies and food manufacturing companies. He now leads planning and insights for the Marlin Network, managing a team that helps inspire consumer- and customer-led strategy to drive growth for brands.

MARLIN NETWORK
The Marlin Network is a subsidiary of Advantage Sales & Marketing, and includes Marlin Co., The Alchemedia Project, CSSI, and the Halverson Group, specializing in marketing, creative and culinary services for brands focused on hospitality and the experiential consumer.