act3

Krish Gopalakrishnan

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 20:02:27 GMT

krish gopalakrishnan

Chief Technology Officer

As CTO at Act III, Krish provides technical guidance and direction in the areas of eCommerce, Cloud Technologies, Digital Marketing and Big Data. Krish is a results-driven executive with 20+ years’ experience in the private and public sectors. Over the course of his career, Krish has led the development of world class technology, fueling multi-billion-dollar online businesses. In this capacity, Krish was an Advisor to Cava and played a key role in Technology Strategy after Cava’s acquisition of Zoës Kitchen and leading up to Cava’s IPO in 2023.

Prior to Act III, Krish was a part of the Panera IT leadership team and was responsible for Enterprise Architecture, Shared Services, Loyalty and Master Data. Krish and his team led the design and architecture of the Panera 2.0 Platform including its 1:1 personalization capability.

Before Panera, Krish was a key resource in the digital transformation of Enterprise Holdings, inclusive of the Enterprise, National and Alamo brands, serving as the Principal Architect for a Shared Next Generation Digital Platform that served unique brand experiences and generated billions in rental sales.

Krish holds a B.A. in Engineering from Madras University, India.

(March 2026)

Jason Morgan

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 20:26:50 GMT

jason morgan

Chief Legal Officer & General Counsel

Jason brings nearly three decades of extensive experience to the role of Chief Legal Officer & General Counsel, having worked at several national law firms over his years of private practice across a diverse range of industries. With a proven track record in corporate law, litigation, corporate governance and compliance, Jason is adept at navigating complex legal landscapes and providing strategic counsel to executive leadership.

Jason previously was outside legal counsel for Panera’s employment litigation matters in Massachusetts. He also spearheaded the legal efforts on the acquisition of Life Alive in 2015. Throughout his legal career, Jason has successfully represented clients in high-stakes negotiations and litigation and has provided a broad range of advice on corporate governance and compliance matters. He is recognized for fostering a culture of integrity and accountability and for his collaborative approach to problem solving in providing proactive legal guidance to support business objectives.

Jason earned a B.A. in Economics from the College of William & Mary and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.

(September 2025)

Courtney Francis

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 20:26:49 GMT

COURTNEY FRANCIS

Vice President, Finance & Tax

Courtney is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a seasoned tax professional with over 10 years of experience at a Top 100 Accounting Firm advising high and ultra-high-net-worth clients and their related businesses. Her core competencies include navigating complex tax issues, compliance, strategic planning and transaction work.

Before entering the world of public accounting, Courtney served as a CM/ECF Administrator for the U.S. District Court, playing a key role in managing the court's electronic case records and acting as a liaison between the court, attorneys and the public.

Courtney earned a B.A. in Business Administration and a B.A. in Accounting & Finance from the University of Southern Maine.

(September 2025)

Frank Alonso

Mon, 13 Jan 2025 17:31:31 GMT

FRANK ALONSO

PARTNER

Francisco (Frank) spent almost 25 years as an institutional equity investor with T. Rowe Price in Baltimore. Most recently, Frank was responsible for Analyst Development and worked with the firm's research directors. Prior to that, Frank managed the Small Cap Stock Fund and its associated vehicles—investment strategies focused on smaller cap companies across all industries. He invested in companies at all points of their life cycles, ranging from early stage, high growth situations to turnarounds. He also managed the US Smaller Companies Equity Fund, a vehicle that invests in US small and mid-cap companies primarily serving institutional investors in both Europe and Japan. Frank also spent two decades on the advisory committee of the New Horizons Fund, the firm's flagship small-cap growth product.

Prior to his time as a portfolio manager at T. Rowe Price, Frank was an analyst focused predominantly on the consumer sector covering companies in the retail, restaurant, leisure & entertainment and hospitality industries. In 2006 Frank was named Best of the Buyside by Institutional Investor Magazine .

Frank has a B.S. in Business Economics from Miami University (OH). When Frank is not working, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two children and his two Australian Shepherds.

(January 2025)

Chuck Chapman

Sat, 30 Sep 2023 18:39:44 GMT

Chuck Chapman

Partner

Chuck is a seasoned restaurant executive with a deep general management background and a strong history of helping founders/owners grow their businesses. In addition, he brings to the table both public and private market board experience.

Prior to joining Act III as a Partner, Chuck was a Senior Executive at Panera Bread, LLC. During his time with the Company, he was Chief Operating Officer, responsible for Company and Franchise Operations, Learning & Development, Retail Human Resources, Ops Tools and Services and the Bakery Function. Also, during his tenure at Panera, he was Executive Vice President, responsible for Development, Supply Chain, Manufacturing and International.

