OUR TEAM - Food Management Partners

MEET OUR TEAM

Larry Harris

Co-Founder, Chairman

Mr. Harris is a seasoned industry executive with 40 years of public and private restaurant experience at all levels. Particular areas of expertise include: operations, marketing, finance, mergers & acquisitions and real estate development. Mr. Harris' tenure in the industry includes ten years with Pizza Hut, Inc. and PepsiCo Foods International, serving as the Chief Operations Officer for Pizza Hut operations in Mexico. Mr. Harris was also the largest independent franchisee for Monterrey Pasta, with a geographic territory that included the states of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. In addition, Mr. Harris previously served as Vice President of Operations for Boston Chicken, Inc. and President of Harvest Restaurant Group.

Co-Founder, Chairman

Allen Jones

Co-Founder, President & Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Jones is a high-energy, analytical operations executive with over 25 years of operational experience at some of the most respected restaurant companies in the industry such as On the Border, Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Applebee’s. During his tenure with Applebee's International, Mr. Jones served as National Manager of Management Development, and later as the Chief Operations Officer for a fast growing franchisee located in Texas. Applebee's International awarded Mr. Jones the prestigious Chief Operations Officer of the Year Award in 1995, 1996 and 1998. This award is given for excellence in store-level operations and management development. Mr. Jones received his bachelor's degree from Norfolk State University.

Co-Founder, President & CEO

Jason Kemp

Co-Founder, Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Kemp has over 20 years of finance, accounting and IT experience within the hospitality industry. His experience includes developing back-office and corporate IT/accounting functions over multiple platforms for brands such as Boston Market/Chicken, Steak & Ale, Bennigan's and other regional chains. Mr. Kemp currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer and is responsible for all acquisitions as well as managing the partners internet assets.

Co-Founder, CFO

Brian Padilla

Operations Partner

Mr. Padilla has over 12 years of experience committed to various aspects of the restaurant industry including food service distribution, independent restaurant ownership, commercial real estate development and most recently, franchise business development & operations. Mr. Padilla is currently the managing partner for the New Mexico & El Paso division of FMP’s Buffalo Wild Wings holdings. He is responsible for working closely with FMP's partners to identify locations, grow the business and manage the brands in his markets. Mr. Padilla was awarded the New Franchisee of the Year award for Buffalo Wild Wings and has also won several store sales awards. Mr. Padilla graduated from New Mexico State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Finance and earned his MBA from the University of Phoenix.

Operations Partner

Robert Amaro

Vice President of Finance

Mr. Amaro has over 25 years of professional experience, specializing in financial accounting and reporting for multi-unit retail and restaurant companies. His experience includes success in key management positions for large international organizations including Deloitte Consulting, AFC Enterprises (former owners of Church's Chicken and Popeye's Chicken), Black-Eyed Pea Restaurants, Pearle Vision and Moore Business Forms. Mr. Amaro has a proven track record of developing and implementing creative business solutions to continually improve the operational efficiency and effectiveness of accounting and administration systems and has been a licensed Certified Public Accountant since 1985. He holds a BBA in Accounting from Texas Tech University.

VP of Finance

Brian Bailey

Vice President of Operations

Mr. Bailey has been employed at Food Management Partners for over 10 years, starting at the company as the General Manager of our College Station Buffalo Wild Wings. Showing high levels of leadership and analytical proficiency, Mr. Bailey quickly garnered additional responsibilities and promotions. In addition to his tenure at FMP, he has also worked for Brinker International. Prior to beginning his career in the restaurant industry, Mr. Bailey served in the United States Air Force and attended Sam Houston State University.

VP of Operations

Peter Donbavand

Vice President of Real Estate & Business Development

Mr. Donbavand is a State of Texas licensed real estate broker with over 10 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry, as well as another 8 years working in the restaurant industry. Previously, Mr. Donbavand worked for both Cushman & Wakefield and Mohr Partners, two of the real estate industry's leading full service brokerage firms. Since joining FMP in 2007, Mr. Donbavand has overseen the acquisition, disposition, and development of more than 50 restaurant locations. Mr. Donbavand graduated from Baylor University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree.

VP Real Estate & Bus. Dev.

Tracy Amass

Director of Human Resources

Ms. Amass has over 14 years of experience in human resources and currently serves as our Director of Human Resources. Prior to joining the company, Ms. Amass was the Manager of Recruiting for La Quinta Hotels - Southern Region. Ms. Amass is certified in OSHA and Federal Employment Law and Compensation & Benefits Analysis.

Director of Human Resources

Mike Griffith

Director of Marketing

Mr. Griffith has served as our Director of Marketing since January 2008. Prior to joining FMP, he worked as Director of Field Marketing for Whataburger in San Antonio, Texas, and has worked closely with several large restaurant chains to develop marketing and media plans through his roles with various advertising agencies. Mr. Griffith held various marketing positions at Grandy’s, and owned and operated Money Mailer of South Dallas. He graduated from St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Director of Marketing

Hugo Gonzalez

Director of Information Technology

Mr. Gonzalez has 8 years of experience in the information technology industry with an extensive background in technology structural engineering as well as support and maintenance. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Gonzalez worked for Brandwood Wireless, building and upgrading radio communication towers, and SSP Partners, installing and supporting store networks at over 300 Stripes and Town & Country convenience stores in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. Mr. Gonzalez and his staff currently manage all restaurant point-of-sale, corporate servers, and web applications. Mr. Gonzalez has his MCSA, CCNA and A+ certifications.