Rich is the driving force behind the innovation, research, and development of the CaterTrax product suite. After earning a degree from The School of Hospitality Business at Michigan State University, he came home to join the family restaurant and catering business. Rich combined his interest in software programming with his natural instincts to implement process and kitchen work-flow automation. The “eternal realist,” he worked to bridge the gap between technology and real-world operations and CaterTrax was born. In 2001 CaterTrax on boarded its first client. Rich has seen the company grow from a classic start-up to a rapidly expanding organization with customers throughout North America.

Some fun tidbits about Rich: Rich "wore the apron" so-to-speak. He can recall fond memories of going into the family restaurant with his grandfather and learning how to make the family recipe for clam chowder. The recipe’s secret is a roux made from bacon drippings. He loves to recall the war stories of the not-so-distant past of catering follies and blunders. His favorite story is "the time one of our drivers locked their keys in their car with food for 200 people in the trunk. I had to use a tire-iron to pop the lock off the trunk so we could deliver the food on time. Needless to say it was a bit hard to explain this to the insurance claim adjuster."

Before Rich was busy running around with his kids and keeping up with diaper changes, he coached several local youth sports teams. He also gives back to the community and dedicates time to volunteer as a coordinator for Grant for Golisano Kids, a Children’s Hospital in Rochester, NY.

A principal and co-founder, Dan is a 1992 graduate of St. Bonaventure University with a BBA in Finance. His life experience includes roles as a restaurant owner, Vice President of Operations for a successful regional restaurant chain, Controller for a building materials distributor, and Director of Advertising for a print media company. While working in these roles, he was also working to help launch the CaterTrax technology platform.

Dan is responsible for managing the CaterTrax business enterprise while cultivating a team of talented and motivated leaders to execute against key corporate strategies. His day-to-day duties include: driving continual development and improvement of the company’s internal processes, strategic planning, the company’s future product and service offerings, analysis and implementation of strategic relationships, and further develop the enterprise clients we serve.

Some fun tidbits about Dan: Dan enjoys a home cooked meal, in particular his wife’s slow roasted corned beef and cabbage. He also enjoys a steak grilled outdoors after a relaxing day landscaping his yard. While Dan will admit he is jazzed each morning to come into work, when he is not at work he enjoys coaching youth football and baseball for community youth organizations in Avon, NY. Dan always finds time to spend time with his four kids at their sporting events. When the weather is warm, he also enjoys spending time with his family boating on one of Rochester’s Finger Lakes.

Ben is responsible for the oversight of all things technical involving the CaterTrax platform and the infrastructure supporting it. He supplies the technical voice and vision for reaching and maintaining our strategic goals and oversees software development, IT resources, quality assurance, and technical product development planning teams. He has more than 14 years of experience in software development with a strong focus on software as a service (SaaS). Prior to joining CaterTrax, Ben served as the Director of IT Services for 5LINX Enterprises Inc. Ben has a degree in History from SUNY Brockport.

Some fun tidbits about Ben: Ben got his first taste of foodservice working for a pizza shop where he made and delivered pizzas. Above all else, his favorite kind of food is his wife’s fried chicken and corn bread. He adds that no one can compete with his mom’s Christmas cookies. Ben enjoys spending time with his family and is actively involved in his church. He also manages to find time to coach soccer for a private high school in Rochester and for girls enrolled in the Empire United Soccer Academy.

Tom has over 25 years of strategic planning execution for business, operations, and technology sectors. As Vice President of Product Development, Tom is responsible for developing and executing the strategies designed to manage rapid growth, grow revenue, and improve the quality of our products and services. This is all accomplished by managing the strategies of research and development, solutions consulting, and the product roadmap. Tom’s role also provides leadership, management, and oversight in the implementation of policies, procedures, processes, and controls.

Tom holds a degree in Computer Science and is a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM). Prior to joining CaterTrax, Tom was a Senior Consultant at Element K, a learning solutions company. Tom has extensive experience in large scale project management and has implemented many comprehensive solutions for Fortune 100 companies.

