Ira Blumenthal is the president of CO-OPPORTUNITIES, Inc., an Atlanta-based consulting company that has counseled world-class clients such as Coca-Cola, Nestle, Walmart, BP, Speedway Super America, Kroger, Publix, United Artists, Disney, American Airlines and others in areas related to change management, branding, strategic alliances and foodservice business development. Blumenthal’s first book, Ready, Blame, Fire! Focuses on the “myths and misses” in marketing and his second book, Managing Brand You! focuses on personal branding. The recipient of the George Washington Honor Medal for Literary Excellence and numerous industry awards, Blumenthal has published over 100 magazine articles on business development. He also serves as the Executive In Residence at Georgia State University’s School of Hospitality and proudly is a co-founder and Managing Director of the NACS CAFÉ, the source for educating and inspiring convenience retailers on building effective, efficient, dynamic and profitable foodservice.