Schedule & Agenda
Review the full conference agenda, including workshops, general sessions, breakout discussions, and networking events.
Retail's Premier Asset Protection Conference
Where asset protection leaders come together to address the industry's most critical challenges & drive real impact.
Built by and for retail asset protection professionals, the conference brings together leaders on the front lines of organized retail crime, fraud prevention, and safety. Developed in collaboration with an advisory board of industry experts and hosted by RILA, this is where retailers unite to share strategies, explore new technologies, and strengthen the future of the industry.
From senior leaders to rising talent, the Retail Asset Protection Conference connects the full asset protection community to collaborate, learn, and lead—together.
At a Glance
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Asset Protection Professionals
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Speakers & Industry Experts
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Solution Providers
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Sessions, Workshops & Discussions
Our Speakers
Past Featured Speakers
Jennifer Thomason
Head of Stores Protection
Jen Thomason is Vice President of Stores Protection at Gap Inc., where she leads the field/stores AP strategy across Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta globally. She is responsible for safeguarding people, products, and experiences while advancing modern, risk-based protection strategies across a complex, multi-brand footprint.
With more than two decades of experience, Jen brings deep expertise in retail Asset Protection, operational risk, and executive leadership. Prior to Gap Inc., she held senior leadership roles at Nike, including Global Senior Director of Loss Prevention and Risk Operations, and previously served in Asset Protection and risk leadership roles at Dollar General and EZCORP. Her background also includes law enforcement and consulting. Jen is known for building and scaling industry-leading AP capabilities and high-performing
teams in complex environments. A strong advocate for talent development and inclusive leadership, she aligns AP strategy with business priorities, and future-focused innovation. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from the University of North Alabama.
Monday April 20, 2026
8:45 AM - 9:15 AM
| The Reality of Risk: What’s True in Retail Now
Sharjeel (Serge) Ahmad
Global Head of Asset Protection, Safety and Security Operations
Sharjeel (Serge) Ahmad, serves as the Head of Global Asset Protection, Safety, and Security Operations at Wayfair, where he leads enterprise strategies focused on protecting people, assets, and brand integrity across retail and corporate environments. He is recognized for elevating asset protection into a strategic business function, building high-performing teams, and driving disciplined risk management through strong cross-functional alignment. Serge is regarded as a forward-thinking industry leader who brings clarity, discipline, and strategic insight to complex, high-growth environments.
Tuesday April 21, 2026
3:50 PM - 4:25 PM
| Ground Truth in Action
Karen Osorio
Head of Security and Compliance
Tuesday April 21, 2026
3:50 PM - 4:25 PM
| Ground Truth in Action
Milford H. Beagle, Jr.
Lieutenant General (Retired)
Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General with 35 years of public service. Led modernization, education, and leader development initiatives that transformed organizations and influenced more than 1 million people worldwide. Proven track record in strategic planning, institutional reform, and crisis leadership reflects a career defined by impact and excellence
Tuesday April 21, 2026
8:30 AM - 9:10 AM
| Clarity Under Pressure
Raymond Evers
Police Inspector
Monday April 20, 2026
3:15 PM - 3:45 PM
| Philadelphia: A Proving Ground for Retail Crime Reform
Dan Petrousek
Senior Vice President, Asset Protection
Appointed as Senior Vice President of Loss Prevention at Ulta Beauty in January 2025, Dan brings more than 23 years of dedicated service and leadership within the organization. His career reflects a steady ascent through key roles in both loss prevention and human resources, positioning him as a versatile and forward-thinking executive.
Prior to his current role, Dan served as Vice President of People Success, where he led talent and organizational development strategies for Ulta Beauty’s national Supply Chain Network, encompassing seven distribution centers across the United States. He began his journey with the company as a Regional Loss Prevention Manager and progressed through critical leadership positions, including Manager of Loss Prevention Security Systems and Technology, Senior Human Resources Manager, and Director of Human Resources for both retail stores and distribution operations.
Dan is widely recognized for his innovative mindset, cross-functional leadership, and unwavering commitment to continuous improvement. His ability to navigate and lead through change has driven impactful transformation across a range of business functions.
In 2026, Dan led the evolution of Ulta Beauty’s Loss Prevention function into Asset Protection, strengthening enterprise partnership and positioning the team to support continued growth and international expansion.
As SVP of Asset Protection, Dan is focused on delivering comprehensive enterprise security risk management through the strategic integration of technology, process innovation, risk intelligence, and operational optimization to drive profitability. His leadership philosophy centers on people empowerment, team performance, and stakeholder engagement – ensuring Ulta Beauty’s asset protection efforts are as dynamic and future-ready as the company itself.
