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BREAKOUT SESSION / TUESDAY / OCTOBER 15, 2019 / 2:30 PM

Are You Prepared for a Mobile Future?

While most restaurant leaders would agree that having a mobile presence is imperative to the future of their businesses, more than half of the respondents of a recent survey expressed doubts over their ability to keep up with the speed of mobile technology changes and felt threatened by their mobile-enabled competitors.

And that fear isn’t unfounded; to remain relevant, restaurants must act quickly to modernize their mobile strategy and offerings. Experts on this panel will discuss how restaurants can embrace mobile and back-end technology to drive higher ticket value, enable upsell. cut labor costs and improve the guest experience.

PANELISTS

Sam Ballas | President & CEO | East Coast Wings + Grill

Sam G. Ballas serves as Chief Executive Officer of East Coast Wings + Grill, a casual dining concept. Founder of ZorAbility, Inc., an advisoery and investment firm for emerging franchise models, and majority shareholder of GetFried, a fast casual concept. As founder of East Coast Wings + Grill, he has lead the brand by instilling Unit Level of Economics (ULE) as the brands absolute DNA since the chain started franchising. With over 29 years of experience in the financial markets, retail real estate/ development industries and 39 years of restaurant experience, he has implemented traditional growth strategies and pioneered proprietary strategies earning accolades in the Top 50 Restaurant Franchise with Franchise Business Review (FBR) 2012-18.

Aaron Noveshen | Founder & President | Starbird & Culinary Edge Ventures

A graduate of UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, Aaron Noveshen is an award-winning chef and restaurant entrepreneur. He is the Founder and President of The Culinary Edge, an innovation agency that provides global companies with strategic food, brand and operations solutions. Aaron is also the Founder and President of Starbird, a modern chicken concept that is revolutionizing food and convenience in the QSR/Fast Casual marketplace. As Co-founder of Pacific Catch Restaurants, Aaron served as president for 10 years and currently serves on the board of directors. Most recently Aaron co-founded The Culinary Edge Ventures with the mission to create, incubate, operate and grow restaurant brands.

Andrei Stern | CFO | SuViche Hospitality Group

Andrei Stern began honing his knack for business at an early age. While attending the American University of Paris for a semester as a visiting student, Andrei founded and operated the universities’ first Investment Club. A degree from the University of Miami in Finance and Business administration gave him a strong technical background to aid in the expansion of SuViche. Since 2012, Andrei has served as Chief Financial Officer for SuViche Hospitality Group. During this time, Andrei has been able to secure multiple investments that have aided in the rapid growth of the brand. In addition, the processes he established have led SuViche restaurants to profitability well above the industry’s average.

MODERATOR

Bob Gibson | VP of Sales | Oracle Food and Beverage

Bob Gibson is Vice President of North America Sales for Oracle Food and Beverage, and has been representing the MICROS brand for nearly 20 years. Bob has a deep knowledge of the food and beverage industry, with many years of food service technology experience. In his role, Bob consults and works with many operators in the quick service, table service and food service management sectors on Point of Sale technology, back office applications, digital transformation and integration projects.

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