Before joining Panera, Chuck worked for International Dairy Queen (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway), where he held the roles of Chief Development Officer, Chief Concept Officer and Chief Operating Officer. During his time at Dairy Queen, he revitalized the Dairy Queen brand and significantly improved the franchisor/franchisee economic model through the creation and global deployment of the DQ Grill & Chill concept. Prior to IDQ, Chuck was Chief Operating Officer of Bruegger’s Bagels and President and Co-owner of Beantown Bagels, a Bruegger’s franchisee. Additionally, he held various Marketing, Finance and Operations roles at Darden Restaurants after beginning his career with the consulting firm Bain & Company.

Chuck sits on the Boards of Shake Shack (NYSE: SHAK) and Taymax, a large Planet Fitness franchisee owned by Trilantic Capital Partners, and served as an Independent Director of Panera Bread from January 2008 through November 2011.

Chuck earned a B.A. in Economics and Psychology from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from the Amos Tuck School of Administration at Dartmouth College.

(February 2024)

Jeff Dame

Wed, 13 Sep 2023 18:39:43 GMT

Jeff
Dame

Director, Store Systems

Jeff brings over 20 years of restaurant and retail experience to the Act III team.

Prior to joining Act III, Jeff led the maintenance and development of Panera’s Restaurant Systems products including Point-of-Sale and Kitchen Production.

Prior to Panera, Jeff served in multiple roles in Retail Buying, Supply Planning and Business Systems for Macy’s and Caleres.

Jeff holds a B.S. in Food and Nutrition/Dietetics from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

(December 2023)

Lisa Dubois

Sun, 10 Sep 2023 17:08:37 GMT

Lisa
Dubo is

Chief of Staff

Lisa is the glue that holds the organization together.

Lisa was a member of the Panera team, acting as Communications Manager and Special Assistant to the Chairman & CEO.

Prior to joining Panera, Lisa served as a Cultural Affairs Officer in the Foreign Service for the Department of State and as Project Administrator for Davis Langdon & Seah International.

Lisa previously worked in the curatorial and education departments of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and as an editor.

Lisa holds a B.A. in Art History and Classical Languages, an M.A. in Art History, Theory and Criticism and a G.C. in Museum Studies from Boston University.

(December 2023)

Noah Elbogen

Sat, 09 Sep 2023 15:39:27 GMT

NoaH
Elbogen

Partner and Chief Financial Officer

Noah brings a unique perspective to the Act III management team. A seasoned investor and advisor in the restaurant industry, Noah holds specialized expertise in the areas of financial planning, capital allocation and cost optimization.

Prior to joining Act III, Noah served as Managing Member and Chief Executive Officer of Misada Capital Group, a New Jersey-based investment manager, and before that served as an Investment Analyst at Luxor Capital Group, a New York-based investment advisory firm, where he focused primarily on the restaurant sector.

Previously, Noah was a Research Analyst covering the consumer sector at S.A.C. Capital Management, Highbridge Capital Management, and Scout Capital Management. Noah began his investment career as an Equity Research Associate at Bear Stearns where he covered the Specialty Retail and Hardlines sectors.

Additionally, Noah has served as an Independent Director of BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ: BJRI) since June 2014 and also served as an Independent Director of Papa Murphy’s Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: FRSH) from December 2017 until May 2019.

Noah holds a B.A. in Economics from Columbia University.

(December 2023)

Bryan Griffith

Fri, 08 Sep 2023 18:39:45 GMT

Bryan Griffith

Partner and Chief Technology Officer

Bryan is a seasoned technology executive noted for solution delivery within major restaurant and retail brands including Panera, Dominos, McDonalds, Save-A-Lot, Party City and LL Bean. From 2012, Bryan was a member of the Panera IT Leadership team where he was instrumental in the development and evolution of the Panera 2.0 technology strategy, acting as leader for the delivery, catering and cafe systems portfolios with responsibility for ensuring the restaurant’s ability to fulfill a demanding digital sales growth curve. In this capacity Bryan obtained a patent as Inventor of specific Systems and Methods for Analyzing Restaurant Operations.

Prior to joining Panera, Bryan served as Sr. Vice President of Technology Services for Tomax, a privately-held company acquired by Demandware in 2011 delivering point-of-sale, merchandise management and demand forecasting solutions to the Retail industry. He also served in technology leadership positions for Goji Food Solutions, a developer of high-tech cooking technology and Savista, a Point-of-Sale and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company serving the global restaurant industry. Bryan started his career as a consultant with Computer Associates providing technology selection, implementation and training services to the Fortune 500 including key engagements at GE, GM and Harvard University.