Monday April 20, 2026
11:30 AM - 12:15 PM
| Protecting Profit Upstream: Game-Changing Strategy for Early Loss Prevention
Gregg Smith
Vice President Asset Protection
Gregg Smith is a veteran Asset Protection and Safety leader with over 25 years of experience driving profit protection strategies for top retail brands. As Vice President of Asset Protection at Five Below, he oversees safety and shrink initiatives across 1,800+ stores nationwide.
Gregg’s career includes senior roles at The Children’s Place, Donna Karan/DKNY, Bloomingdale’s, and The Home Depot. He holds a bachelor’s in Criminology Pre-Law from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and is pursuing his MBA at LSU.
He is LPC and CFI-certified and actively contributes to the industry as a member of RILA’s Asset Protection Leaders Council, the Loss Prevention Foundation, and the Loss Prevention Research Council.
Monday April 28, 2025
8:45 AM - 9:15 AM
| Retail Leadership in Asset Protection
Kimberly Esack
Assistant District Attorney, Supervisor Economic Crimes Division
Graduated from LaSalle University in 1994 and The Dickinson School of Law in 1997. Worked as an Insurance Defense Civil Attorney at Wilbraham, Lawler and Buba from 1998 to 2000, and then Hecker, Brown, Sherry and Johnson from 2000 to 2001. In 2001, left Civil Defense Law to become a Prosecutor at the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office working in the Major Trials Unit for 2 years. In 2003, moved back to Philadelphia and joined the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office working in the Municipal Court, Pre-Trial, Juvenile, Felony Waivers, Majors, and Economic and Cyber Crime Units, as well as being briefly assigned as acting Director of the IT Department. Currently assigned as the Supervisor of the Economic Crimes Division, which is comprised of the Financial Crimes Unit, the Insurance Fraud Unit, the Elder Justice Unit, the Unemployment Compensation/Welfare Fraud Unit, the Labor Crimes Enforcement Unit, the Organized Retail Theft and Deed Theft Task Force, the Carjacking Enforcement Unit, the Auto Theft Unit and the Cleaner Greener Enforcement Unit. Member of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Fraudulent Conveyance Task Force, Philadelphia Consumer Financial Protection Advisory Group, PA Auto Crimes Investigators Association, Delaware Valley International Association of Special Investigation Units, International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators, and the Delaware Valley Financial Security Officers Group. Participant in our local Organized Retail Theft Task force with the Philadelphia Police Department as well as the newly formed collaboration between NDAA/RILA on Organized Retail Theft and a member of that Retail Theft Criminal Advisory Board.
Monday April 20, 2026
11:30 AM - 12:15 PM
| Inside the Prosecutor’s Playbook: Getting ORC Cases Adopted
Meredith Plaxco
Asset Protection Leaders Council Chair, RILA; VP Global Asset Protection and Safety
Meredith Plaxco is the Vice President of Global Asset Protection and Safety at PetSmart. She serves as Chair of RILA’s Asset Protection Leaders Council and is on the boards of the Loss Prevention Foundation and One Community Arizona and supports the AP program at the University of South Carolina College of Retailing. With over 24 years at PetSmart, her experience spans various leadership roles, including operations, corporate PR/communications, finance and enterprise asset protection and safety. Her education and experience outside of PetSmart includes a background in finance and communications, veterinary M&A and operations, mass and specialty retail, and she maintains her Loss Prevention Certification (LPC) from the Loss Prevention Foundation.
Monday April 20, 2026
8:45 AM - 9:15 AM
| The Reality of Risk: What’s True in Retail Now
Brian Friedman
Divisional VP, Asset Management & Risk Protection
Brian Friedman is a seasoned retail security executive and the Divisional Vice President of Asset Protection & Risk Management at REI Co-op. With a career spanning frontline operations to enterprise risk strategy, Brian brings a pragmatic and forward-thinking lens to loss prevention, blending traditional methods with emerging technologies. He’s passionate about bridging the gap between innovation and execution—especially when it comes to leveraging technology and data to keep retail environments safe, welcoming, and resilient.
Tuesday April 21, 2026
9:10 AM - 9:45 AM
| The New Network Effect in Retail Crime: Community + Practical AI
Walter Palmer
Senior Advisor
Walter is an industry insider and advocate with over 40 years of experience in asset protection, operations, inventory control, and strategic consulting. He works with top retailers, academics, asset protection practitioners, and industry associations in the US and around the world to advance our profession, examine key trends and issues, and support their key goals and objectives. He is a co-founder of LP Magazine, has been an invited speaker at more than 120 conferences around the globe, and has authored over 60 articles for industry and mainstream media.
He currently serves as Senior Advisor for CAP Index, the leader in crime risk forecasting.
