BRETT TRAUSSI
Founder & CEO

My entire career has been spent in food and beverage, including over 21 years as Chief Operating Officer for Chef Daniel Boulud. Daniel and I collaborated to build dozens of restaurants based on excellence in cuisine and the highest standards of hospitality, winning numerous accolades and Michelin stars along the way. I developed and project-managed the construction and pre-opening of each of our owned and licensed restaurants in addition to overseeing the entire operations team.

I STARTED FOBT TO FULLY DEDICATE MY TIME TO HELPING COMPANIES MANAGE ALL ASPECTS OF THEIR F&B OPERATIONS FROM CONCEPTING, DEVELOPMENT, AND MANAGEMENT OF RESTAURANT OPENINGS AND RENOVATIONS. SINCE THEN, I HAVE SUPPORTED A PORTFOLIO OF DEVELOPERS LOOKING TO TRANSFORM THEIR FOOD AND BEVERAGE OPERATIONS.

I graduated from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration and began my career in the hotel business at the Omni Park Central Hotel in New York City, working my way up to Food and Beverage Director. I then moved to the Caribbean, first to Harbour Village Beach Resort in Bonaire, and then to the Radisson Aruba Hotel and Casino where we refreshed the entire F&B operation and dramatically improved profitability and the customer experience.

I moved back to New York City as the Food & Beverage Director of the New York Palace. We redeveloped the entire hotel, most notably the opening of Le Cirque 2000. I jumped back into restaurants when I joined Daniel, first as Director of Operations and then as Chief Operating Officer. We opened Café Boulud with Chef Andrew Carmellini, earning three New York Times stars and one Michelin star. Gavin Kaysen and Aaron Bludorn would both subsequently lead the brigade.

Restaurant Daniel opened on Park Avenue in January 1999 and went on to earn three Michelin stars, four stars from the New York Times, and multiple James Beards awards for cuisine, service, wine service, and pastry.

Over the years we grew the company from two restaurants to over seventeen in five countries on three continents using eight different brands. In addition, I oversaw the operations and managed a talented team of Operations Directors, Chefs, Human Resources, and Marketing professionals.

I am a licensed real estate professional and Hospitality Specialist at commercial brokerage Lee & Associates. I am on the faculty at Institute for Culinary Education and have lectured at Cornell University. I have spoken on Heritage Radio, at the National Restaurant Show, and numerous other media outlets.

ARIA DORSEY, SENIOR DIRECTOR

  • Aria has over a decade of experience in the hospitality industry, spending time in New York, Washington, DC, Napa and Nashville working with large organizations including Chef Daniel Boulud and the Four Seasons, as well as renowned independent restaurants Rolf and Daughters and Folk, where she served as Director of Operations and Wine. The restaurants were celebrated as one of Bon Appétit’s Best New Restaurants and Wine Enthusiast’s Best Wine Restaurants of 2019. Aria has an eye for service, focusing on details, consistency, and the importance of training. She is a board member of SommCon, where she provides mentorship and focuses on diversity and inclusion within the hospitality industry. Prior to starting her career in NYC, Aria earned her BA in Hospitality Management from Cornell University.

LEIF BILLINGS, FOOD SERVICE DESIGN

  • Leif’s unique skill set includes foodservice consulting and design, along with several years of hands-on construction management make him the ideal partner for kitchen and bar design. Leif is a principal at CFL Design and has deep experience with complicated projects, including multiple Michelin-starred restaurants.

    Leif portfolio is quite wide, having completed hundreds of projects nationwide including chef-driven fine dining restaurants, food halls, hotels and resorts, quick service, and educational institutions. He has been featured and contributed to numerous foodservice trade magazines articles He was honored as a Young Lions MAFSI Honoree, recognizing his growth and achievements as a foodservice consultant.

CARLA SIEGEL, BRANDING & DESIGN

  • Training in both the graphic and culinary arts, accompanied by years working with some of the country’s top restaurants and chefs, adds a distinct perspective to Carla’s branding and design projects. Following several years alongside Brett serving as The Dinex Group’s Brand Creative Director, Carla founded Agentsie in 2015 - delivering attractive, sustainable and carefully considered design solutions that are mindful of operational and budgetary constraints common among hospitality industry clients. From developing new branding to refreshing existing print and digital collateral, Carla brings a unique combination of creativity, culinary knowledge, operational experience, communications skill and public relations savvy to her work.

BRAD THOMPSON, CULINARY

  • Bradford was the Executive Chef at Mary Elaine’s at the Phoenician, earning five diamonds from AAA, The Mobil 5-star Award, and a Grand Award from Wine Spectator. Bradford was one of Food and Wine Magazine’s Best New Chefs of 2004, won the James Beard Award in 2006 for Best Chef Southwest, and was inducted into the Scottsdale Culinary Hall of Fame. In 2009, Thompson took the helm at Lever House in NYC where he showcased his unique style of Modern American Cooking. Thompson’s culinary consulting experience includes Bar Artisanal, Miss Lily’s, Tiny Fork Oyster bar, The Milford Plaza Food Court, Red Hen, Gumbo Bros., The Rainbow Room, and Brooklyn Barge. He has a Level I certification from the Court of Master Sommeliers.

FELIPE HAYVARD, FINANCE

  • Felipe is a seasoned financial management professional with a 14-year career at Ingeniería y Construcción Sigdo Koppers S.A., the largest industrial and mining construction company in Chile. Felipe has proven expertise in accounting processes, operations oversight, and compliance reporting. Knowledgeable about forecasting models, contract administration and budgeting, he is an accomplished team builder with result-focus expertise.

BRIAN ARRUDA, CULINARY

  • Brian developed his passion for the industry washing dishes near where he grew up in Stonington, CT. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Brian traveled the country working for chefs Charlie Palmer, José Andrés, Thomas Keller and Daniel Boulud He worked all the way up from prep cook to Executive Chef at Bar Boulud, Boston and then Executive Chef at Boulud Sud in New York City. Brian founded Executive Chefs at Home, a premier chef-placement agency that has since expanded into placing chefs as well as FOH positions. He still finds time to create menus and recipes for foBT, lead restaurant openings, and execute special events.

NORMAN HUT, SERVICE

  • Norman has over 15 years of experience in the restaurant and hotel industry. He graduated from the École Hôtelière de Marseille in the south of France and has worked in well-known establishments such as Fairmont, Mandarin Oriental, Nobu, and with the renowned Chef Daniel Boulud. Through these experiences, he developed strong skills in front-of-house operations, staff training, and service excellence. His career has taken him to Monaco, London, Florida, and Hong Kong, giving him an international perspective on hospitality.

RORY DOUTHIT, SERVICE

  • Rory's journey has taken him from being a young dishwasher, to founder, owner, and head brewer, to managing restaurants for acclaimed chefs Daniel Boulud and Michael Mina.  An entrepreneur at heart, his experience includes cheesemaking alongside the development of both his own restaurant and openings for hospitality groups in Aspen, Colorado and London, England. He spent time developing operations for luxury ski resorts. In both Europe and the United States, Rory has opened, operated, and maintained Five Star - Five Diamond standards at restaurants within both Mandarin Oriental and Relais & Chateaux properties.