Dr. Ben Gilad, president of The Academy of Competitive Intelligence is considered a leading developer of competitive intelligence theory and practice in the US, is a former Associate Professor of Strategy at Rutgers University’s School of Management. Gilad’s first CI books, The Business Intelligence System (1988, AMACOM, co-authored) and Business Blindspots (1994, US: Probus/Irwin; 1998, UK: Infonortics, e-edition, 2012, ACI, Inc.), paved the way for the CI evolution in US corporations, many of which emulated the basic principles of Gilad’s CI process model. He is the co-editor of the definitive analysis book, The Art and Science of Business Intelligence Analysis (1996, JAI Press), author of Early Warning (Amacom, 2004), and Business War Games (Career press, 2009).

CI Magazine labeled Ben “our CI guru”. The Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals honored him with its highest Meritorious award in 1996. Awarded CI Fellow in 1991.

Dr. Gilad has been the creator of a unique war game methodology and lists many Fortune 500 companies as his consulting clients, including such global market leaders as Shell, AstraZeneca, Sun, IBM, Dupont, Kellogg, Intel, BestFood, 3Com, Ericsson, Procter & Gamble, Johnson and Johnson, SAS, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, SBC, and Cadbury Schweppes, Pratt & Whitney, Nestle, ExxonMobil, Novartis and Roche. Business Week chose Gilad to teach its executives about CI and Fortune Magazine chose him to lead its CEO skills sessions on the subject. The American Management Association chose him to lecture to its Presidents’ division. His articles on CI appeared in all the major business journals, including Sloan Management Review, Business Horizons, Competitive Intelligence Magazine, CFO Magazine, The Pharmaceutical Executive, and The Conference Board. His article, “Strategy without intelligence, intelligence without strategy” (Business Strategy Series, vol. 12, issue 1, 2011), won an Excellence Award in 2012.

Dr. Gilad founded the Academy of Competitive Intelligence in 1996. In 1999, he co-founded the Fuld-Gilad-Herring Academy of Competitive Intelligence together with Fuld + Co.

For over 17 years Ben was consistently rated as one of the best teachers at Rutgers’ undergraduate management program. His love of teaching makes his CI seminars an experience no one ever forgets.

Dr. Helen Rothberg is a Professor of Strategic Management in the School of Management at Marist College, and senior faculty in the Academy of Competitive Intelligence. She holds a PhD and M.Phil from The City University Graduate Center, MBA from Baruch College, and a BA from Queens College. She is the 2011 recipient of the Board of Trustee’s Distinguished Teaching Award. Was named a Fellow of the Strategic and Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP) in 2018.

With Scott Erickson, she published From Knowledge to Intelligence: Creating Competitive Advantage in the Next Economy: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, in 2005, and Intelligence in Action: Strategically Managing Knowledge Assets: Palgrave McMillan in 2012. Other publications include Competitive Intelligence Review, Competitive Intelligence Magazine, Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management, International Journal of Learning and Intellectual Capital, International Journal of Knowledge Management, Money Magazine.

Helen’s research interests include shadow and intelligence teams, and the intersection between competitive intelligence and knowledge management. She is the principal consultant for HNR Associates, a network of knowledge focusing on strategic change, competitive intelligence and knowledge management challenges.

Her book “The Perfect Mix: Everything I Know About Leadership I Learned as a Bartender”: Simon & Schuster now available.

Heather Hallenbeck serves as the Executive in Residence and Director of Experiential Learning in the School of Management at Marist College, where she brings hands-on learning experiences to the business curriculum and new student-run businesses.

Heather’s career in high-tech and consumer electronics includes leadership roles at Kodak, Bose, and Genesys, marked by strategic initiatives that have launched disruptive product categories and established new businesses. She has demonstrated the ability to navigate and lead in evolving markets through her diverse global journey.

At Genesys, Heather centralized the competitive intelligence function, delivering strategic actionable insights that positioned the company as an industry leader in the fast-paced experience as a service software cloud industry.

At Bose, she established and managed the Global Insights team, transforming it into an internal consulting group that significantly reduced market uncertainty. Heather developed competitive intelligence capabilities and conducted structured analytic modeling to provide decision-relevant insights. Her strategic planning and scenario analysis supported business direction changes and innovative growth, contributing to Bose’s successful diversification.

During her tenure at Kodak, Heather led product portfolio management for disruptive inkjet printing and digital camera products. She conducted competitive market analysis, developing strategic plans for new product introductions and market positioning. Her efforts drove strategic competitive advantage, making a significant impact on the company’s digital growth.

Heather holds an MBA in Marketing, Competitive, and Organizational Strategy from the University of Rochester, a BS in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University, and is a Master of Competitive Intelligence (ACI) alumna. Her areas of focus include Business Strategy, Strategic Planning, Competitive Intelligence, Market & Consumer Insights, and Team Building. Heather’s ability to synthesize complex insights into actionable business initiatives has made her a respected leader in competitive intelligence, known for fostering collaboration and innovation across organizations.

