CatMan 2.0 to Take Center Stage at 2016 Category Management Conference

MINNEAPOLIS — Retailers, manufacturers, industry thought leaders and category management solution providers will get a close up look at category management for the 21st century at the 2016 Category Management Conference.

The conference will bring together all the players in the category management arena to collaborate, network, learn and grow, according to the event's organizer Category Management Association (CMA). The annual event will take place Sept. 12-14 at The Mirage in Las Vegas.

This year's event will host a mix of keynote speakers, case studies presented by retailers and manufacturers, panel discussions, networking, and solution provider demonstrations. It will also feature a new speed-networking event, Best Practices Awards and CatMan 2.0.

According to CMA, the retail landscape has changed dramatically since the discipline of CatMan 1.0 was originally developed in the early 1990s. CatMan 2.0 is category management for the 21st century and represents the modification of the category management discipline to address major changes in the industry including a more diverse shopper base, new retail formats, new data sources, new analytical tools and recent success models. 

The conference will feature a CatMan 2.0 panel session, which is built around many of the key changes.

Convenience Store News parent company Stagnito + Edgell has joined forces with CMA in a promotion and partnership for the updated CatMan 2.0 initiative, as CSNews Online previously reported.

This year marks the eighth-annual conference. The conference theme is "Bridging Traditional and Digital: Connecting with Shoppers in the New Retail Landscape." Speakers will include: 

• Daymond John, FUBU Clothing founder, urban entrepreneur, CEO, author, marketing & branding expert, "Shark Tank" reality TV judge, motivational speaker
• Bill Bishop, chief architect, Brick Meets Click
• Tom Burkemper, senior director, merchandising, 7-Eleven Inc.
• Mike Gervasio, vice president of category management, Pepsi Beverage Co.
• Kevin Hartman, head of analytics, Google
• Dan Rooney, CEO/founder of Folds of Honor, U.S. Air Force
• Mike Sansolo, emcee and panel facilitator, retail food industry consultant
• Art Sebastian, head of digital shopping & e-commerce, Meijer
• Bala Subramanian, senior vice president global e-commerce, Best Buy
• Kelly Ungerman, e-commerce, multi-channel, McKinsey
• Rana Nall, category management & modular development, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
• Michael McGuire, category management & modular development, Walmart

Attendees can register by clicking here.

"The conference has been the best opportunity for category management practitioners to learn of successful approaches across all categories and to take those case studies and apply them to their own categories and retail stores," said Wendy Fritz, CEO of CMA.

CMA is a global association that enables professionals to connect with peers, further their careers and drive meaningful category and brand growth by building shopper satisfaction and facilitating strategic collaboration between retailers, suppliers and solution providers. It has more than 7,200 individual members and 160 corporate members on five continents.