Spirit of Hospitality Summit

Kenda Resler Friend

President & Founder of KRF Public Relations “Engineering Experiences Through Stories”

Engineering Experiences Through Stories

Bio: Kenda Resler Friend has been helping organizations and people tell their stories for more than 30 years. She spent the first decade of her career working for public relations firms around the U.S., with the next 20 years being dedicated to sharing about modern agriculture as she led corporate communications and media relations for a major global agribusiness. Her third story-telling decade is underway as she founded KRF Public Relations in 2019, working with a wide variety of clients in agriculture and related industries.

Kenda holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Purdue University. She was the inaugural winner of the Purdue Alumni Association’s Outstanding Young Alumni award and later in her career was named a Purdue College of Agriculture Distinguished Alumni honoree. She is passionate about community involvement, currently serving on the boards of the Purdue Ag Alumni Association, Family Promise of Greater Indianapolis and the Washington Township Schools Foundation. A proud parent of both a Boilermaker and Buckeye, Kenda and her husband Brian, reside in Indianapolis.

You can learn more about Kenda’s story at www.krfpr.com.

Hoyt Jones

President of Jersey Mike’s Subs

Hoyt Jones is the president of Jersey Mike’s Subs, where he has played a pivotal role in the company’s rapid growth and success. With over three decades of experience in the restaurant industry, Hoyt joined Jersey Mike’s in 2007 and has overseen its expansion to thousands of locations nationwide. His leadership emphasizes a strong commitment to quality, customer service, and community involvement, which aligns with the brand’s core values. Prior to Jersey Mike’s, Hoyt held leadership roles at top food service companies, bringing extensive industry knowledge and operational expertise to his role.

Jeff Long

Chief Commercial Enablement Officer of Molson Coors Beverage Company “The Future Impact of Technology and AI on Sales and Marketing in CPG Companies”

The Future Impact of Technology and AI on Sales and Marketing in CPG Companies

Bio: In November 2023, Molson Coors Beverage Company announced the creation of the AmCom Commercial Accelerator led by Jeff Long as Chief Commercial Enablement Officer. This team supports the entire Molson Coors AmCom organization, centralizing the core capabilities of insights, analytics, category management, media and digital management and revenue management. Most recently, Jeff served as chief customer officer for Molson Coors, responsible for leading the national account and regional chain sales teams. Prior to this role, Jeff was the chief commercial solutions officer, responsible for channel solutions, local marketing, category management, local/shopper insights, eCommerce, and commercial operations. Jeff has deep beer consumer and customer experience having spent 10 years in various supplier and brewer roles in insights and analytics, channel solutions, and field marketing.