Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex
I've spent the past 20 years in the restaurant industry. From commis to line cook, to restauranteur, and now CEO and Co-Founder of Expo which creates solutions to make restaurant life easier. Restaurants are adopting technology faster than ever and Expo allows them to drive actionable insights for their teams - bringing modern analytics down to the employee level in the same way sports teams use data to coach, train and drive ROI from their players. Our own team is passionate (with over 70+ years of collective restaurant experience) and with a technology team from diverse marketplace companies. We believe in hiring for best-in-class talent who are also passionate about working on hard problems that serve an enormous, underserved population. Prior to Expo, I was Founder/CEO of Spice Kit - a fast casual restaurant concept specializing in Asian Street Food. Responsible for concept, menu, fundraising, construction, and development. And in a former life, I was part of the opening team at per se, a Michelin 3-star restaurant in New York City owned by Thomas Keller. Afterwards, I moved to Yountville, CA to work at The French Laundry and then head the Information Technology department of Thomas Keller Restaurant Group.
As Expo's CEO, I lead our mission driven team to make restaurant life easier. First, by launching Pared,the first on-demand labor marketplace for restaurants and now with Expo, redefining how data is used to scale restaurants. I define our strategy, build our team, give them the tools to succeed, and steer our culture. We are committed to building a company with smart, humble, and respectful people with a passion to help the restaurant industry. Expo is backed by CRV, True Ventures, UnCork Capital, and Precursor Ventures. Other investors include Chef Thomas Keller, Jeremy Stoppelman (Yelp), Seth Sternberg (Honor), Steve Chen (YouTube) and the San Francisco 49ers.
Founded Spice Kit, changing the way American's eat Asian Food. Starting a restaurant is probably one of the hardest things to do. I'm proud of taking an idea on paper and turning it into a physical reality that serves thousands of people every day.
Led technology solutions for TKRG, and charged with using technology to cut costs, decrease communication friction, and enable scale across all US properties. Implemented mission critical software for all corporate and restaurant level departments including new system-wide Point of Sale System, Inventory, Accounting, and PDR software solutions. Oversaw IT infrastructure in new restaurant projects which included Bouchon Bakery NYC, Bouchon and Bouchon Bakery LV, and Adhoc.
I lived my dream of cooking with Chef Thomas Keller and learning from some of the best chefs in the work. Per Se was the most anticipated and most expensive restaurant built at the time. I was lucky to be part of original launch team which earned Michelin 3-star, New York Times 4-star.