Webinar
AI and the Future of Restaurants: From Foot Traffic to Predictive Insight
Save The Date — August 19, 2026 | 2 PM ET
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Businesses are operating in an environment where consumer behavior, privacy expectations, and data regulations are evolving faster than ever before. As we shift toward more consent-driven data strategies, restaurant leaders are rethinking how they use location intelligence and AI to better understand their diners, their market demand, and their operational performance.
Gladys Kong, CEO of Azira, and Isabelle Soriano, Senior Client Director of Goodway Group will explore how AI-powered analytics and mobile location data are transforming the way restaurant brands approach site selection, marketing, and strategic decision-making. Drawing on their respective experience in location intelligence and restaurant-focused media strategy, they will examine how brands can turn trusted data into more relevant audience engagement and measurable business outcomes.
Attendees will gain insight into how AI and location intelligence are helping restaurants uncover changing diner patterns, identify emerging market opportunities, inform media strategy, and make faster, more informed decisions in an increasingly competitive landscape.
Meet the speaker
Gladys Kong
CEO
Azira
Gladys Kong is the CEO of Azira, a full-stack consumer insights platform. With more than 20 years of experience in data science and technology leadership, she previously served as CEO and CTO of UberMedia, where she helped pioneer geolocation-powered data intelligence solutions now used by Fortune 500 brands and global travel destinations. Gladys has been recognized by Business Insider as one of the "30 Most Powerful Women in Mobile Advertising" and named one of Mobile Marketer's "Mobile Women to Watch."
Isabelle Soriano
Senior Client Director of Integrated Media Strategy
Goodway Group
Isabelle Soriano is a Senior Client Director of Integrated Media Strategy at Goodway Group with nearly eight years of experience developing integrated marketing strategies across the QSR, entertainment, CPG, healthcare, finance, and e-commerce industries. She specializes in integrated media strategy, measurement, and cross-channel planning, helping brands connect marketing investments to business growth. Passionate about innovation and collaboration, Isabelle enjoys building strategic partnerships, mentoring teams, and advancing the future of media in the QSR space.
Meet the moderator
Cherryh Cansler
Publisher of FastCasual.com
Connect Media
Cherryh Cansler is Publisher of FastCasual.com and Vice President of Connect Food. She has been covering the restaurant industry since 2012. Her byline has appeared in Forbes, The Kansas City Star and American Fitness magazine, among many others.
