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Managing Director, Asia Pacific and Middle East 

Matthew Silverstein is a seasoned hospitality executive with more than 13 years of experience leading restaurant operations, international growth, and licensed partner development across global markets. As Managing Director, Asia Pacific and Middle East at Shake Shack, he has played a central role in expanding the brand’s international presence, helping build its first global office into a cross-functional hub and overseeing licensed partner growth across more than 180 restaurants with revenue exceeding US$500 million.

Matthew’s leadership combines strategic planning, operational discipline, and a deep understanding of how to localize a global brand for diverse markets. 
Earlier in his career, Matthew held operational leadership roles at Shake Shack in New York City, where he oversaw high-volume restaurants, opened flagship and airport locations, and contributed to the launch of new menu offerings. In 2019, Matthew moved to Hong Kong to establish the first Shake Shack international support center. 

Ben Gilbert is the head of the Australian research term at Jarden, leading a team of 30 analysts providing insights into Australian macro and company trends. Ben also leads the retail team at Jarden, having been consistently ranked #1 in his field for the past 5yrs. In his role he analyses macro, industry and company trends across the Australian and global retail landscape including food, QSR, travel and discretionary retail.

Roxanne joined Circana in April 2022. In her current role as Senior Manager at Circana’s foodservice team, she works as a lead analyst developing insights and thought leadership for key QSR clients and partners. Prior to Circana, Roxanne spent over 6 years as a journalist and production editor at a B2B publishing company covering a range of sectors in the Asian region, including healthcare, insurance, and banking & finance. She then worked as a stakeholder relations manager at a bank’s corporate communications team for a couple of years before obtaining her MBA from Macquarie University in 2021.

A performance-focused business leader, Merrill Pereyra has over 35 years of experience in the QSR industry globally, working with major brands such as Pizza Hut, KFC, and McDonald’s Corporation. Merrill joined as Managing Director of Pizza Hut India Subcontinent in September 2019, responsible for driving the long-term profitability and growth of Pizza Hut in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Maldives. His diversified expertise lies in the expansion and commercialization of franchise operations, specifically in opening Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) in Indonesia (for Domino’s Pizza), Australia, New Zealand (for Healthy Habits) and Saudi Arabia, New Caledonia, Fiji, Samoa, French Polynesia, American Samoa  and Southeast Asia (for McDonald’s). Merrill commenced at Domino's Pizza Enterprises in 2026 as the CEO of the Australia & New Zealand region.

Merrill believes in constant upskilling and is a proud alumnus of some of world’s leading universities including Harvard Business School, Wharton University and INSEAD, holding a range of certifications in Leadership and Strategic Business Management. In his personal time, Merrill enjoys penning down his experiences as a leader and has also authored the book ‘Expand Your Brand, how to supersize any brand, anywhere in the world’ - designed to assist managers and executives groom their business, personnel and systems, for effortless, smooth expansion.

Kristi Woolrych is General Manager of KFC SOPAC, leading the $4 billion KFC business across the region with approximately 950 restaurants and 45 franchise partners. Since joining the brand in 2018, Kristi has played a key role in shaping KFC’s growth strategy, customer experience, and culture, helping build one of Australia’s strongest and most loved QSR brands. Prior to that, she held senior executive roles at Suncorp spanning customer strategy, digital, brand and marketing. A commercially driven and people-focused leader, Kristi has built her career by embracing new challenges, leading transformation and building strong teams. She is passionate about helping people and organisations become more than they thought possible.

Richard Hinson is a seasoned CEO, director and chairman with extensive experience across ASX-listed and large private companies. He is recognised for his strong leadership and ability to work closely with boards to drive strategic, operational and cultural transformation, particularly in complex and high‑pressure environments.

With a global perspective spanning wholesale, retail and franchising, Richard brings deep expertise across supply chain, operations, marketing and commercial strategy. He has a proven track record in leading diverse teams, delivering continuous improvement programs and executing key corporate initiatives that drive sustainable growth. He combines commercial discipline with a proactive, hands-on style, with a strong focus on delivering durable, commercially sound outcomes.

Kerri Wane is the CEO of Schnitz Group, the home to the fast-growing fast-casual brand Schnitz, which is on a mission to serve real food that makes people happy. Schnitz Group aims to become an international, multi-branded QSR chain and create a high performance, high engagement, purpose led culture that puts guests, franchise partners and restaurants first.

Prior to joining Schnitz Group, Kerri had 25 years of QSR experience domestically and internationally in CEO and leadership roles at brands like San Churro and Domino’s. A passionate advocate for the franchising sector, Kerri served on the Franchise Council of Australian Board, was recognised as Franchise Woman of the Year in 2024 and has made the Top 30 Franchise Executive list 5 times. 