Bryan holds a B.S. of Liberal Arts & Sciences from the University of Illinois.

(December 2023)

Dwight Jewson

Thu, 07 Sep 2023 15:39:26 GMT

Dwig ht Jewson

Partner and Chief Strategy Officer

Dwight brings over 40 years of experience in Research & Business and Brand Strategy in food service, retail food, beverage, health care, pharmaceuticals, financial services, telecommunications, political campaigns and institutional brand development to Act III.

His work is at the leading edge of the intersection of Psychology, Marketing, Concept and Strategy.

“The key issue for any concept is to develop a deep understanding of ‘what business are we really in,’ and to be very clear that strong concepts are strong because they are powerful vehicles consumers use to position themselves.”

Dwight formed KRC, a research and consulting firm, in New York prior to forming Strategic Frameworking, Inc. (SFI), a firm that focused on articulating the identity of brands, institutions and organizations and aligning business activity around that identity.

His long-term clients included Frito-Lay, PepsiCo, Tropicana, General Mills, Pillsbury, Johnson & Johnson, Colgate University, T-Mobile, Anheuser-Busch, Les Schwab, Hershey, Judicial & Mediation Services (JAMS), GameStop, Yogi Tea, Colgate-Palmolive, The March of Dimes, Citibank, HP, Microsoft, Church & Dwight, The Center for International Educational Exchange, Jay Rockefeller (Gubernatorial & Senate), Ed Koch (Mayoral), Hillary Clinton (Senate) and many others.

Following 18 years of work with PepsiCo Restaurants/Yum, Darden and other food service companies, Dwight joined Ron Shaich at Au Bon Pain in the early 90s and played a central role in the creation and growth of Panera Bread from well before its inception through 2018.

Dwight holds an M.A. from the University of Connecticut and an M.Phil. & Ph.D. from the City University of New York.

He is a long-term member of the Board of the Austen Riggs Center, a world-renowned psychiatric hospital in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. He also serves as an external director on the Board of the A.K. Rice Institute for the Study of Social Systems.

Dwight takes deep pride in his four children and four grandchildren.

(December 2023)

Jason Jones

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 15:39:25 GMT

Jason
Jones

Senior Director, Technology Services

Jason is an experienced restaurant technology leader with expertise in leading teams through the build of complex eCommerce systems.

Jason joined Panera in 2006 as a developer, building out foundational pieces of internal systems including HR applications and key stakeholder reports as well as creating the company’s first intranet. He was an essential member in the implementation of the company’s loyalty program and was the lead developer in building out the company’s first catering client database system. When Panera began its digital transformation, Jason shifted to a management role and led the team who built what ultimately became the heart of the eCommerce stack, including web ordering, microservices and the underlying data layer.

Jason holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Missouri–St. Louis. Jason is based out of St. Louis, and takes great pride in his two children, Franklin and Penelope.

(December 2023)

Keith Pascal

Tue, 05 Sep 2023 15:39:24 GMT

Keith
Pascal

Partner and Chief Concept Officer

Keith is a general manager and entrepreneur with a background in leading high-growth companies in the food and hospitality industry. At Act III, he is responsible for several of the group’s investments and leads efforts to identify and pursue new opportunities. Keith serves as a member of the Boards of Directors of PAR Technology Corporation (NYSE: PAR) and Honest Greens Barcelona.

Prior to Act III, Keith was a member of the Senior Leadership Team at Panera Bread where, as Chief Concept Offer, he led a transformation of the company’s menu, steered cafe redesign and shaped its new voice and branding. He also led the company’s M&A function.

Previously, Keith served as CEO of Goji, a developer of a revolutionary high tech cooking technology, and as Founder and CEO of Savista, a Point of Sale Software and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company serving the global restaurant industry. In April 2006, Savista sold its BPO division to Accenture and its software business to Micros-Oracle.

Keith started his career in Operations at McDonald’s Corp. and was part of the startup of Einstein Bagels. Keith has played a founding role in six companies and raised over $100MM in capital to fund his various ventures.

Keith holds a B.S. in Accountancy from the University of Illinois and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

(January 2025)

Adam Petersen

Mon, 04 Sep 2023 18:40:11 GMT

ADAM
Petersen

Director, Software

Adam is an experienced technical professional with a diverse background of leading software initiatives in multiple fields while working at companies ranging from large corporations to small startups.