Competitive Analysis Manager, has worked for a decade in competitive intelligence at Caterpillar as manager of the Business Resource Center, which offers information services and resources to the global Caterpillar enterprise, providing research about competitors, business concepts and practices, industries, and markets.  During her tenure in Competitive Intelligence, she has increased research staff and services by 200%, leading a team of information professionals that delivers relevant insights in support of Caterpillar’s business strategies and fosters individual employee development.  Melissa is passionate about creating high efficiency in the knowledge value chain through enterprise resource sharing, knowledge management initiatives, and building strong relationships with key stakeholders.

Her organization reports up through Corporate Strategy and Financial Planning & Analysis, influencing decision makers at both the executive and strategic business level.  Melissa has a demonstrated track record in research, knowledge management, and information dissemination.   She is an enthusiastic influencer whose subject matter expertise and strong communication skills have helped her lead her function to constantly innovate and reach beyond the boundaries of traditional job roles.  She is highly skilled at connecting with and motivating individuals throughout the entire firm, dreaming up strategic visions for her organization, and executing possibilities into concrete results.

She graduated in 2003 with her MLIS from the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois Urbana/Champaign.  Melissa has been a member of the Conference Board Information Research and Management Council since 2012, actively works with the University of Illinois iSchool Corporate Roundtable, and serves as a mentor for both employees and outside organizations seeking guidance with communication skills.  Melissa also leads large workplace and community events for the American Cancer Society and United Way, winning an ACS team excellence awards for her service work for the past several years. Melissa is also an ACI alumna.

With an engineering background, he is a fan of efficiency and proactivity. His experience leading and building geographically distributed CI functions include strategic and tactical decision making support for very technical engineering and product decision makers, CXO leaders, and Sales leaders. He is also a frequent guest speaker in Competitive Intelligence conferences including SCIP, CiMi, and CI+S. He is also an ACI alum.

He lives in South Florida with his wife and four children and you can find him trying to apply a competitive strategy framework to the under 6 year old division of youth soccer by coaching in his city league.

Meg Suritz is the Associate Director of Competitive Intelligence and Strategic Insight at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) – an NCI Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center with a 135+ year history of delivering top quality research and clinical care. Meg built the CI capability at MSK – developing a library of institutional resources including competitor assessments, market analyses, trends research, and future scenarios, all available through an internal platform with multimedia resources. She is skilled in delivering insights via discussions with key stakeholders, blogs and other written reports, podcasts, videos, and live events.

Her team reports up through Strategy and Innovation, allowing for clear connection of insights to strategic decision making. Meg has also developed a network of CI collaborators throughout the organization bringing together subject matter experts from Marketing, Legislative Affairs, Digital Health, Patient Access, Patient Experience, Operations, Provider Partnerships, Community and Physician Liaisons, Clinical Care, and Research to engage diverse perspectives in the understanding of the healthcare ecosystem.

Meg has an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business and an undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She is also an ACI alumna. In addition to her work in CI at MSK, Meg is an Adjunct Professor of Management Communication at NYU Stern where she is able to fulfill her passion for coaching and developing communication skills in early career professionals.

Jay Nakagawa has been the Director of Competitive Intelligence for Dell Technologies for over 10 years and has developed successful competitive strategies for over 25 years as a product manager. Jay is a keynote speaker at industry and analyst events around the globe. Having held positions in sales, business development, marketing, and product management, domestically and abroad, he is well versed in insights across multi-disciplinary functions. Jay has worked for enterprise companies, high-growth, and startups in his career and is the former Chairman of the Strategic and Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP) association. Jay holds a B.S. in Information Systems from the University of Colorado Boulder and a M.B.A. in International Business from Regis University. Jay is also an ACI CIP-III Elite level alum.

As President and Co-founder of Proactive Worldwide, Inc., David Kalinowski leads the organization in developing and implementing global strategies and tactics to deliver world-class competitive intelligence research, analysis, training, and consulting services.

In 1995, David co-founded Proactive Worldwide, Inc., a leading specialty market research firm that concentrates heavily on competitive analysis, after spending the prior 5 years with a smaller, boutique consulting firm. In 2024, Proactive Worldwide earned a Gold Stevie Award® with its CI Blueprint® course in the Career and Workforce Readiness Solution category and a Global 100 Award from EMG Publishing as the Best Research & Consulting Firm.

A 34-year Competitive Intelligence (CI) veteran, David is a sought-after, dynamic keynote speaker known for his skills in helping clients recognize and transcend their business and competitive challenges. He has directed over 1,000 global research and consulting engagements for over 200 Fortune 1000 companies to help them gain and maintain a competitive edge covering industries such as Financial Services, Technology, Consumer & Industrial Goods, and Healthcare & Life Sciences.

David received a Business Titan Award in 2023 in Excellence and was inducted as a CI Fellow in the Council of Competitive Intelligence Fellows in 2022. He has deep experience in Competitive Strategy, Benchmarking, Market Entry and Defense, War Gaming, Early Warning, Intelligence Transformation, Counterintelligence, and CI Leadership Training.

David has trained over 3,000 CI practitioners from over 25 countries: US, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Brazil, England, Ireland, Czech Republic, Croatia, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, India, Thailand, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Egypt and more. He has co-written two, bestselling books: New Directions: A Competitive Intelligence Tale (2011) and The CI-Driven CEO (2022). David holds a BS in Political Science/Public Law from Northern Illinois University.