CEO, HABIT RESTAURANTS
WHY: Led fast-casual burger joint to location expansion, 2014 IPO and Yum Brands’ $375M purchase of the business this year.
RECENT: 2019 OCBJ “Person of the Year”; Habit OC’s No. 8 restaurant chain; $402M sales. Remaining at Habit after fellow Irvine-based Taco Bell’s parent company brought first burger chain into fold.
QUOTABLE: On the Yum acquisition: “We always felt that this brand had a lot of runway in front of it and that is something that [Yum CEO] David [Gibbs] and Yum sees as well. They see it in the early stages of a growth cycle with a lot of potential in front of it.”
2020 HOBBY: Spending time with grandchildren.
