Trader Joe's Doug Rauch To Headline IFE 2017 Joint General Session

Portland, Maine – Doug Rauch, former president of Trader Joe’s, will deliver the keynote at the 2017 International Floriculture Expo , Global Cold Chain Expo and United Fresh  Joint Opening General Session on Wednesday, June 14.

Doug Rauch’s career with Trader Joe’s spanned 31 years, where he served as a company president for the last 14 years of his tenure, playing a pivotal role in the Southern California-based chain growth from nine stores to more than 340 stores in 30 states. Before retiring from Trader Joe’s in 2008, he developed the company’s prized buying philosophy, created its unique private food label program, and wrote and executed the business plan to make Trader Joe’s a national chain. He championed the development and execution of Trader Joe’s University and the prized customer experience orientation.

“We are thrilled to have Doug Rauch as this year’s Joint General Session speaker,” says IFE Event Director, Christine Salmon. “Trader Joe’s has been influential in the floral industry, thanks to their commitment to innovation and dedication to consumers.”

“Trader Joe’s national popularity with consumers is thanks in large part to the innovative mind of Doug Rauch,” said United Fresh President & CEO Tom Stenzel. “He was able to scale a brand in a competitive marketplace and created a unique and self-sustaining culture of innovation. With three decades of retail experience and a conscious driven new venture, Doug will inspire us all across supply chains.”

Currently the co-CEO of Conscious Capitalism – which looks at how higher purpose, stakeholder integration, conscious leadership, and conscious culture can simultaneously build stronger businesses and improve society as a whole – Doug is a recent senior fellow at the Harvard University Advanced Leadership Initiative. During this experience, he focused on the challenges of food waste, hunger, and obesity, which motivated him to become the founder and president of Daily Table. With Daily Table, he developed a way to provide both grab-n-go meals and basic groceries at pennies on the dollar for Daily Table, bringing affordable nutrition to those living in food insecurity.

Doug received his executive MBA from the Peter Drucker School of Management at Claremont University, where he won several honorary awards, including the Early Career Outstanding Entrepreneur Award. He also is a trustee at Olin College, chairs the board of overseers at WBUR, and serves on the board of several for-profit and non-profit companies.

The International Floriculture Expo 2017 Joint Opening General Session will take place on Wednesday, June 14, from 8:30 to 9:45 a.m. at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago. The event is open to all attendees of the International Floriculture Expo, Global Cold Chain Expo and United Fresh.

Once again, International Floriculture Expo will co-locate with United Fresh and  the Global Cold Chain Expo – all converging onto one show floor in the West Hall of the McCormick Place Convention Center – with the debut of United FreshTEC and United FreshMKT. Registration is available at www.floriexpo.com  Media are invited to attend but must pre-register by contacting, IFE Marketing and Conference Coordinator Lora Burns

International Floriculture Expo
The International Floriculture Expo is North America’s largest business-to-business trade show for the floral industry, uniting mass market retail buyers, wholesalers, florists, suppliers, media, and other industry professionals. The event is co-located with United Fresh FreshTEC and FreshMKT as well as Global Cold Chain Expo. Together the event brings more than 5000 floral, produce, and cold chain professionals under one roof. The International Floriculture Expo takes place on June 13-15, 2017 in Chicago, IL and past attendees include procurement managers from top U.S. floral retailers such as 1800Flowers, Ahold, Albertsons, FTD, Meijer, Publix, Target and Whole Foods. The annual event is produced by Diversified Communications, an international media company that produces over 100 events around the globe serving a number of industries. www.floriexpo.com

Source: International Floriculture Expo