2024 Speakers

Michael LaMarca is the owner and CEO of Master Pizza Franchise Group, LLC in Mayfield, Ohio. Master Pizza has appeared several times in Pizza Today’s “Hot 100 Pizzerias in America,” placing as high as 69th, and LaMarca himself was featured […]

Laura Livers, Chief Revenue Officer at Intouch Insight, a Customer Experience software and services company, is a passionate business leader focused on using innovative methodologies to help brands deliver exceptional customer experiences. She believes in the power of data and […]

Shahpour Nejad is president/CEO of California-based Pizza Guys. He grew up in Iran and immigrated to the U.S. when he was 16 years old. After graduating from high school, he attended college at Cleveland State University. While earning his degree, […]

Khanh Nguyen, Zalat Pizza’s founder & CEO, came to the United States as a refugee in 1975 after the fall of Vietnam. Raised in Texas and a graduate of the University of Texas School of Law, Nguyen transitioned from over […]

Juan Gabriel Pérez, known as @JuangPizza on social media, is an award-winning pizzaiolo with over 15 years of experience in the pizza industry. Specializing in both traditional AVPN-style Neapolitan pizza and modern Neapolitan techniques, he has built a reputation for […]

Wilhelm Rodriguez Flores was born in 1976 in Puerto Rico and has since dedicated over 30 years to perfecting pizza making. He owns Papa’s Pizza in Puerto Rico, which has garnered hundreds of thousands of followers on social media. As […]

Andrew Simmons is CEO/master franchiser of Mamma Ramona’s/Pizza Roboto and one of the pizza industry’s leading disruptors. He purchased Mamma Ramona’s, located in Ramona, California, in 2020 and transformed it into a truly innovative, tech-forward concept. Over the past year, […]

Peyton Smith is the owner, operator and pizza maker of Mission Pizza Napoletana in Winston-Salem, N.C. Smith is a 2022 James Beard Award nominee as a semifinalist for Best Chef Southeast. His restaurant has been listed on the 50 Top […]

Janet Zapata is the owner/founder of 550 Pizzeria, a Laredo, Texas pizza shop honored as one of 50 Top Pizza’s Excellent Pizzerias for 2024. Zapata was also featured on PMQ’s August 2022 cover. Prior to launching 550 Pizzeria in 2020, […]