Some fun tidbits about Tom: Tom looks back to his Irish heritage when it comes to food inspiration as he typically enjoys a meal of meat and potatoes, and more potatoes. He fondly remembers his grandmother taking fresh baked Irish soda bread out of the oven and always getting the first slice, dripping with butter. Tom enjoys spending time with his wife and two children and can be seen hiking the many trails of Western New York with them on the weekends (yes even in the winter!). Tom is an active volunteer for his son’s Boy Scout troop and when he has time to himself can be found playing beach volleyball – one of his many passions.

Nell is responsible for implementing and maintaining all company policies, employee training, and overseeing our accounting department. She is also responsible for supervising CaterTrax implementation and support. She started as our Director of Operations in 2009.
 
Nell came to CaterTrax with eighteen years of foodservice experience under her belt, working with two  major foodservice management companies. She began as a Student Manager in the dining hall at SUNY Plattsburgh and spent many years as a Director of Catering at a number of Colleges and Universities, including the role of General Manager at Nazareth College in Rochester, NY.

Nell brings real-life experience to CaterTrax to assist in championing for the needs of the caterers that we service today. She also has first-hand knowledge of what it’s like to be a small business owner with the fifth generation farm market that she and her husband own. Nell graduated from SUNY Plattsburgh with a degree in Communications and a minor in Speech and Hearing Science.

Some fun tidbits about Nell: Nell organizes many of our community outreach programs, especially for the Thanksgiving and Christmas. She puts her professional experience to work to benefit her kids’ activities and serves as the treasurer for her son’s Boy Scout Troop and her daughter’s Girl Scout Troop. She also participates with her family annually in the Ride for Rosewell to benefit cancer research and collects and assembles bags for Project Night Night. 

Kim is responsible for developing and executing the company’s marketing strategy. She also oversees the company’s training department and professional services for graphic design services. Kim has more than 15 years of experience with B:B and B:C marketing in various industries ranging from nonprofit to high tech. Her passion for marketing and cooking are almost on par with one another. Before deciding to pursue an undergraduate degree in Communications at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania, she explored other campuses to potentially train to become a chef.

Kim knows what it is to be a small business owner. She opened her first business at the age of fifteen and recently sold her interests in a couple of Rochester, NY businesses. Most recently, Kim was employed by a Fortune 100 Company marketing managed print services. Kim graduated from the Bittner School of Business at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY with a Masters in Business Administration.

Some fun tidbits about Kim: She enjoys cooking all sorts of food with her husband on the weekends—you know the kind of meals that take more prep than can be fit into a weeknight. While she will say her first priority is her family, Kim currently volunteers at her church and serves as the Chair of the Foundation for Continuing Developmental Services, Inc (CDS). CDS is a local non-profit in Rochester, NY providing funding for services for people with developmental disabilities living within the community.

Jed has over a decade of direct sales, sales management, advertising, program management, and business development experience in the high-paced and ever-evolving IT marketplace. Jed is responsible for providing strategy, structure, and support for the CaterTrax Account Management team and also manages to find time to pursue the on-boarding of new high-profile CaterTrax enterprise-level customers through his own direct efforts.

Though his first professional job was as a Copywriter, Jed began his working career as a kitchen production worker for a catering company out of Albany, NY. Jed graduated from St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY with a degree in Communications. Most recently, Jed was employed by a Rochester, NY-based software as a service company as a Strategic Account Manager. There he drove net new business for some of the IT industry’s most recognized and respected global training delivery and certification organizations.

Some fun tidbits about Jed: He fondly remembers working for Frese’s Catering as a high school student, peeling a million pounds of potatoes and carrots, making some mean pizza pies, and scrubbing sinks full of pots all night. His favorite dishes are his dad’s famous chili and his mom’s shrimp Louis salad. Jed’s spends his free time with his growing family, making sure diapers are put on the right way in the middle of the night.