Monday April 20, 2026
8:45 AM - 9:15 AM
| The Reality of Risk: What’s True in Retail Now
Brian Wilson
Deputy Chief, Operations
Brian started his professional working life as a bagger at Safeway and worked through many jobs in the store. He has also helped entrepreneurs in both the retail and service industry build their businesses. He has been employed as a police officer with the Anchorage Police Department since 2007. He has held many positions in the department as he moved up the ranks to the current position of Deputy Chief of Operations. In that role he stood up the Retail Crime Unit which has been tremendously successful at addressing shoplifting and trespassing at local retailers in Anchorage. He holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Alaska Anchorage and is a graduate of the 279th session of the FBI National Academy.
Tuesday April 21, 2026
10:15 AM - 11:00 AM
| Stopping the 10%: A Smarter Approach to Retail Crime
Brandon Cummings
Sr Director - Asset Protection
Brandon is a Senior Asset Protection & Safety Leader currently leading the Corporate Asset Protection & Safety Teams at Dollar General. He has proven experience with profit impacting results in both Field & Corporate Asset Protection roles.
Monday April 20, 2026
10:15 AM - 11:00 AM
| Advancing Asset Protection: Training and Structuring Teams for Modern Technology
David W. Sunday, Jr.
Attorney General
In 2013, Attorney General Sunday was appointed by the United States Department of Justice as a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, where he assisted in the prosecution of gang, illegal gun, and drug cases in Federal Court. It was during this time period that he led the prosecution of Operation Sunrise, which was a large scale multi-jurisdictional arrest and prosecution of over 100 members and/or affiliates of the “Latin Kings,” a violent criminal gang operating in York County.
As an elected District Attorney, he led York County’s fight against the opioid epidemic, fought to protect seniors through his role on the Elder Abuse Task Force, helped to forge partnerships with healthcare systems and the courts to deal with the increasing challenges surrounding mental health, and personally tried approximately 50 felony jury trials to verdict including the successful prosecution of more than 10 of the most high profile York County murder trials in recent memory.
In addition to homicides, Attorney General Sunday has successfully prosecuted Murder Conspiracies, the Attempted Murder of a Police Officer, multiple Murders for Hire, Felony Narcotics Deliveries, Aggravated Assaults, Burglaries, Armed Robberies, Bank Robberies, Insurance Fraud Cases, Thefts and Elder Fraud Scams to name a few.
Beyond trial work, Attorney General Sunday previously served as President of the York County Bar Association, Chair of the York Opioid Collaborative, Chair of the Education and Training Committee of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association (PDAA), was appointed to the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing by Speaker of the House Mike Turzai in 2020, and was selected to serve on behalf of the PDAA on the Pennsylvania Commission for Crime and Delinquency’s (PCCD) statewide Mental Health and Justice Advisory Committee.
Monday April 20, 2026
9:15 AM - 9:45 AM
| Inside the Gift Card Fraud Fight
Cynthia Grizzle
Vice President, Asset Protection
Tuesday April 21, 2026
3:15 PM - 3:50 PM
| Safer Stores, Stronger Teams: The Human Side of Protection
Mark Stinde
VP of Asset Protection
Mark Stinde is Vice President of Asset Protection at Casey’s General Stores, leading the organization in total retail loss, safety, and security strategies. He previously held senior asset protection and loss prevention leadership roles with Kroger, JCPenney, 7‑Eleven, Circuit City, and The Home Depot, overseeing complex, multi‑region operations. Mark is Chairman of the Board for the Loss Prevention Foundation, serves on the editorial board for LP Magazine, and serves on the RILA APLC. Mark holds an MBA from Southern Methodist University.
Monday April 20, 2026
11:30 AM - 12:15 PM
| Protecting Profit Upstream: Game-Changing Strategy for Early Loss Prevention
Join the Who's Who in Retail Asset Protection
Meet Asset Protection Executives From Top Retailers
Explore the Official 2026 Venue
All conference programming will take place at the Phoenix Convention Center – South Building in downtown Phoenix, including general sessions, workshops, Expo programming, and on-site registration.
Keynotes & General Sessions
Hear industry leaders discuss the most important trends and challenges shaping retail asset protection today.
Attend as a Team
Bring your team together to learn, connect, and drive real impact across your organization.
Law Enforcement Professionals
Collaborate with retailers and prosecutors to address organized retail crime and public safety challenges.
Thank you to our Title Sponsor
Auror
Auror is the crime intelligence platform for retailers focused on preventing crime, reducing loss, and making stores safer. They do this by making it easy to report actionable intel, connect the dots on repeat offenders, and distribute actionable intelligence to teams to safely prevent crime in real time. Auror has offices in Denver, London, Melbourne, and Auckland to support its growing retail base, which includes the best and largest retailers in the world. Learn more at www.auror.co.
