Since taking over the helm of SSP America in June of 2007, Les Cappetta through his strong leadership and vast business acumen, has led the successful expansion of SSP America’s portfolio with six new airports and numerous new concepts.  His planned introduction of such local, organic foods and luxury restaurants such as Bartolotta’s Italian Restaurants, Camden Food Co. and the Palm Restaurant into the American airport market has bolstered the company’s reputation for superior dining quality.  As a recognized leader with extensive roots in the travel food and beverage industry, he has attracted top-level management talent as well as five-star chefs to the company.

Prior to joining SSP America, Les worked with Marriott Hotels & Resorts and HMS Host where as Executive Vice President of Business Development and Design and Construction, he was instrumental in ensuring the successful transition of the split of the unique food and beverage lines from the hotelier’s core operations.  During his tenure, HMS Host’s North American concession business nearly doubled in sales from $1.3billion (1996) to $2.3 billion (2006).

Les has led and currently serves on a number of industry, educational and trade association boards, including the Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA) where he served as Chairman of the Associates’ Board of Directors.  He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Business and Finance.  As a recognized industry thought leader, he has been asked to speak at major academic, trade and industry conferences about global trends, service and product innovation, and travel management.

In October 2008, Roger Worrell joined SSP America following 14 years with the parent company, SSP, in the United Kingdom.  Prior to his appointment as CFO of SSP America, Roger was the CFO of the UK Rail, Millies Cookies and Harry Ramsden division, the largest and most profitable division of the SSP Group.  In that role, he oversaw the finance function, IT, loss prevention and purchasing.   In addition, he has worked with the Board on a number of group acquisitions and new business tenders.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Momentum and Railrest, a joint venture with the Italian group Cremonini, which provides catering on European train services Eurostar and Thayls.

Prior to joining SSP, Roger was Finance Director at Chestermark PLC, a UK Rail catering company that was subsequently acquired by SSP.  Earlier he held senior finance positions at Europcar and Tower Records in the UK.

Pat Murray joined SSP America in 2007 as Vice President of Brands and Marketing. Pat brings over 15 years experience in the food and beverage industry in concept selection, restaurant operation, and business development.  In mid-2008, Pat was promoted to Senior Vice President of Business Development with responsibility for leading the company’s sales activities into new airports as well as renewals and expansions at existing properties.

Before joining SSP America, Pat was Director of Concept Development at HMS Host where he managed the casual dining portfolio and developed local, regional, and national partnerships in Florida and the Western US.  Before HMS Host, Pat was with Al Copeland Investments at Copeland’s of New Orleans where he rose through the ranks from entry-level manager to Senior Vice President of Operations.  During his tenure with the organization, Copeland’s grew from 8 restaurants in three states to 55 restaurants in 13 states. 

Pat graduated from Cornell University in 1992.  Shortly after graduating, he managed the US Congressional Campaign of John Hosley of New York.

Bringing over 27 years of industry experience, Richard Barclay serves as Senior Vice President of Brands and Marketing. In addition to overseeing the strategic direction of marketing and franchising, Richard leads the introduction and development of international, national, local and proprietary brands that comprise the US brand portfolio to ensure the best customized offerings for every location.

Prior to joining the SSP America team in October 2008, Richard headed International Brand Development for SSP, parent company to SSP America. In that role, Richard formulated and developed the SSP international brand portfolio strategy, enabling the introduction of innovative European brands to the US market such as Camden Food Co. and Real Food Company. He also shepherded the milestone agreement to partner with Starbucks that brought over 100 Starbucks stores to travel hubs throughout key European markets. Richard was responsible for the re-launch of the Caffe Ritazza brand leading to the opening of over 350 new locations in 35 countries. The successful re-launch resulted in a quadrupling of earnings in three years. Caffe Ritazza is now the fourth largest coffee retailer in the United Kingdom.

Ady Iwano joined SSP America in May 2007 as a Regional Human Resources Manager.  In that position, she was responsible for airports in the Northeast US including Boston, JFK, Baltimore-Washington, Newark, among others.  Ady played an important role in the development of the SSP America employee handbook and assisted in the negotiation of labor harmony and union agreements.  In April 2008, she was promoted to Field Operations HR Director where she took responsibility for HR initiatives in all field locations.  In October 2008, Ady was promoted to her current role.

Previously Ady was employed by HMSHost and served as a Regional HR Manager in the Motorways Division and was responsible for providing comprehensive HR support in the areas of organizational effectiveness, talent management, employee relations, staffing, compensation, employment law/compliance, benefits, and training and development. 

Ady also spent 9 years with Wegmans Food Markets, where she had a highly successful career, being promoted every 2 years – and working on various programs including recruitment and staffing, relocation, scholarship, culinary development, and management intern programs.  Notable work at Wegmans includes the development of the company recruitment strategy, that comprised of college recruitment, culinary, general talent, and youth sourcing strategies, as well as the design and implementation of the organization’s recruitment brand and recruitment toolkits.  She was also responsible for the development of recruitment strategies and sourcing plans for several new Wegmans stores that consisted of 500-700 employees per location.

Kevin Callaway joined SSP America in August 2007, initially as Regional Vice President with responsibility for the activities of major airports including JFK, Toronto, Baltimore-Washington, and Boston.  Recently promoted to Senior Vice President of Operations, Kevin leads a team of four Operations Vice Presidents with responsibility for overseeing management of the operations at 45 North American Airports with over 160 food and beverage and retail concessions.