SPEAKERS

Aaron Noveshen is the founder of The Culinary Edge (TCE), America’s leading innovation consultancy. TCE fuses culinary excellence, operational expertise, and human-centered design to forge the future of what we eat and drink. Aaron and his team have worked with 30% of the top 200 restaurants and co-created over 25 global and regional restaurant brands. Aaron leads TCE Ventures which hatched Starbird Chicken, TCE’s first self-actualized and self-operated concept. Starbird opened to critical acclaim with the Breakout Brand Award from NRN and currently operates 9 locations in the Bay Area. Aaron is also the co-founder of Pacific Catch, the co-founder of World Wrapps, the Director Emeritus of the California Restaurant Association and the former Chairman of the board of the California Restaurant Association Foundation.

As President of RAVE Restaurant Group, Bob Bafundo oversees day-to-day operations for all RAVE brands. An industry veteran with a passion for restaurants, Bafundo joined RAVE in 2016 as president of Pizza Inn. During his tenure, he developed and implemented successful initiatives leading to positive same-store sales and a resurgence in restaurant growth for Pizza Inn. He also led the brand to introduce a new non-traditional brand, PIE, as a complement to the brand refresh and expansion of Pizza Inn. Previously, Bob served as President of Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill. With a background in operations, Bob has worked through the ranks of both single and multi-unit operations.

David Henkes is a Senior Principal within Technomic’s Advisory Group and is responsible for directing strategic consulting and research assignments for clients active in the food, beverage, equipment and related industries. Since joining the firm in 1996, Dave has conducted and managed a wide variety of proprietary and multi-client engagements, both domestic and international.

Kootenai Health in Cda- Retail mamager. 8 years with KH over 20 years in food service and management. Loves outdoors, camping, hiking, traveling and spending time with my husband and kids.

Michael has served as our Senior Vice President of Culinary/ Supply Chain since August 2014. Michael is responsible for all culinary operations, R&D, menu development, kitchen design, purchasing, cost controls and culinary training. He has spear headed several new menu changes and LTO’s while dropping food cost and increasing overall food sales and quality of product.

Prior to Walk-On’s, from December 2013 through August 2014, Michael served as the Senior Director of Culinary/ R&D for Copeland of New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana. From 1995 until 2013, Michael held various Regional and Corporate Operations positions with The Cheesecake Factory and opened over 90 restaurants with the Brand. This included a position in the Middle East (including Kuwait City, Kuwait, Dubai, Saudi Arabia) as Senior Director of Culinary Operations, overseeing all restaurant operations. This included all kitchen design, corporate R&D, purchasing, and helped to expand the brand throughout the Middle East.

Scott Boatwright is the Chief Restaurant Officer at Chipotle, responsible for overseeing operations for 2,600 company-owned restaurants with more than 85,000 employees. Joining the organization in May 2017, Mr. Boatwright drove the integration of new technology into restaurants, yielding impressive results and improvements across throughput and the overall guest experience. Recognized for his industry contributions, Mr. Boatwright was named to Fast Casual’s ‘2020 Top 25 Executive’ list.

Currently, Tim serves as the Chief Executive Officer for Wow Wow Hawaiian Lemonade Franchising, a small franchise brand with locations in Hawaii, Arizona, and California. Wow Wow Hawaiian Lemonades are expanding into New Mexico, Nevada, and Texas with numerous scheduled openings for 2021. Previously, Tim served as the Vice President of Franchise Development for Massage Envy Franchising, overseeing all domestic sales, growth, business development, and private equity partnerships. Tim began his career in restaurants and retail receiving a BA in Business Administration and an MS in Management Information Systems from the University of Arizona. He is in his final year as a doctoral candidate with Capella University and has a passion for education and business. Tim resides in North Phoenix with his wife Dena and their daughters Isabella and Ryley.