Steve Markenson leads FMI’s research & insights practice. Markenson is a market research executive with 30 years of progressive experience in his field – from research assistant to president of a full-service national market research firm – and his diverse experience includes research design, information/data collection and analysis and strategic planning.

In his role at FMI, Markenson oversees the research & insights practice at FMI, specifically the study design, survey fielding and efforts with outside knowledge partners and FMI subject matter experts. He leads the discovery process on the latest industry trends and operational insights that champion FMI as a credible voice of the food retail industry. 

Tom Duffy is a senior advisor to FMI for building the nonfoods community and growth initiative as part of the FMI vision for total store collaboration. In this role, Tom enhances trading partner collaboration to address challenges, opportunity gaps and innovations designed to drive profitable growth in General Merchandise, Household, and HBC categories and to better serve consumers. 

As former vice president of member development at GMDC/Retail Tomorrow, and prior roles with Acosta and Nielsen, Tom brings a depth of relevant programming and growth opportunities to the FMI initiative. Tom is based in southern New Jersey and enjoys spending time with family, golfing, surf fishing and rooting for the Philadelphia sports teams. 

Doug Baker is a food retail industry relations vice president for  FMI - The Food Industry, where he facilitates professional, non-competitive collaboration among member communities across private brands and technology issue areas. In addition to his oversight of the private brands council and their efficiency-driven initiatives to encourage brand owner innovation, Doug also leads FMI’s CIO Technology Board efforts related to omnichannel commerce facilitating benchmarking, research studies, and other collaborative projects that enable the path to modern retailing. Prior to FMI, Doug began his career in the food retail industry in 1984 as a bagger with Fry’s Food Stores. His 30+ years in grocery retail have included leadership roles at Fry’s, Kraft/Nabisco and Federated Group. Baker holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing, and throughout his career, he has focused on retail operations, consumer packaged goods manufacturing and private brand development and marketing. 

Steve Markenson leads FMI’s research & insights practice. Markenson is a market research executive with 30 years of progressive experience in his field – from research assistant to president of a full-service national market research firm – and his diverse experience includes research design, information/data collection and analysis and strategic planning.

In his role at FMI, Markenson oversees the research & insights practice at FMI, specifically the study design, survey fielding and efforts with outside knowledge partners and FMI subject matter experts. He leads the discovery process on the latest industry trends and operational insights that champion FMI as a credible voice of the food retail industry. 

Kymberly Graham is VP, Global Marketing- Thought Leadership & Content at NielsenIQ where she implements omnichannel activation strategies to achieve business goals and ensures engagements are relevant to a rapidly diversifying audience. A key member of the leadership team, Kymberly leads insights-driven solutions, partnerships and programs while exhibiting a solid understanding of the multicultural consumer’s economic impact, evolving macro trends and global implications of societal shifts. She is passionate about diversity as a driver of business growth and values an inclusive culture, particularly in the CPG industry where she has almost 15 years of experience. As a Georgia native, Kymberly attended the University of Georgia for undergrad and Mercer University for her MBA. 

Steve Markenson leads FMI’s research & insights practice. Markenson is a market research executive with 30 years of progressive experience in his field – from research assistant to president of a full-service national market research firm – and his diverse experience includes research design, information/data collection and analysis and strategic planning.

In his role at FMI, Markenson oversees the research & insights practice at FMI, specifically the study design, survey fielding and efforts with outside knowledge partners and FMI subject matter experts. He leads the discovery process on the latest industry trends and operational insights that champion FMI as a credible voice of the food retail industry. 

Kymberly Graham is VP, Global Marketing- Thought Leadership & Content at NielsenIQ where she implements omnichannel activation strategies to achieve business goals and ensures engagements are relevant to a rapidly diversifying audience. A key member of the leadership team, Kymberly leads insights-driven solutions, partnerships and programs while exhibiting a solid understanding of the multicultural consumer’s economic impact, evolving macro trends and global implications of societal shifts. She is passionate about diversity as a driver of business growth and values an inclusive culture, particularly in the CPG industry where she has almost 15 years of experience. As a Georgia native, Kymberly attended the University of Georgia for undergrad and Mercer University for her MBA. 

