George Naddaff – Chairman and co-CEO

George Naddaff is considered by many to be the “Guru of Franchising”. He developed Boston Chicken/Boston Market into a national franchise brand and in 1992 sold it to a group of Blockbuster Video executives. In 1993 he shared in its record-setting IPO (143% first-day increase). Naddaff has founded and/or been significantly involved with several other successful concepts including: Mulberry Child Care Centers, which had over 90 company-owned childcare centers when it was sold to KinderCare; Sylvan Learning Centers, the nation’s leading after-school learning facilities; Ranch*1, a New York-based chain of grilled chicken sandwich restaurants; Living and Learning Schools, which operated more than 50 upscale childcare facilities and was sold to KinderCare; VR Business Brokers, the nation’s largest business brokerage franchise with over 350 offices, which was acquired in 1986 by Christies, London. Naddaff began his career in food service when he co-founded International Foods, which operated 19 KFC franchises in the Boston area and was sold in 1970.

Eric Spitz – President and co-CEO

Eric Spitz held the post of CEO for Trakus, a sports technology company that he founded in 1997 up until joining the KnowFat! management team in 2004. At Trakus, he raised over $30 million of venture capital from individuals, venture capitalists, and corporate investors including CBS Sportsline and Toshiba. He assembled a world-class board and hired several senior executives from top companies within the sports industry to round out the management team. Prior to Trakus, he worked in various capacities for Information Resources, Inc. He led IRI’s Testing Services sales efforts in the Midwest and West regions of the U.S. and sold more than $2 million of new business. Spitz holds an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management, as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

Tom Mackey – Vice President – Franchising

Tom Mackey has spent his entire career in the food and restaurant industry. Prior to joining the KnowFat! team, Mackey was president and chief operating officer of LoFat KnowFat where he oversaw all of the company’s operations. Prior to joining LFKF, he was the vice president of new growth for Metromedia Restaurant Group, parent of Bennigan’s, Steak & Ale, Ponderosa, Bonanza, and several other casual dining restaurant concepts. Before joining MRG, Mackey held various senior management positions including vice president of franchising within American Hospitality Concepts Incorporated (parent of Ground Round, Tin Alley Grill, et al.). He is a certified “Serve-Safe” instructor and has served as director of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association. Mackey holds a B.S. in Hotel, Restaurant and Travel from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Irma Norton – Controller

Irma Norton is an operations-oriented financial executive with over 15 years experience with businesses ranging from start-ups to large multinational companies. Most recently, Norton was the controller for Handmade Bow Company, a privately held consumer products company. Prior to that position, Norton was the CFO for the Dunkin’ Donuts master franchisee in Mexico. In her five year tenure with Dunkin’ Donuts, she was instrumental in growing the chain from zero to 100 stores in Guadalajara, Monterrey and Tijuana. She also was a leader in the start-up of La Fabrica, a chain of convenience stores in Mexico owned by Minsa, a large publicly held flour processing company. Norton holds a B.A. degree in Accounting from the University of Guadalajara in Mexico and is a graduate of the distinguished Executive Management Program of ITAM in Mexico City.

Michael Parduhn – Vice President – Information Management

Michael Parduhn has over 15 years of experience in designing, developing and implementing systems that enable and encourage data driven decisions. Most recently, he spent 3 years in the IT Leadership Program at Ford Motor Company where he worked on several special projects with senior management and high profile assignments across the company. This included leading a team of over 50 people for a year as part of a $40 million vehicle costing system. Prior to Ford, he worked as a project manager and developer at Information Resource Inc. This included leading the team responsible for delivering data to the U.S. and European grocery clients as well as development of a revolutionary ad-hoc, web based reporting engine. Parduhn holds an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management, as well as a Bachelors of Science in Accounting and Information Systems from Illinois State University.

Efrem Cutler – Vice President – Food Development

Efrem Cutler is a highly seasoned Executive Chef with over 20 years of distinguished service in the culinary field. He attended the Baltimore International Culinary College where he graduated on the dean’s list with honors. After returning to Louisiana, he assumed a succession of prestigious executive chef positions and before long, his talents were sought by the Ritz-Carlton in Atlanta. Two years later, he was recruited by the Occidental Grand Hotel to become their Chef of Café Opera. Cutler’s commitment to culinary excellence earned him a position as Chef Instructor with the Art Institute of Atlanta where he pioneered a new curriculum for the graduating class of Food and History. For the past 11 years Chef Cutler was President/Owner of his highly successful Café and Bakery in historic Roswell, Georgia. In addition, he has served as acting Corporate Executive Chef of the Rochester Meat Company where he was responsible for pushing the envelope in innovative and creative research and development for many National accounts. He is an active member of the Research Chefs Association and the American Culinary Federation.