Contributors
Chris Richardson
Chris Richardson is a former U.S. diplomat and General Counsel and President of BDV Solutions. He is a leading expert on immigration policy. Richardson served in Nigeria, Nicaragua, Pakistan, and Spain as a U.S. diplomat. He has advised both Democratic and Republican members of Congress and their staffers in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate on critical immigration and foreign policy issues.
Andrew Robbins
Andrew Robbins is CEO of Paytronix Systems, Inc. A product visionary, team leader, and a trained rocket scientist with an acute business acumen, Andrew motivates his team to bring innovative products to market that enhance the restaurant customer experience.
Don Robinson
Don Robinson is managing partner of NV Ventures, a Penn Station East Coast Subs franchisee with eight restaurants in the Nashville area.
Matt Rolfe
Beginning his career with companies like Bacardi and Labatt/Anheuser-Busch, Matt is an industry expert dedicated to helping leaders examine the human element of their business and execute effective team-building strategies unique to their needs. His book, You Can’t Do It Alone: Focusing on People to Scale, Develop, and Lead Your Restaurant, is available on Amazon. Matt lives in Toronto with his wife Lindsay, their two children, and their golden retriever.
Paul Rupert
Paul Rupert is a consultant, strategist and thought leader within the hospitality ecosystem. With an unwavering passion for hospitality, Paul helps organizations discover enhanced profitability without compromising the guest-centric, hospitality-focused experience. A Certified Capital Markets & Securities Analyst (CMSA®) and ETF Advisor (CETF®), Paul has a dedicated focus on the consumer discretionary equity sector, with an emphasis on hotels and restaurants. A native of Upstate New York, Paul is now based in Atlanta, Georgia.
Meredith Sandland
Meredith Sandland is the CEO of Empower Delivery, a software company that enables restaurants to profitably and sustainably serve off-premise demand. As co-author of "Delivering the Digital Restaurant" and former Chief Development Officer at Taco Bell, Meredith brings extensive industry expertise. She also co-hosts "The Digital Restaurant" podcast, covering the latest in restaurant delivery and technology.
Raji Sankar
Raji Sankar believes the vision behind the Choolaah brand – to transform the quality of life of everyone it touches – truly drives the fast-casual Indian BBQ brand forward. Celebrating its seventh location opening in Westlake, OH, in December 2023, the brand’s continued expansion is a testament to its menu and culture. Sankar’s goal is to continue to foster an atmosphere of inclusivity where there are no ceilings – regardless of gender, preferences, or race – and become the dominant fast-casual Indian cuisine that people fall in love with.
Dinesh Saparamadu
Dinesh Saparamadu is CEO and founder of Applova Inc., a company focused on delivering innovative kiosks and mobile app-building platform technology. Saparamadu is also CEO and founder of hSenid Group of companies and is chairman of the board of PeoplesHR.
Ola Sars
Ola Sars is a serial entrepreneur and the co-founder of Soundtrack Your Brand, the fastest-growing background music streaming service with curated background soundtracks for business use. Ola founded Soundtrack Your Brand as a joint effort with Spotify to help businesses strengthen relationships with customers through the power of music. Through his multiple start-ups in the music-space, Ola has focused on unlocking that intrinsic value first in B2C and now in B2B.
Cristian Sava
Currently contributing to PayFacto Payments' digital strategy, Cristian Sava brings over 8 years of experience crafting engaging content across various industries. His articles blend expert insights with SEO best practices, offering readers valuable information on hospitality trends, restaurant technology and industry-specific solutions.
Michael Schwab
Michael J. Schwab has over 20 years of experience advising clients in the beverage alcohol, dietary supplement, and food industries. He provides comprehensive counsel on regulatory compliance, labeling approvals, distribution agreements, advertising, and trade practices. His expertise includes trademark and copyright strategy, global portfolio management, licensing, and enforcement against counterfeiting and gray market goods. He also handles IP due diligence for mergers and acquisitions and negotiates complex agreements.
Mike Schwartz
Mike Schwartz is responsible for the strategy and direction of IFMA’s programs, services and marketing initiatives. Since joining IFMA in 2014, Schwartz has played a key role in developing, launching, and leading IFMA’s insights and supply chain best practices and overseeing industry-leading conferences. Prior to joining IFMA, Schwartz spent six years leading custom market research and consulting engagements for suppliers and operators at Technomic. Schwartz earned his Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from The Ohio State University.
Sharmah Seakar
Sharmah is an experienced supply chain professional with a demonstrated history of working in oil and gas, freight forwarding, aviation/flight-catering and hospitality industry across government, semi-government and public listed organizations. With a Bachelor of Science in Supply Chain and Logistics Management from the University of Bolton, Sharmah is skilled in procurement, strategic sourcing, negotiation, category analysis and management, OS&E procurement, logistics, operations management, freight/shipping, transportation and project management.
James Shea
James Shea is an award-winning journalist, author and content marketing specialist. He spent 10 years in the newspaper industry and has worked as a content marketing specialist for the last five years. He currently works as the Director of Content at Zuppler, an online ordering platform.
Jessica Shelcusky
Jessica Shelcusky is a marketing communications specialist with Paytronix, where she creates content to help restaurants and convenience stores connect with their customers. Prior to joining their team, she received an MBA from Boston College and worked for several years in the retail industry.
Nancy A Shenker
Nancy A Shenker is a freelance content strategist and virtual CMO with extensive experience in the food, restaurant, and technology space. She is the Founder/CEO of theONswitch marketing and nunu ventures and a professional speaker.
Andre Shevchuck
With more than 15 years of public accounting experience, Andre Shevchuck assists clients in a wide range of industries, including winemaking, food processing, manufacturing and life sciences. He leads BPM’s Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit Consulting practice, helping clients identify, document, and defend their R&D tax credit claims. Contact Andre at AShevchuck@bpmcpa.comKathleen Siddell
Kathleen Siddell is a Content Marketing Specialist at alwaysAI, an enterprise computer vision solutions provider. Through deep learning AI, computer vision enables cameras to quickly identify and interpret objects in the physical world and generate data to enable intelligent management decisions.
Mike Sisco
Mike Sisco is CEO of Embed Digital, which designs, installs, manages and connects digital signage.
Phil Smith
Phil Smith is the Director of Marketing at Upstream Hospitality Group, which operates 20+ restaurants including Tap Room and Bango. A former agency founder with experience across web, eCommerce, and social media strategy, Phil blends technical expertise with hands-on hospitality experience. He helps restaurant teams leverage AI and digital tools to streamline marketing, scale operations, and connect more effectively with their guests.
