Best Practices
Daniel Woods is principal researcher at Coalition, where he focuses on cyber insurance, risk and coverage innovation. He is also a lecturer in cybersecurity at the University of Edinburgh, researching the economics of security and cyber risk. Woods earned a PhD from the University of Oxford on “The Economics of Cyber Risk Transfer” in 2019, and regularly contributes thought leadership on cyber risk measurement and the cyber insurance market.
Ricardo Cici is marketing lead and chief growth officer at JIM.com, CloudWalk’s payment app. He leads global growth initiatives across product-led growth, user acquisition, and performance marketing, and is a founder of Confere, a startup acquired by CloudWalk.

Brett Banner is the senior vice president of strategy at Wayvia, where he guides the company’s market, community and thought leadership efforts. Since joining Wayvia (formerly PriceSpider) in 2019, Brett has grown the Customer Success team by 300% to support the world’s largest network of retailers and sellers. He successfully integrated three teams through acquisitions into one global force that achieves superior retention rates and strong hyper-growth numbers.

Kait Stephens is the CEO and co-founder of Brij, an AI-powered software platform that bridges the gap between offline and online channels for omnichannel brands. Brij partners with hundreds of leading brands—including Feastables, Skullcandy, Black Diamond, Sapporo, Gozney, Momofuku, and Health-Ade, helping them deliver seamless, connected customer experiences.
With over 12 years of expertise in retail and commerce, Kait brings a rich background as an investor focused on omnichannel strategies and the evolving future of retail. She is recognized as a RETHINK Retail Expert and retail thought leader, and hosts “The Omnichannel Marketer” podcast, where she explores how leading brands build seamless, connected customer experiences across physical and digital channels.
Beyond her work at Brij, Kait is an active angel investor, with a particular focus on consumer products and supporting female-founded startups. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BSBA from Georgetown University.


Jonathan Dore is an executive vice president of Reach3 Insights, an innovative marketing research consultancy focused on insight gathering through conversational approaches and communities. Jon runs the Reach3 Chicago BU and is responsible for bringing the company’s unique methodologies and advanced technologies to organizations across the consumer goods and services industries.

Kyle Dulay is the co-founder of Collabstr, a platform allowing brands to find and hire influencers for various social media sites.

Bryance is chair of the firm’s Labor and Employment practice group. For over 25 years, Bryance has focused his practice exclusively on labor and employment law. He represents employers of all sizes across the country in every aspect of the employment relationship. In addition to legal guidance, Bryance’s clients look to him for practical and strategic advice about workplace management. He advises and counsels CEOs, GCs, and HR professionals on day-to-day decisions that improve employee relations, manage risk, and grow their businesses.
Bryance defends his clients in nationwide complex and class litigation. As lead counsel, he has litigated dozens of class claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act, in addition to hundreds of individual employee disputes in state and federal court and arbitration. Bryance also focuses his practice on labor relations, and he has served as chief negotiator for numerous collective bargaining agreements with multiple unions, advises those unionized employers in day-to-day contract compliance, and represents them in grievance arbitrations. He works across industries, and Bryance has significant experience in manufacturing, multi-facility retail, banking, health care, and food service and distribution. His focus on these industries over his career has developed a skill set that includes training, counseling, auditing, and litigating in other employment-related areas like restrictive covenants and trade secrets, OSHA, leave management, and federal contract compliance.
As the son of a man who started a manufacturing business with one employee and grew it to an industry leader, Bryance knows how valuable problem-solvers are to a business. He approaches every engagement as an opportunity to help his client find a productive solution rather than act as a mere issue-spotter. Bryance strives to be a responsive business partner to every client he represents.

Joel Mathew, Product Leader of Product Management, SOTI
Joel Mathew, manager of product management at SOTI, has been a key driver of innovation for over a decade at SOTI. A graduate of McMaster University with a Bachelor of Software Engineering, Joel combines his technical expertise and leadership skills to shape the future of mobile and IoT solutions for the mobile workforce. Today, Joel leads a team of Product Managers, guiding product strategy to deliver exceptional customer value, strengthen partner relationships and drive strategic innovation.
Outside of work, Joel loves to spend time with his wife and kids, creating lasting memories with family and friends, and staying involved in his church community.

John is the regional vice president of underwriting for the U.S. Central region at Cowbell, a leading insurance and digital risk partner for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). With over ten years of experience as a commercial lines underwriter, John began his career at CNA in Chicago, helping to grow the Technology book for three years by working on Cyber, E&O, Media, and P&C lines, eventually focussing exclusively on cyber. At Cowbell, John is responsible for overseeing underwriting operations, and evaluating and analyzing the risks involved in Cowbell’s AI underwriting process.