Before joining Act III, Adam worked on the Cafe Systems team at Panera, creating software products that gave cafe operators cutting edge tools and insights empowering them to run their stores effectively. He was instrumental in the success of the development of a cloud-based integrated Front-of-House System, designing the architecture and leading the technical aspects of a multi-team effort.

Prior to Panera, Adam worked at a startup creating an innovative anti-piracy product for the movie industry, where he was responsible for the architecture and development of software systems supporting an autonomous remote-capable device. He was part of the small team responsible for the successful transition from prototype to fabrication, bringing to life years of research.

Adam started his career working for a Department of Defense subcontractor, writing software systems to support the development of prototype clinical instruments aimed at the non-invasive detection and treatment of early-stage skin cancer using photodynamic therapy.

Adam holds a B.S. in Computer Engineering from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale

(December 2023)

Kyle Phillips

Sun, 03 Sep 2023 15:39:23 GMT

Kyle
Phillips

Vice President, Product Management

Kyle is a seasoned restaurant technology leader with expertise in crafting and guiding consumer experiences.

Kyle joined Panera in 2002, rising through the ranks to lead many key initiatives including Panera’s customer loyalty program, eCommerce applications, Delivery Logistics, Physical-Digital Experiences, and Cafe Systems. He was instrumental in Panera’s digital transformation efforts and led the design and development of the consumer-facing portfolio, including Panera’s Mobile Ordering Apps, Marketing and Ordering Websites, Kiosk Ordering and Catering Ordering.

Kyle holds a B.S. in Management Information Systems and an M.B.A. from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville.

(December 2023)

Doug Schnell

Sat, 02 Sep 2023 15:39:21 GMT

Doug
Schnell

Strategic Advisor, Real Estate

Doug brings 25 years of experience in real estate and growth strategy to the Act III team. Doug has served in a variety of roles spanning restaurants, general merchandise and shopping center development. Doug’s focus has been to lead teams to develop strategies that deliver sustainable long-term growth that meets both unit-growth targets and ROI objectives.

Prior to joining Act III and its partner concepts, Doug served as the Senior Vice President of Development Strategy at Panera Bread, where he led growth strategy, prototype development and non-traditional growth. Doug had a 16-year career at Panera that included both strategic and execution-related roles to help grow the brand from 850 cafes to over 2,300 cafés during his time there.

Doug started his career at May Department Stores Company (now Macy’s).

Doug holds a B.A. from Carthage College and an M.A. from Miami University (Ohio). Doug lives in St. Louis and is very proud of his three kids: Claire, Ben, and Jane.

(December 2023)

Marc Youngentob

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 15:39:20 GMT

MarC YoungeNtob

Vice President of Finance, Level99

Marc is focused on supporting the Level99 team as the company embarks on a national expansion strategy. Marc is responsible for Finance as well as Planning, Human Resources and Legal matters and is actively involved in projects across the organization as it seeks to build the systems and processes to support a growing business.

Prior to joining Act III, Marc spent nearly four years with Cava supporting the organization as it scaled from 25 to 350 units. At Cava, Marc led projects across the organization including delivery strategy and manufacturing scalability/new production facility diligence and was intimately involved in the company’s acquisition and integration of Zoës Kitchen (NYSE: ZOES).

Marc started his career at John Hancock (Manulife) covering the natural resources sector with primary focus on the Food & Agribusiness space, including both public and private companies ranging from cooperatives to manufacturing and distribution to retail.

Marc holds a B.A. with a major in Business and a minor in Economics from the University of Rochester and an M.B.A from the University of Virginia.

(December 2023)

act3

Krish Gopalakrishnan

krish gopalakrishnan

Jason Morgan

jason morgan

Courtney Francis

COURTNEY FRANCIS

Frank Alonso

FRANK ALONSO

Chuck Chapman

Chuck Chapman

Jeff Dame

Jeff Dame

Lisa Dubois

Lisa Dubo is

Noah Elbogen

NoaH Elbogen

Bryan Griffith

Bryan Griffith

Dwight Jewson

Dwig ht Jewson

Jason Jones

Jason Jones

Keith Pascal

Keith Pascal

Adam Petersen

ADAM Petersen

Kyle Phillips

Kyle Phillips

Doug Schnell

Doug Schnell

Marc Youngentob

MarC YoungeNtob

Jeff
Dame

Lisa
Dubo is

NoaH
Elbogen

Jason
Jones

Keith
Pascal

ADAM
Petersen

Kyle
Phillips

Doug
Schnell