Concept Eight is a diversified franchisor with180 restaurants in all states of Australia. There are 3 division at Concept Eight- Burgers, Asian and Innovation. Grant has been the CEO at Concept Eight for 9 years. Prior to Concept Eight, He held General Manager roles at 3 listed Australian companies in Energy, Telco and Marketing.
 

Chris Garlick is a seasoned retail leader and CEO of Retail Zoo. Chris has led some of the world’s most recognised consumer brands through significant transformation and growth.

Prior to joining Retail Zoo, Chris was CEO of Starbucks Australia for 10 years, where he spearheaded the brand’s turnaround and re-established its relevance in a competitive market. He also held senior leadership roles at Coles Supermarkets as General Manager of Non-Food, and at BP over a 16-year tenure, where he led the Convenience Retail business in Australia and served as Vice President of Product & Offer Development for BP America, based in Chicago.

Chris is known for his ability to blend strategic vision with operational excellence, building high-performance cultures and delivering strong commercial outcomes. At Retail Zoo, he leads a portfolio of dynamic brands including Boost Juice, Betty’s Burgers and Salsas, with a focus on sustainable growth, innovation, and customer experience.

Tom covers the consumer sector for Barrenjoey. His QSR coverage includes Dominos, GYG and Collins Foods. He was covered the sector since 2008 and has been the #1 rated retail analyst in the Peter Lee survey of Australian investors for the past three years.

Josh Ludski is the Head of Strategic Investments at River Capital, a principal led Australian Investment firm. River Capital invests on behalf of a large number of Australian families across private and public companies. QSR has been a focus area of the firm. Josh currently leads River Capital’s investment in The Cheesecake Shop. Prior to joining River Capital, Josh was a consultant at Bain & Company, a global management consultancy.

Shaun Cousins is a top ranked research analyst and is currently the Head of Australia Retail and Consumer Research at UBS. With more than two decades of experience in equity research and financial markets, Shaun produces in-depth company analysis and insights for institutional clients. In the 2026 Extel Australia survey, Shaun ranked #1 in both the consumer discretionary and staples categories. Prior to joining UBS, Shaun was a senior analyst at JPMorgan for 20 years. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) and Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the University of Sydney, as well as an Executive MBA from the University of Cambridge.

Brooke’s 20+ years of retail experience has included Aussie brands growing their footprint globally (including Boost Juice), as well as global brands strengthening their position in the Australian market (such as Adidas). Her roles have taken her to various corners of the globe, from Chile to Estonia to Kuwait, and she also spent two years living in China while working for Adidas.

Brooke loves working for brand-led businesses and has been fortunate to be mentored by some of the best brand brains in the country.

Over the last three years Yo-Chi has provided her with a playground of high-speed growth, a team of passionate and smart people, and more frozen yogurt working lunches than would be deemed acceptable.

Richard Wallis is the President for Flynn Group ANZ, leading a phenomenal team in the region to bring to life the growth ambitions for the Pizza Hut Australia and Wendy’s ANZ brands.  

Richard has over 30 years’ experience in the restaurant industry. Prior to joining Flynn, Richard was the Managing Director for KFC Asia Pacific, a business with revenue in excess of US$16Bn and 17,000 restaurants. Other career highlights include roles as the GM for KFC South Pacific (Australia/NZ) based in Brisbane, the GM for KFC Greater Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Myanmar, India) based in Singapore, and President and GM of Pizza Hut Canada based in Toronto.

During his career Richard has orchestrated brand turnarounds in Canada and across Asia, along with leading the Australian KFC business through the Covid pandemic. Richard has huge breadth of experience in the QSR Industry, with previous leadership roles in Operations, IT, Business Development and Human Resources. He started his career as a delivery driver for Pizza Hut and moved through in-restaurant management roles and the cross-functional Executive Trainee program.

Richard is a deep restaurant operator who believes in the power of culture and engagement to drive results. He is known for his growth mindset, development of people and talent, and passion for performance.

Richard has a Bachelor of Science from University of Queensland and an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management.

Ramon Castillo is the CEO of Zeus Street Greek, where he leads a national network of [60] restaurants and oversees its expansion strategy toward 137 stores by 2030. He brings extensive QSR and retail experience from senior roles at Grill’d and Boost Juice Bars. Under his leadership, Zeus Street Greek has also expanded into retail, launching a grocery range stocked at Woolworths.

• Jarrod Montigue – Group General Manager, Roll’d Hospitality Group
• Experienced franchise executive, with over 30 years industry experience, mainly in food QSR, including owning & operating my own coffee franchise business with Gloria Jeans Coffees
• Worked with major Franchise brands including: McDonalds, Hudsons, Gloria Jeans, Angus & Robertson, Amcal & Guardian Pharmacies, Oporto and Roll’d
• Pioneered coffee franchising in Australia. Helped launch McCafe for McDonalds back in the 90’s, then becoming the first employee to help launch Hudsons Coffee back in 1998, starting my coffee journey for the next 15 years
• Held Senior Operations & General Management roles with multiple franchise brands. Specialise in building high performing Franchisor teams.
• 2020 & 2026 FCA Certified Franchise Executive certification
• 2021 & 2025 Top 30 Franchise Executive Awards, coming in at #13 & #20
• Passionate about People, Franchising and good food!

