2026 Speakers

Join distribution leaders August 12, 2026, to discover how AI is already creating market leaders and leaving others behind.

Conference Hosts

Ian Heller

Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer / Distribution STrategy Group

Ian Heller has more than 30 years of experience executing marketing and e-business strategy in the wholesale distribution industry. He has written and spoken extensively on the impact of digital disruption on distributors.

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Ian entered the distribution industry as a truck unloader at a Grainger branch while in college. He eventually became Vice President of Marketing there and has since held senior executive roles at GE Capital, Corporate Express, Newark Electronics and HD Supply. Ian most recently served as President and COO for Modern Distribution Management, a specialized information and analytics firm serving the wholesale distribution industry.

Ian earned a BA in History from Roosevelt University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, where he was elected commencement speaker by his classmates and won the Dean’s Distinguished Service Award.

Jonathan Bein, Ph.D.

Co-Founder & Managing Partner / Distribution Strategy Group

Jonathan Bein Ph.D. has worked with over 100 distributors to apply advanced analytics and AI to improve customer experience, define value proposition, estimate sales potential and create digital strategy.

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Before Distribution Strategy Group, Bein has successfully led and been part of executive management for software product and services companies in information technology, healthcare and communications. Bein has been CEO of several companies including:

  • SkyeTek — grew revenues and valuation four-fold of RFID manufacturer in seven months.
  • IGS, Inc. — delivered software solutions for companies such as AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, and Lucent.
  • Bolder Heuristics, Inc. — achieved Inc 500 ranking with software services for telecommunications, healthcare, and IT.

As CTO at Informed Access, a provider of phone-based healthcare triage, he drove development of core products and services and the company was subsequently sold for $300 million. At Martin Marietta, he applied artificial intelligence to perform automatic real-time fault handling of spacecraft hardware.

Bein earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science at the University of Colorado with a focus in Artificial Intelligence and a BA in Computer Science at Indiana University.

Keynote Speakers

Jonathan Bein, Ph.D.

Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer / Distribution STrategy Group

Opening Keynote:

Overview of AI in distribution

Jeff Crume

Jeff Crume, PhD, CISSP, IBM Distinguished Engineer, Master Inventor, Cybersecurity Architect/IBM

Jeff Crume is an IBM Distinguished Engineer and Master Inventor with more than 40 years’ experience in the IT industry.

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He has a PhD in Cybersecurity and serves as an Adjunct Professor at NC State University. Jeff’s YouTube videos have been viewed more than 25 million times and he is the author of a book entitled “Inside Internet Security: What Hackers Don’t Want You To Know” as well as a contributing author to the “Information Security Management Handbook.”

He is a member of the inaugural class of the NC State University Computer Science Alumni Hall of Fame and serves on the editorial board for the “Information and Computer Security” research journal. Jeff lived in Beijing on assignment in 2006 and has worked with clients in 50 countries. 

Brian Hopkins

Chief Operations Officer / Distribution strategy group

Brian Hopkins is recognized for his expertise in customer service and operational efficiency within the industrial distribution sector. His career trajectory showcases a series of impactful leadership roles, marked by innovation and strategic growth. 

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Notably, at W.W. Grainger (2002-2011), Brian significantly enhanced call center operations, and deployed the Grainger strategy by leading an operational staff of 7 direct reports and more than 800 employees in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa Call Centers. His tenure as District Branch Operations Manager and Branch Manager demonstrated his proficiency in managing large-scale operations, overseeing 18 branches with $200 million in revenue, and effectively running a $25 million branch operation. 

Subsequent roles include driving operational and customer service transformation at HD Supply Power Solutions (2011-2015), leading customer experience innovations at Hisco (2015-2020), and enhancing multi-site customer service strategies at Redi Carpet (2020-2022) and AZP Multifamily (2022-2023). 

Brian Hopkins’ career is a reflection of his unwavering dedication to customer service excellence and operational efficiency in industrial distribution. His tenure, especially at W.W. Grainger, has had a lasting impact, showcasing his capacity to innovate and lead in complex, multi-site operational environments. His academic background, including an MBA and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management, complements his extensive practical experience. 

 Brian has consistently demonstrated his ability to lead, innovate, and drive sustainable growth across various operational landscapes. 

Distribution Leader Speakers

Abhi Singh

president & ceo /

ProContractor Supply

Abhi Singh leads one of the nation’s premier distributors of construction products, serving general contractors and subcontractors throughout the United States and internationally.

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His leadership is centered on accelerating growth, strengthening customer partnerships, and building a culture of accountability, innovation, and operational excellence.

With more than 26 years of executive experience in specialty distribution, manufacturing, and construction supply, Singh has consistently transformed organizations into higher-performing businesses. He is known for aligning people, strategy, and execution to deliver sustainable growth while developing strong leadership teams and creating exceptional customer experiences.

