Daniel O’Connor

Dan O’Connor is a recognized industry analyst thought leader, adviser, and educator working with the world’s most innovative brands, retailers, and digital platform companies.

Currently, Dan is an Executive in Residence with the Harvard Business School (HBS), Managing the Future of Work project. Prior to this, he served as a Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative Fellow in 2017.

Dan is an entrepreneur who has founded and scaled multiple businesses. Prior to his time in the HBS Managing the Future of Work project, Dan founded RetailNet Group (RNG), an advisory and insights firm that works with leading retailers and consumer brands worldwide. (RNG was sold to Ascential Insight, PLC in 2015)

Dan’s board/governance experience has extended over 20 years with companies such as Daymon Worldwide (now Bain Capital investment), publicly traded firms such as Coinstar (Redbox), DemandWare (NYSE and now Salesforce), as well Premier Retail Networks, a division of Thomson (NYSE).

Earlier in his career, Dan founded MVI/Kantar Retail, a syndicated research firm that followed the world’s largest retailers. He sold this company to WPP Group in 2001.

Troy Beeler

Troy Beeler is the co-founder and general manager of the Future Commerce Initiative (FCI). FCI educates and advises today’s senior commercial leaders in retail and consumer products organizations in the future of commerce and work. FCI’s uniqueness is it is well-grounded casework, faculty, and engaged alumni.

Before FCI, Troy was an early team member at RetailNet Group (RNG), an advisory and insights firm that works with leading retailers and consumer brands worldwide. During his time at RNG, Troy ran the Advanced Retail Strategy Program, an executive education program taught at the UCLA Anderson School of Management with over 1500 alumni from 20+ countries. (RNG sold to Ascential Insight, PLC in 2015)

Troy started his career with the Grocery Manufacturers of America (now called the Consumer Brands Association) in Washington, DC.