From Persona To Personal

Steve DiFillippo is the Owner and Chef of Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse. In 1985, when Steve was just 24, he purchased Davio's when it was a family restaurant in Boston's trendy Back Bay. Across the US, from Boston to Texas, he's grown Davio's to 12 locations, becoming one of the country's most sought-after restaurants. That first restaurant is now the hub of a rapidly growing $50 million re...

Leo Chris Kasuya is the Director of Strategy and New Ventures at Irresistible Foods Group (IFG). IFG is a family of authentic food and beverage brands, and Leo's role is to develop and execute strategic initiatives focused on the enterprise and operating its long-term growth and success. Leo leads acquisition and investment opportunities, international expansion efforts, and develops strategic ini...

Mike Evans is the Co-founder of Grubhub, which he started in his spare bedroom in 2002 and grew into the multi-billion-dollar online food delivery service that it is today. After going public as an IPO, Mike left the company in 2014. He then rode his bike across the US and began authoring Hangry: A Startup Journey, a memoir about founding Grubhub.  A few years after leaving Grubhub, Mike founded t...

Roger Hurni is the Managing Partner and Chief Creative Officer at Off Madison Ave. He brings a unique perspective as a behavior strategist, creative visionary, and branding expert to the clients he serves. Roger knows that unprecedented results are achieved by optimizing the three variables of human behavior. This basis is the foundation he uses to develop behavior-changing results for organizatio...

Steve Schulze is the President and CEO of Nékter Juice Bar. Since co-founding Nékter in 2010, Steve has grown company sales to over $100 million with 180 locations in the US and another 150 in the development process. He is a leader and pioneer in the elevated juice bar experience. Steve is also a sought-after expert speaker on various topics related to the restaurant business and franchise indust...

Rishi Nigam is the Co-founder and CEO of Franklin Junction, an innovative digital technology platform redefining restaurant economics through the power of e-commerce. Franklin Junction's proprietary suite of patent-pending technologies helps restaurants optimize excess kitchen capacity by becoming a host kitchen. Hosts are then thoughtfully matched to proven restaurant brands, allowing them to inc...

Jamie Richardson is the Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations at White Castle, and he's been with the company for over two decades. Jamie's craving for White Castle was nurtured while he worked on the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency team, where he also had assignments on a range of accounts like Domino's Pizza and Carhartt Outdoor Apparel. In recent years, Jamie has led White Cast...

Kate Troc is Managing Director at WineShop At Home, a boutique winery in Napa Valley. Kate leads, supports, and grows a national sales team of more than 300 independent direct-to-consumer wine sales representatives. She has over 20 years of experience in the service industry and offers a fun and memorable wine-tasting experience for guests in their homes. Kate specializes in both live and virtual...

Mike Jacobs is the Founder and CEO of Kitchen Data Systems, a software company designed to help you create and scale your virtual food brand with very little upfront or overhead costs to focus on improving the bottom line. As a serial entrepreneur, Mike also founded Nextbite, Tapin2, Ordermark, Grilla, and Team Kitchens. His expertise includes innovation, crafting business models, product manageme...

Mark Fortney is Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Cozzini Bros, Inc., the leading cutlery sharpening and exchange services company in the US. From food processor and slicer blades to cutting boards and can openers, Cozzini is the one-stop solution for all of your sharpening needs. Mark is a Fortune 200 sales leader with a long track record of building sales organizations and changing the co...

James Walker is the CEO of Frisch's Restaurants, a 75-year-old American comfort food and casually themed restaurant brand based in Cincinnati. Frisch's is famous for its Big Boy Burger. James is an authority in restaurant technology and delivery channels, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, domestic and international development, operations, and new product development. He also has expertise in...

Mark Edmonson is the Chief Marketing Officer at GoGo squeeZ, where he is responsible for ensuring the sustainability and profitability of the brand while maintaining market share and positioning. His expertise lies in holistic marketing and advancing digital marketing experiences which transform a brand's way of marketing to its consumers. Mark finds brand marketing strategies that align with the...

Carl Bachmann is President and COO of Smashburger. He oversees the company's leadership team and the entire brand, which includes more than 300 corporate and franchise restaurants operating in 35 states and eight countries. With more than 30 years of professional experience under his belt, Carl specializes in real estate selection, construction, operations, sales, team building, and the formation...

Brian Fox is the CEO of Richelieu Foods, Inc. He has been in the food business for over 30 years, with extensive commercial experience in retail, food service, contract sales, and significant knowledge of operations. Brian is passionate about creating a business culture and focusing on the people in his business. He has a proven track record of building successful business units and winning teams....

Debbie Johnson is the Director at the Arizona Office of Tourism. She has extensive experience in the travel and tourism industry. Debbie served as President and CEO of the Arizona Lodging & Tourism Association for 12 years after serving in the same capacity for the Valley Hotel & Resort Association for 20 years. What you'll learn in this episode: When we got hit with the pandemic and the world shu...

John Giaquinto is the Senior Director of Customer Loyalty and Digital Marketing at Hannaford Supermarkets. With 20 years of experience in marketing and communications, John's specialties include strategy and planning, CRM strategy and execution, customer satisfaction research, primary and secondary consumer market research, and creative execution, including design, writing, and production. During...

Kara Goldin is the Founder of Hint Inc., a beverage company most known for Hint Water, an award-winning unsweetened water with hints of fruit. Kara has been named one of InStyle's Badass 50, Fast Company's Most Creative People in Business, Fortune's Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs, Fortune's Most Innovative Women in Food & Drink , and EY Entrepreneur of the Year for Northern California. She is a...

Anthony Valletta is the President at bartaco, which features upscale street food, freshly squeezed juices, specialty cocktails, and bottled beer. It's inspired by the beach culture of Brazil, Uruguay, and southern California. Anthony is an analytical and hands-on senior operations executive with a wealth of knowledge and experience in strategic operations planning, constructing strong teams, and n...

Roger Hurni is the Managing Partner and Chief Creative Officer at Off Madison Ave. He brings a unique perspective as a behavior strategist, creative visionary, and branding expert to the clients he serves. Roger knows that unprecedented results are achieved by optimizing the three variables of human behavior. This basis is the foundation he uses to develop behavior-changing results for organizatio...

Erik Frederick is the Chief Executive Officer of UNO Restaurants, LLC. He took over as CEO in April 2020 and is cultivating company growth through an exciting new concept that has seen impressive early results. Erik is a transformational multi-site and e-commerce executive with significant experience in private equity and global public retailers and restaurants. He has a track record of aligning s...

Roger Hurni is the Managing Partner and Chief Creative Officer at Off Madison Ave, a marketing agency that uses behavior design as the strategic foundation for brand success. As a creative visionary and brand strategist, Roger brings a unique perspective to the clients he serves. He has regional, national, international agency, and entrepreneurial experience and has been named Interactive Marketin...