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TODD DE MANN, FOUNDER & CEO
As one of the leading managers and entrepreneurs in Southern California’s competitive
hospitality and lifestyle sectors, Todd DeMann’s passion for innovation and excellence
has been the guiding spirit behind both Fresh Dining and his several prior successful
endeavors. His more than twenty years of experience in finance, hospitality and real
estate serve as a poignant counterpoint to the youthful energy and enthusiasm that
Newsweek magazine saw in 1986, spotlighting him among its “New Crop of Young Entrepreneurs,”
and which continues to animate every aspect of his work.
Todd DeMann co-founded Fresh Dining in 2005, based on the firm conviction that healthy
nutrition and top-level cuisine were not mutually exclusive, but in fact were natural
partners. Recognizing the rapid growth of the organic food movement over the last several
years and combining that inspiration with the management and client service skills honed
over years of entrepreneurial experience, DeMann quickly built Fresh Dining into the premier
food delivery service in Southern California. As the organization’s CEO, Todd oversees all
aspects of the company’s work, from menu creation, to staffing, to forging innovative
partnerships with sister companies to expand the scope and quality of Fresh Dining’s offerings.
For DeMann, the path to Fresh Dining runs through his two prior companies, DeMann Development &
Design and Oldershaw & DeMann Associates. In serving both companies as President, Todd established
himself as one of the top managers in his field, combining creative vision and leadership with
rigorous organizational skills to create a potent force in the high-stakes world of urban real
estate development and global hospitality. As he does with Fresh Dining, DeMann managed a diverse
team, balancing a multitude of skills to allow for maximum flexibility in meeting the creative and
logistical needs of a wide range of clients. With Oldershaw & DeMann, his work not only was directly
responsible for the rapid expansion of the firm - averaging 30% annual growth in revenue - but granted
him a unique understanding of the demands of the global marketplace, as his duties saw him meet
organizational and management challenges in such varied locales as Korea, Bahrain, Singapore and
the Bahamas, in addition to his numerous stateside projects.
Prior to embarking on his entrepreneurial journey, DeMann served as Executive Vice President of
Industrial Consultants Group, Inc., a strategic consulting firm operating out of New York. In
developing creative strategies to meet the needs of major corporate clients - taking into account
such departments as sales & marketing, billing and customer service - DeMann had the opportunity
to collaborate with and advise some of the most storied organizations and executives within the
American business landscape, such as Lee Iacocca of Chrysler, Gary Wilson of Northwest Airlines
and Linda Wachner of the Warnaco Group.
Todd DeMann received his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Boston University in 1986,
following the submission of his thesis on “Quality Control within the Restaurant Business.” In the
more than twenty years since—culminating in his co-founding of Fresh Dining and his continuing service
as its CEO - DeMann’s dedication to and passion for both quality and creative problem-solving has
never flagged.
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BRUCE N. KNIGHT, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
With over twenty years of experience in the food and beverage industry, Bruce Knight
knows precisely what it takes to operate a top-notch food service organization. Equally
at home with a spatula or a spreadsheet, Knight prides himself on his skills in every
aspect of food service management—including menu creation, staffing, vendor interface and
budget & payroll. As Chief Operating Officer of Fresh Dining—a position he has held since
March 2007—Knight is responsible for every aspect of the day-to-day management of the organization,
and the extraordinary team that he has assembled to take on that assignment stands as the greatest
testament to the leadership skills he has developed over the course of his career.
With national food service powerhouse The Compass Group, Knight served as district manager for
the entire San Diego region, comprising eight separate districts. Despite featuring some of the
most demanding hospitality and service challenges to be found in the U.S.—thanks to the city’s
status as a popular convention and conference destination—the region saw a 50% increase in profits
over the three-year period of Knight’s management. For the six years prior to his joining Compass
in 2003, Bruce founded and served as President of Advance Awareness Corp., headquartered in
Pleasant Hill, California, which grew to take its place among the premiere food and beverage
staffing and management companies in the Bay Area.
Throughout the early stages of his early career in the 1980s and ‘90s, Knight learned to blend
managerial foresight with analytical rigor, serving as a food service troubleshooter for the
Rings Hotel Management Group in Pleasanton, California and the Boykin Group in Cleveland, Ohio,
specializing in hands-on creative problem solving in working with four hotels between the two
organizations. Prior to those engagements, he performed in a variety of capacities—including
Operations Manager, Marketing Director, and as an outside consultant—for North Coast Cuisine,
also in Cleveland, with duties that spanned restaurant operations, catering, on-site food service,
and the direct management of four satellite units.
Bruce Knight received his Bachelor’s degree in Economics from prestigious Babson College in
Wellesley, Massachusetts, and currently resides in Carlsbad, California where he follows his
favorite Boston sports team when not rooting for the Chargers, Padres and Clippers.
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RANA MANSOUR, VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS
Bringing a unique blend of health care expertise, operations experience and communications skills
to every project she oversees, Rana Mansour stands as an exemplar of the contemporary management
professional, demonstrating a range of talents and perspectives as accomplished as it is diverse.
