About the Conference

This year’s keynote features the premier speaker globally for the CatMan space, Dr. Brian Harris, who will re-cap the first 20 years of category management and share his vision of the future. See more Featured Speakers

We expect the conference to reach 450 attendees.  This estimate is based on incoming calls from interested attendees and sponsors who are calling in before we can even get the agenda drafted…and just in case, we have secured facilities that will allow expansion to 600!  


There are five concurrent tracks addressing the emerging trends and pressing issues of today’s category manager.  To address the needs of both retailers and manufacturers the sessions have been arranged in ‘tracks’ so that your organization can assign the appropriate team member to special sessions, while letting everyone attend the key sessions.  The tracks accommodate the many differing definitions of roles and responsibilities which cross many departments, and address the unprecedented depth and breadth of knowledge that is expected of CatMan practitioners.

A presentation will be made by the Category Management Standards & Certification Steering Committee about the results of the work they have been doing for the last 18 months. This Steering Committee has formed to address industry guidelines for category management standards and certifications -- broadly defined to include establishment of skill areas and minimum levels of capability across relevant areas such as data analysis, space management, and shopper/consumer insights. 
Kudos to the following companies who meet monthly by webinar and contribute their expertise: Abbott Nutrition * Anheuser-Busch * Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages * Colgate-Palmolive * DePaul University * Del Monte * Gerber, Nestle Infant Nutrition * Hormel Foods * Johnson &Johnson * Johnsonville Sausage * Mars Snack Foods USA * Nestle Purina * St Joseph’s University * University of Pittsburgh, Katz Business School * Wal-Mart * Western Michigan University

Meals will include planned seating with facilitated introductions.  When you register for the conference you will be able to prioritize your preferences.  Your requests will be collated on a first-come/first-served basis and will include 3 retailers, 6 manufacturers and 1 facilitator at each table.

A special Thursday evening International Supper will follow a late afternoon discussion about international training standards on Oct 30^th.  Although the main conference sessions end earlier that afternoon, we know that international attendees will probably not be flying out until Friday. Also invited are retailers and manufacturers in the US who wish to stay over for this event, which should be a great way to form new international alliances and cement existing ones.

Additional 2008 Innovation: Continuing Education Pre-Conference Training Sessions  will be led by several different industry trainers.  CMKG will hold their two-day basic CatMan training program, which includes a certification that is being reviewed for endorsement by the CPG CatNet Standards Steering Committee.  Also offered is an exciting 4 day business simulation exercise called Storewars.  Combining conference attendance and continuing education will help you maximize your travel expenses and time away from the office, particularly for international attendees.  

With your input we look are looking forward to making the conference bigger and better every year!

See you in Atlanta Oct 28^th, 29^th, and 30^th