Our senior leadership team is comprised of restaurateurs, culinary professionals and foodies who embody our Passion Principles and believe in the importance of local restaurants. We call ourselves the food travel experts and are passionate about bringing a “taste of place” to airports throughout North America.
As the CEO of SSP America, Michael Svagdis’ top priority is to ensure the entire SSP team is aligned to deliver a memorable culinary experience to each and every guest across the company’s North American operations. Michael and his team are driven by an unparalleled passion for bringing cool, authentic restaurants to airports that reflect a taste of place and deliver a world-class customer experience. A recognized leader in the food service industry with a passion for leading corporate growth, Michael is dedicated to culinary innovation, operational improvements, driving standardizations and aligning strategies with the overarching business goals. Before joining SSP America, Michael served as Chief Executive Officer for Eurest Dining Services, a division of Compass Group and a leader in large-scale employee dining services for major global corporations.
George Mboya is the Chief Financial Officer and is responsible for over $700 million of revenue generated across SSP’s US and Canadian divisions. George oversees all financial elements of the company, including finance, accounting, payroll and treasury. George also manages the loss prevention team and information technology department, ensuring well-organized support for the company’s operations. George has over 20 years’ experience in managing financial operations and directives in three different countries. He joined SSP America in 2017 following 13 years with Compass Group.
Pat Murray is SSP America’s Executive Vice President and is charged with developing and growing the company’s portfolio across North America. Pat oversees a division responsible for business development, design & construction, brands & concepts, strategic partnerships and, corporate marketing and communications. Pat has been an instrumental force in realizing SSP America’s vision of delivering a ‘taste of place’ to North American airports, driven by SSP’s strong alliance of award-winning local brands, impassioned culinary professionals and leading restauranteurs. Pat is also recognized for spearheading unique strategic partnership models that have helped to drive innovation and transform business development within the travel food and beverage industry. His leadership and extraordinary commitment to the industry have been integral to SSP America’s dramatic and continued growth.
As General Counsel, Jag Singh provides leadership to the business as the primary legal advisor to the Company’s senior management and Board of Directors. Jag advises on all legal matters including major domestic and international contracts and transactions, and matters relating to joint ventures, corporate governance, licensing and litigation. Jag is considered a highly effective, strategic and practical transactional attorney with over 20 years of diverse experience in various fast-paced environments.
Pat Banducci is a seasoned hospitality and travel retail industry executive with a
twenty-seven year career leading successful operations, business development and financial teams. As the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), Pat is responsible for harnessing the commercial strength of the North American portfolio in order to maximize current and future growth and maintain a competitive position in the marketplace. Areas of responsibility include commercial strategy development and oversight, passenger marketing, restaurant openings, operational automation and excellence as well as business controls. Prior to his role as CCO, Pat served as the Chief Operating Officer for SSP America.
Tony Montepare leads SSP America’s procurement team providing oversight on the purchasing and distribution of all goods and services across SSP’s North American operations, ensuring quality, value and customer satisfaction are met at every channel. A 40+year food and beverage veteran, Tony has held executive positions in some of the industry’s largest and most successful companies. A self-proclaimed foodie and avid cook, Tony’s strong entrepreneurial spirit, culinary background and firsthand industry knowledge stems from his roots as the owner and operator of a full-service family restaurant business in upstate New York.
As Executive Chef & Vice President, Culinary, Robert Maluso has a broad set of responsibilities that ultimately center on delivering SSP America’s world-class culinary experience to each customer we serve. Robert leads a distinguished team responsible for menus, recipes and culinary innovation. He partners with SSP’s marketing team to create exciting new proprietary brands and ensure the SSP America brand portfolio remains refreshed, relevant and meets global passengers’ dietary needs. Robert also oversees SSP America’s food cost and waste management programs, as well as kitchen design and layout. He serves as a culinary point of contact for all local restaurant partners and chefs and, is actively engaged in the pursuit of new business opportunities.
Lieske Renz is SSP America’s Vice President of Human Resources. In her role, Lieske is responsible for building a strong talent pipeline to support SSP’s customer service promise and growth expectations, as well as further cultivating SSP America’s culture to inspire passionate food travel experts in a supportive and enthusiastic working environment. Lieske leads SSP’s overall human resources strategy of “Cooking Up Experts” including talent acquisition, leadership development, diversity and inclusion, employee education and development, organizational design, compensation and benefits, as well as policy implementation. Before joining SSP America, Lieske was most recently the Senior Vice President of Shared Services for Liquor Stores N.A., as well as the Senior Director of Human Resources of YUM! Brands International.