As Vice President of Operations at Fresh Dining, her extraordinary versatility is challenged each
day as she oversees not only the company’s communications and routing systems, but also its customer
service and sales staff, while simultaneously reviewing menus, maintaining quality control and ensuring
that the ongoing dialogue between the kitchen and administrative offices is comprehensive and constructive.
In a sense, it’s a position that Mansour has been training for over her entire career. Her experience in
the health and wellness sector is principally based on her positions as the founder and owner/practitioner
of the Noor Total Health Center. Operating in the vanguard of health care professionals working to integrate
the venerable traditions of Eastern medicine into the lifestyles and health management practices of its
forward-looking Southern California clientele, the Noor Center specializes in acupuncture, herbal medicine,
massage, nutrition and Reiki. The Noor Center represents Mansour’s commitment to providing a truly holistic
approach to physical and mental well-being, a methodology she acquired and refined throughout her course of
study at the Emperor’s College of Traditional Oriental Medicine in Santa Monica, from which she earned her
Master’s degree, graduating summa cum laude. In addition to her founding of and work with the Noor Center,
Mansour developed and managed the acupuncture program for the Meyer Family Health Care chiropractic office,
not only providing services to patients, but training the office staff and familiarizing them with the unique
records and billing practices required for acupuncture patients.
Mansour is no stranger to such oversight and management challenges, having spent over seventeen years in
management and operations, gaining experience in the financial, manufacturing and retail sectors. While
refining her skills as a manager and administrator for such organizations as Oldershaw & DeMann, Parallel
(a division of BCBG), A. Morgan Maree & Associates and Far Western Bank, Mansour learned the intricacies
of such industries as garment manufacturing, residential design, financial consulting and loan processing.
A two year stint as co-owner and administrator of a popular Johnny Rockets franchise served to give her
hands-on experience in the demanding food service industry, and sharpen the entrepreneurial acumen that
would find its fullest expression in the creation of the Noor Center. Throughout her career, Mansour has
showcased a tireless dedication to forthright, staff-oriented communications policies and practices, taking
direct responsibility for training new hires and encouraging respectful and proactive resolution of intra-staff differences.
Mansour earned her Associate’s degree in manufacturing from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in
Los Angeles, graduating with a perfect 4.0 grade point average, an auspicious beginning to the journey that has
ultimately brought her to Fresh Dining, providing an ideal outlet for her distinctive balance of communications,
management and health service skills.
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MICHAEL R. WELDON, EXECUTIVE CHEF
With a background that includes hotels, restaurants, corporations, food service management,
and experience gained from working alongside some of the most renowned names in the culinary
world, Michael Weldon is uniquely positioned to meet the challenges provided by a groundbreaking
organization like Fresh Dining.
Most recently serving as the Chef and Kitchen Manager for uWink Bistro in Woodland hills,
Chef Weldon's responsibilities ranged from recipe development and execution, to ordering,
scheduling and budgeting, to staff training and the development of far-sighted safety policies
for the establishment. Through his efforts as the restaurant's opening chef, uWink... [Uwink
is a revolutionary new concept in dining and entertainment,featuring touch screen ordering and
upscale casual dining.With a new location opening at Hollywood and highland.] Prior to his work
at uWink, Chef Weldon provided similar services as sous chef and kitchen manager for Maggiano's
Little Italy, joining the restaurant's staff prior to its opening at the historic Los Angeles Farmer's Market in 2004.
Chef Weldon received the equivalent of a Master’s-level education in corporate and hotel food
service through his work with industry giant The Compass Group, working as an executive chef in
the company’s Eurest Dining Services Division. In his first assignment at the Nestle Corporate
Headquarters in Glendale, California, Weldon supervised a staff of thirty employees in running
the company’s executive dining center, providing food services to up to 1,800 Nestle employees,
while simultaneously overseeing first-class catering and private dining experiences for top Nestle
executives and VIPs. Following his tenure with Nestle, Weldon had the opportunity to work with
legendary restauranteur Joachim Spilchal of The Patina Group, opening the full-service C2 Café
and Kitchen, servicing the demanding business and industry clientele of Century City, California.
Chef Weldon’s work with Joachim Spilchal is only the most recent of his collaborations with
some of the great creative craftsmen of the culinary world. Over the first half of his career
in the kitchen, Michael learned his trade at the side of such acclaimed chefs as Wolfgang Puck
(Obachine), Johnny Ferno (Cienega) and Neal Fraser and Frank Falcinelli (Moomba). The foundation
of his career was set in place by a nearly three-year apprenticeship at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel,
where he was trained by Michelin Star Chefs in all aspects of fine dining service.
Michael received his degree in Culinary Arts in 1995 from The California Culinary Academy
in San Francisco. Fluent in English, Greek and Spanish, he has gained notice not only for his
exemplary kitchen skills, but for his numerous appearances in magazines and on broadcast and cable
television. Since 2006, Chef Weldon has been proud to place his talent and passion for food in the
service of Fresh Dining, serving as the organization’s Executive Chef.
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