Before joining ProContractor Supply, Singh was CEO of LMS Strategies, where he advised business owners and executive teams on strategic growth, mergers and acquisitions, organizational development, and revenue optimization. His extensive leadership background also includes executive positions with New South Construction Supply, Mid-Am Building Supply, Harvey Commercial Solutions, A.H. Harris & Sons, and White Cap, where he successfully led large-scale operational and commercial initiatives across multiple markets.

Singh earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Kent State University and completed executive education in Mergers & Acquisitions at Columbia University. Throughout his career, he has remained committed to helping organizations reach their full potential by investing in people, embracing innovation, and delivering long-term value for customers, employees, and industry partners.

Sean McCloskey

VP – Agile & Digital Products / Wesco International

Sean leads the strategy and development of 30 digital products that are part of Wesco’s digital operating platform. He brings over 25 years of experience in technology leadership, product development, and sales and marketing to this role.

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Before joining Wesco, he founded and served as CEO of ecoInsight, Inc., which he built into one of the leading software solutions supporting lighting retrofit companies throughout North America and Europe, culminating in ecoInsight’s acquisition by Wesco in 2018.

Earlier in his career, Sean founded Visiprise, Inc., a manufacturing execution and quality control software company he grew into a $70M+ revenue business serving customers such as Boeing, Raytheon, and Rolls Royce, before its acquisition by SAP in 2008. Following the acquisition, he served as Senior Vice President of Digital Manufacturing at SAP, shaping PLM strategy across the company’s manufacturing product portfolio. Sean holds a JD, Magna Cum Laude, from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a BA in Economics, Summa Cum Laude, from Boston College, and began his career as a corporate attorney focused on private equity and M&A for technology companies.

Technology Leader Speakers

John Murcott

EVP Product & Strategy / Hawksearch

John Murcott is an entrepreneurial leader with nearly 20 years of experience in sales engineering, product management, and professional services, specializing in automation, integration, and enterprise SaaS.

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As EVP of Products and Strategy at Bridgeline, he drives strategic growth by helping customers increase revenue through intelligent search, personalization, and SEO optimization, while supporting sales with clear product vision and results-driven execution.

Jack Carrere

Co-founder and CEO / Prokeep

Prokeep empowers counter and inside sales teams to take more orders while enabling marketing and branch teams to drive more proactive sales.

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With over $11 billion in orders facilitated across 8,500+ distributor locations, Prokeep helps teams serve customers faster, grow wallet share, and centralize customer data to deepen relationships and unlock revenue. Jack and his team raised over $35 million in capital and built a fast-growing, high-performing organization that’s reshaping how distributors and dealers grow market share. Trusted by industry leaders like ABC Supply, Ferguson, and Winsupply, Prokeep is proving that distributor-first technology delivers real results.

Jack studied Mechanical Engineering at Brown University and spent a decade in consulting before launching Prokeep. The idea was born while renovating his home, where he watched contractors struggle to place orders efficiently, a problem now solved at scale by over 40,000 Prokeep users interacting with over 3 million contractors, technicians, mechanics, and other field workers across North America.

Based in New Orleans, Jack lives with his wife and two children. When he’s not at Prokeep, you’ll find him on a bike, a golf course, or giving back to the local startups by mentoring founders. He co-founded the Gulf South Angels to support the next generation of local entrepreneurs.

Ben Dwyer

Head of Forward Deployed Engineering / Proton.ai

Proton.ai is the industry cloud for distribution. Ben Dwyer spends his weeks inside distributors’ businesses leading the team that turns AI into a workforce. His team’s work is why Proton customers get software that feels built just for them, at the price of software built for everyone.

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Before Proton, Ben advised aerospace and defense companies on operational strategy and technology transformation at Boston Consulting Group. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from MIT, where he focused on AI and machine learning, and speaks regularly on applied AI in distribution.

John Greely

Head of Marketing / Navu

John leads marketing and agency partnerships at Navu, an AI chat sidebar that acts as an always-on subject matter expert for visitors navigating complex questions on a website. With a background in digital media and technology, he’s focused on understanding what makes a visitor trust a site, ask a question, or bounce, and turning those insights into action.

Jeff Metersky

SVP, Strategy and Innovation, GAINS

With over 39 years of experience in applying advanced analytics to improve supply chain performance, I am a passionate and seasoned leader in the field of supply chain design and optimization. I have helped hundreds of organizations across various industries and geographies adopt and implement supply chain design and planning principles and technologies, delivering value and impact on their bottom line and competitive edge.

Ajay Kamble

CEO & Cofounder / Revalgo

With over 20 years of experience in leading digital transformation and innovation in the B2B industry, I am the CEO and Co-Founder of Revalgo, a revolutionary platform that boosts sales efficiency and eCommerce adoption using generative AI. 

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Revalgo empowers distributors and manufacturers to automate complex sales orders, source non-stocks without human intervention, and create highly enriched product content that drives customer engagement and loyalty. Our solution mimics the order-building process of a salesperson, not just a document converter, and provides a true omnichannel experience across web, email, phone, and chat. We help our clients achieve over 80% improvement in sales productivity, customer satisfaction, and revenue growth.

Georgia Tech Conference Center

Atlanta, GA