US-based catering marketplace ezCater has hired former Panera Bread and P.F. Chang executive Jim Rand as its catering practice leader.
Rand has over 40 years of restaurant experience and a career focused on helping restaurants build successful off-premises operations, according to ezCater.
ezCater caterer partnerships vice-president Victoria Brady said: “Adding Jim to the team will ensure that we provide the very best solutions to help our restaurant partners grow their catering businesses.”
Prior to this new role, Rand was vice president of off-premises dining at P.F. Chang’s China Bistro. His catering programme doubled the channel’s sales growth in 18 months.
Rand also served as vice-president of catering at Panera Bread for almost ten years. During his time at Panera Bread, the company’s catering revenue increased from 2% to nearly 10% of individual store sales.
Before taking up the role of vice-president at Panera Bread, Rand created a catering model at more than two dozen Panera franchise locations. The successful model was eventually implemented company-wide.
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By GlobalDataIn addition, Rand had held executive roles at Metromedia Restaurant Group, Bonanza and Ponderosa Steakhouses, and Au Bon Pain.
Rand said: “I love talking about catering and helping operators succeed, which is why ezCater is the perfect place for me. Catering has been an important piece of the organisations where I’ve worked in the past, and I’m so excited to join ezCater where it’s the only focus.
“The industry is changing drastically and I believe ezCater is the new model for success. I’m eager to help ezCater’s restaurant partners seize the opportunity that catering represents for them.”
ezCater connects businesspeople with over 60,000 reliable local caterers and restaurants across the US.