Ryan Guthrie is Marketing Director, Australia & New Zealand at Kerry, where he leads the innovation and marketing agenda, helping customers navigate changing consumer behaviours, emerging food trends and new growth opportunities across the food and beverage industry.

With more than 15 years' experience spanning food, beverage, wellness, pharmaceuticals and technology, Ryan brings a unique combination of brand, innovation, category and commercial leadership. He has led and worked on some of ANZ's most recognised brands, including Helga's, Nescafé, My Muscle Chef, V Energy and Afterpay, across retail, foodservice, QSR and direct-to-consumer channels.

Ryan's perspective is shaped by experience across the full value chain, from product development and innovation through to brand strategy, customer growth and commercial execution. Having worked alongside chefs, product developers, technologists, commercial teams and marketers, he specialises in connecting consumer insight with practical innovation, translating emerging trends into products, propositions and growth strategies that resonate with both customers and consumers.

Petra Orrenius is the Chief Marketing Officer at Soul Origin, one of Australia and New Zealand's leading fresh food and specialty coffee franchise brands, with more than 175 locations across the region.

With over 15 years of executive marketing experience across QSR, hospitality, retail and agency environments, Petra is recognised for combining creativity with commercial discipline to drive sustainable growth. She has built a reputation for translating customer, market and performance data into actionable insights that shape brand strategy, product innovation and marketing investment.
Prior to joining Soul Origin, Petra held senior leadership roles including Chief Marketing Officer at Trippas White Group, CEO of Publicis Sweden, and marketing leadership positions with Sumo Salad during its rapid national expansion. Her expertise spans brand transformation, customer experience, loyalty, digital growth, media effectiveness and franchise marketing.

Passionate about building high-performing teams, Petra believes the best marketing comes from understanding evolving customer behaviours, embracing emerging trends and using data to make smarter creative decisions. She is driven by creating brands people love and delivering marketing that generates measurable commercial outcomes.

Ross Candido is VP, AUNZ at Meltwater, where he leads sales, marketing, and product strategy across the region. With nearly two decades of international experience spanning Africa, the Middle East, China, Southeast Asia, New Zealand and Australia, Ross has been pivotal in scaling Meltwater into one of the leading media intelligence and social analytics platforms globally. Ross is a recognised voice on the convergence of AI, media monitoring, and influencer marketing and a hands-on advocate for applying generative AI to transform how organisations extract insight from data. Ross is based in Sydney.

Tom Mansfield is the Chief Marketing Officer at Tracksuit, having spent a career at the intersection of brand and AI-native software. Prior to joining Tracksuit, Tom held senior brand and product marketing roles at Visa in San Francisco. He then developed deep AI and software expertise as VP Marketing at Dovetail, the AI customer insights platform valued at over AU$960 million and as CMO at Hatch, an Australian AI-powered jobs startup. Tom is leading Tracksuit's marketing organisation as it scales internationally.

John leads Fonto’s commercial development and drives continuous improvement in how Fonto's insights and analytics deliver value to the Quick Service Restaurant category. He brings extensive experience leading data, analytics and marketing effectiveness functions within both agency and measurement environments. He has led multiple marketing effectiveness practices, helping brands understand and calculate the impact of their marketing investment.

Sam leads research, insights and analytics for the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) sector. In this role, Sam translates Fonto's spending and customer experience data into insights that shape how QSR brands understand and respond to consumer behaviour.

At Fonto, Sam works closely with restaurants, suppliers, logistics providers and other participants across the QSR and food services industry. This collaborative approach ensures Fonto's insights and measurement capabilities keep pace with how Australians spend and experience quick service dining.

Sam's focus is on continuous improvement: refining the methodologies and metrics Fonto uses to measure consumer spend, so that industry stakeholders have an accurate, current view of the QSR landscape. This includes tracking shifts in spending patterns, customer experience trends and the broader economic factors shaping the sector.

With a research background spanning multiple leading agencies and now specialising in quick service restaurants, Sam brings both breadth and depth to Fonto's QSR practice and is a trusted voice on how Australian consumers engage with quick service restaurants today.

Mackenzie is a Senior Research Consultant at Fonto, where her primary focus is the continuous improvement of Fonto's research products.

Mackenzie leads the ongoing development of the tools and methodologies Fonto uses to turn raw spending data into research products for clients across the quick service restaurant industry and beyond. Her work ensures these products keep evolving to meet the changing needs of Fonto's clients and the broader market.

Alongside this product development focus, Mackenzie also provides insights and advisory services drawing on Fonto's world-first integration of transaction and customer experience data.