Tim Tang
Tim Tang, Director
Hughes Network Systems
With over 25 years of professional experience developing enterprise solutions, Tim Tang offers a broad scope of technology expertise in cybersecurity, AI/ML, digital signage, SD-WAN, and more. As a director at Hughes, Tang analyzes and anticipates industry trends, engages with organizations to understand their needs, and collaborates with ecosystem partners to design solutions. He actively participates in various standards and trade organizations, such as Conexxus, RTN, NACS, and IFBTA, to help make technology more accessible.
His industry insights may be found at https://www.hughes.com/timtang.
Melvin Maddux
Melvin Maddux, Global Sourcing & Innovation
Gourmet Foods International
June 28, 1967 - October 24, 2024
Melvin was an enthusiastic and knowledgeable founding member of The Vision Group. His expertise in the production and distribution of food products, his insights on new product innovations gathered on his global travels, and his insatiable curiosity helped give life to TVG and encompassed the philosophy of the Vision Group Network, “Sharing today to shape tomorrow”. We will miss him.
Melvin Maddux worked for Gourmet Foods International (GFI) in Worldwide Global Sourcing and Innovation, for all Gourmet Product Categories. Melvin brought a worldwide perspective in terms of brand management, retail solutions, innovation, and global procurement. Melvin was an industry veteran with more than 40 years of experience, in both retail and brand management. Melvin lived on three continents and had done business in 6 of the 7 continents around world during those 40 years.
Melvin assisted in the development of proprietary brands at HEB Grocery Company in Texas, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company in New Jersey, AEON Group in Tokyo, Japan, Lotte Group in South Korea and Lianhua Supermarket Holdings Co. Ltd in Shanghai, China, while working for Daymon Worldwide. Melvin was elected as the youngest Vice President and Officer, at that time with Daymon. Melvin performed various leadership roles in developing those businesses into the successes they still appreciate today.
There are very few people that understand all aspects of the retail business, as well as the destinations around the world to procure high quality safe foods. Melvin’s life work had been studying all channels of retail trade around the world, while fostering relationships with the best manufacturers in those respected countries. Melvin had flown more than 5,000,000 miles and visited thousands of factories and most retail chains in the major markets worldwide.
At GFI, Melvin developed and launched many proprietary brands from different parts of the world to include Italy, USA, Spain, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Canada, Netherlands, Canada, Portugal Mexico, Japan, China, South Korea and France to name a few countries over the last few years with great success, with a focus on finding the best people with the best products. In his last 7 years with Gourmet Foods International Melvin set-up more than 200 new suppliers and developed and launched more than 1,800 items from around the world selling exclusively to GFI customers.
Melvin Maddux and his wife Janet were married for 31 years, with twin daughters that were born in Tokyo, Japan. Melvin and wife have lived in Japan, China, South Korea, New York, New Jersey and spent extensive time in Europe, before moving back to Central, Texas, now living in Salado. Melvin’s daughters are attending the University of Oklahoma (OU) where one daughter is a Double Major in Business and Entrepreneurship and the other as Pre-med, they are both in their Junior year at OU. Melvin enjoyed cooking international foods, spending time on the lakes and rivers in Texas, and all High School Sports.
Melvin was always visiting stores, taking photos, and consistently looking for new innovative ways in every aspect of the business from new equipment, food products, transportation efficiencies, GFI E-commerce platform from across the globe. Melvin believed there is an opportunity to learn every day and applied “first principles thinking” to everything that was done to create something new or different, never being satisfied with the status quo.
John Flood
John Flood, Managing Director
Elevate Performance
Seasoned executive, expert in organizational design, team development. Forward looking leader with a proven track record of identifying and scaling business opportunities that address shifting business and consumer desires. Understands the rigor and execution required to deliver products and services that delight each client.
Fully committed to the success of the organizations he has founded, co-founded and invested in.
Prior to retirement from corporate life, John was a Proven Executive with a track record of developing and leading teams to realize and optimize profit and growth with Fortune 500 and privately held organizations.
- Decisive senior executive with extensive business and performance development experience. Provides sound, strategic vision and planning to executives looking to improve sales, marketing and operations performance in large, complex businesses and privately held entrepreneurial ventures.
- Proven ability to inspire organizations to deliver exceptional results in operations, sales, trade spending efficiency, innovation, new product development, organizational development and profit.
- Recognized by peers and customers as a passionate leader with unquestioned integrity.
Entire working career was in the food industry, most notably as President of both the Sara Deli and Foodservice business units. Post retirement, John continues to contribute to the advancement of organizations both domestically and internationally as he supports clients seeking his experience in assessing and vetting business and investment opportunities.
Tom Bush
Tom Bush, President
Food Concepts Inc.
Tom Bush is the President of Food Concepts Inc. and is focused on building growth and continuous improvement. Tom has been a speaker at industry events and has presented research that FCI conducted to provide insight about what makes a coffee shop what it is, and the relative importance of those elements in driving sales in the convenience store marketplace.
Prior to working for FCI, he spent the bulk of his career in the food industry primarily with food manufacturers. He co-founded a startup venture marketing pre-cooked bacon to consumers nationwide. This startup was listed at #38 on INC Magazine’s list of America’s fastest-growing private companies in 1999, and later was sold to ConAgra Foods, Inc. Previously Bush worked for Oscar Mayer Foods in operations, finance and marketing roles including a brand manager role leading the test marketing and national launch of Lunchables.
Bush has a bachelor’s degree in food science, and an MBA.