Lori is an accomplished researcher with 25+ years of expertise in uncovering the deeper narratives behind human behavior.  Currently serving as the Shopper Insights Manager at The Clorox Company, Lori is an advocate for helping Grocery retailers connect with Shoppers seeking convenient access to all products needed for everyday living.   Prior to Clorox, she worked at Procter & Gamble for 24 years in Consumer & Market Knowledge in multiple roles from front-end innovation to Customer support. 

Bringing extensive experience in survey and longitudinal panel research, Daniel Joyner has studied consumers’ shopping and purchasing behaviors since joining Circana in 2004. His research is anchored in the fundamental truth of consumer behavior: loyalty is fleeting, and brands must constantly innovate to stay relevant. Passionate about transforming the way brands think about their customers, Daniel’s insights equip brands to adapt, innovate, and thrive in today’s competitive omnichannel marketplace by embracing consumer-first strategies. 

Over 30 years of grocery retail sales and CPG experience has given Scott a perspective on both sides of the buying desk. Scott has worked at Hormel Foods and Coca-Cola and now leads the Core Customer Analytics team at the Clorox Company. Listening to understand for the mutual win has been at the forefront of his success. Understanding people and data has given him the ability to “humanize” data through story telling. 

Tom Duffy is a senior advisor to FMI for building the nonfoods community and growth initiative as part of the FMI vision for total store collaboration. In this role, Tom enhances trading partner collaboration to address challenges, opportunity gaps and innovations designed to drive profitable growth in General Merchandise, Household, and HBC categories and to better serve consumers. 

As former vice president of member development at GMDC/Retail Tomorrow, and prior roles with Acosta and Nielsen, Tom brings a depth of relevant programming and growth opportunities to the FMI initiative. Tom is based in southern New Jersey and enjoys spending time with family, golfing, surf fishing and rooting for the Philadelphia sports teams. 

JIM ELLIS is a 35-year veteran of politics at the state and national levels. Jim began his career with the San Diego County Republican Party, and then served as an original staff member for then-Congressman Bill Lowery (R-CA). He specialized in corporate grass roots lobbying, campaign management and coalition building as President of the Ramhurst Corporation of North Carolina and as a manager of the Public Issues Department of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in Winston-Salem, NC. 

 Jim’s positions as executive director for two national political action committees built well-recognized skills in advising, strategizing for, and evaluating campaigns. His close-up role as a leading political consultant to the Republican majority leadership of the House of Representatives resulted in a strong reputation for calling races correctly. Jim’s loyal following included political action committee directors, who today are clients gleaning key information and keen insight from his daily columns and other special request reports. Among other projects, he researches and writes on elections, candidates, and races for additional clients that include corporations and trade associations such as NACS, Walmart, Exelon, and UPS. 

Over the years, Ellis has been a consultant to the three national Republican Party organizations in DC, the National Federation of Independent Business, and various national conservative groups. A natural and articulate speaker, he is sought after across the country for keynote speeches to national association meetings, university audiences, PAC member gatherings, and corporate client seminars. During his career, he has addressed numerous campaign schools, congressional orientation sessions, and media training seminars throughout the US, in addition to an international trade conference in Mexico City. Jim has appeared as a political debate participant for WUSA-TV, the CBS affiliate in Washington, DC, as a guest columnist for the Washington Times newspaper, and Glenn Beck’s The Blaze news site. He has appeared on the new CCTV network, which broadcasts worldwide, CNN International, Rai Italia, the Italian international network, and the Jim Bohannon national radio show, as well as many local programs around the country. 

Jim Ellis was born and raised in Sacramento, California. He earned a B. A. in Political Science from the University of California at Davis in 1979. Jim raised his daughter, Jacqueline, alone after his wife died following a tragic car accident. He helped establish the Joan Ellis Victims Assistance Network in Rochester, NH. Jim also is a member of the Northern Virginia Football Officials Association, which officiates high school games throughout the region.