David Henkes

Since joining the firm in 1996, David Henkes, Senior Principal, has managed a wide variety of proprietary and multi-client engagements, both domestic and global. As a senior member of the firm, his specific responsibilities include client development, engagement oversight, and industry relations.  His range of experience is wide and includes market and strategic planning, customer satisfaction benchmarking, opportunity analyses, acquisition due diligence evaluations, new product evaluation and concept testing, usage/attitude analyses, and distribution systems analyses. He also oversees the firm’s Beverage Practice.

Before joining Technomic, Dave gained international food experience working with Nestle Germany in Frankfurt, Germany. With his international experience, Dave has conducted studies in many European countries as well as Mexico and Canada. Prior to his food industry work he also worked as a federal investigator in Washington, DC.

Dave is a well-known commentator on the food and beverage industry and has appeared on regularly on Bloomberg TV, Thompson Reuters, CNBC,Fox Business, MSNBC, CBS, NPR, ABC and First Business, among others. He has been cited by a wide variety of sources, including The Wall Street Journal, TheStreet.com, Time Magazine, Crain’s Chicago Business, Reuter’s and Associated Press syndicated articles, as well as industry trade magazines such as Restaurant Business, Nation’s Restaurant News, Beverage Industry Magazine, and others.

Dave has been a featured speaker at a number of high profile industry events, conferences and symposiums, including the National Restaurant Association Show and BAR Show, the Flavor Experience conference, the Nightclub & Bar and VIBE annual trade show/conference, the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association’s (IFMA) Forecast and Outlook and Introduction to Foodservice Fundamentals seminars, the Beer Summit, Foodservice Equipment & Supplies State of the Industry seminar, Technomic’s Adult Beverage Insights Group and Foodservice Planning Program client meetings, Chicago Foodservice Marketing Club (CFMC) luncheons, corporate national sales meetings, and other industry client functions.

Dave is a member of the editorial advertising boards of Hotel F&B Magazine and is an advisory board member of the Nightclub & Bar trade show and is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Chicago Foodservice Marketing Club. He is also a past president of the University of Illinois/Chicago Business Alumni Association.

Dave earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies from The American University in Washington, DC and a Masters of Business Administration degree in Marketing and International Business from the University of Illinois at Chicago.