David Henkes is a Senior Principal within Technomic’s Advisory Group and is responsible for directing strategic consulting and research assignments for clients active in the food, beverage and related industries. As a senior member of the firm, his specific responsibilities include client development, engagement oversight, and industry relations. He also oversees the firm’s Beverage Practice.
Consulting/Research Experience
Since joining the firm in 1996, Dave has managed a wide variety of proprietary and multi-client engagements, both domestic and international. His range of experience is wide and includes market and strategic planning, customer satisfaction benchmarking, opportunity analyses, acquisition due diligence evaluations, new product evaluation and concept testing, usage/attitude analyses, and distribution systems analyses. He has also moderated numerous professional and consumer focus groups on food and related topics.
Dave has headed up the majority of Technomic’s global proprietary engagements and has conducted work Europe, the Middle East, Asia and South America. Before joining Technomic, Dave honed his international food experience working with Nestle Germany in Frankfurt.
Prior to his food industry work he worked as a federal investigator in Washington, DC.
Speaking Engagements/Professional Associations:
Dave is a well-known commentator on the food and beverage industry and has appeared on regularly on Bloomberg TV, Thompson Reuters, CNBC, CNN, Fox Business, MSNBC, CBS, NPR, ABC and Business First, among others. He has been cited by a wide variety of sources, including The Wall Street Journal, TheStreet.com, Time Magazine, Crain’s Chicago Business, Reuter’s and Associated Press syndicated articles, as well as industry trade magazines such as Restaurant Business, Nation’s Restaurant News, Beverage Industry Magazine, and others.
Dave has been a featured speaker at a number of high profile industry events, conferences and symposiums, including the National Restaurant Association Show and BAR Show, the Flavor Conference, the Nightclub & Bar and VIBE annual trade show/conference, the Beer Summit, Foodservice Equipment & Supplies State of the Industry seminar, Technomic’s Planning Program and Global Planning Program client meetings, and events hosted by industry associations such Chicago Foodservice Marketing Club (CFMC), International Foodservice Manufacturers Association’s (IFMA), Chicagoland Food & Beverage Network and other industry and client functions.
Dave is a member of the editorial advertising boards of Hotel F&B Magazine and is an advisory board member of the Nightclub & Bar trade show and is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Chicago Foodservice Marketing Club. He is also a past president of the University of Illinois/Chicago Business Alumni Association.
Education
Dave earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies from The American University in Washington, DC and a Masters of Business Administration degree in Marketing and International Business from the University of Illinois at Chicago.