| James J. Greco | |
|---|---|
Greco holding bagels at a Bruegger's bakery. |
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| Born | January 4, 1958 New Haven, Connecticut |
| Residence | Cheshire, Connecticut, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Georgetown University (B.A.) University of Miami (J.D.) Cass Business School, City University, London |
| Occupation | CEO, Le Duff America[1] |
James Joseph Greco (born January 4, 1958) is an American businessman and entrepreneur. He currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the restaurant group Le Duff America, a bakery café chain headquartered in Burlington, Vermont; Dallas, Texas; and Toronto, Canada.
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Greco was born in New Haven, Connecticut and grew up in nearby Hamden, Connecticut. He graduated from Hamden High School in 1976, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Georgetown University in 1980, and a J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law, in 1983. Additionally, Greco has completed International Studies at the Cass Business School of City University, London, England.
Greco is a member of the Connecticut Bar Association and the Florida Bar Association. As well as being active on the board of advisors for the Lender School of Business at Quinnipiac University, Greco also serves on the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Food Bank and the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce. Greco resides in Cheshire, Connecticut with his wife, Valerie,[2] and their two sons.[3][4]
After graduaing from law school, Greco served as a partner in Connecticut-based Greco and Greco law firm from 1983 to 1991, specializing in consultation to and representation of real estate and corporate clients.
Greco executed one of his first turnarounds as chief operating officer of Ellington, Connecticut-based Natural Country Farms, a manufacturer of private label and food service fruit juices.[5]
Following Natural Country Farms, Greco served as chief executive officer of Fieldbrook Farms, a $100 million manufacturer of private label ice cream in Dunkirk, New York. A team of investors, led by Greco, took over a failing Fieldbrook Farms and named Greco Chief Executive Officer. As CEO, he successfully designed and executed a strategic plan to turn the company around. Greco's efforts resulted in a doubling of profits and a large increase in productivity.[6]
Greco first joined Bruegger's in 2003, and since his arrival the company has enjoyed consecutive quarters of same store sales growth.[7] Additionally, in 2010, Bruegger's announced $254 million in revenue.[8] Under Greco, Bruegger's has expanded to operating over 300 bakery cafés in 26 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada.[9] On November 13, 2009, Greco oversaw Bruegger's eleventh and largest acquisition[10] to occur during his tenure at the company when Bruegger's purchased the restaurant holdings of Timothy's World Coffee. Through a wholly owned subsidiary called Threecaf Brands Canada Inc., Bruegger's assumed control of Timothy's three restaurant brands: Timothy's World Coffee, Michel's Bakery Café, and mmmuffins.[11]
On October 5, 2009, Greco was named Restaurant Operator of the Year by the Nation's Restaurant News during the publication's Golden Anniversary Celebration. He was awarded the honor in Dallas, Texas at the 50th anniversary Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators (MUFSO) conference.[12] He was selected by readers of the publication from among six nominees, the others being: Chuck Fallon, president of Burger King North America; Phil Friedman, chairman and chief executive of McAlister's Deli; Jeffrey Harvey, president and chief executive of Burgerville; Randy Kibler, president and chief executive of Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits; and Cameron Mitchell, president and chief executive of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants.[13][14]
In March 2011, Groupe Le Duff, a French restaurant group, acquired the Bruegger's chain and its subsidiaries from the investment group Sun Capital Partners, making Groupe Le Duff the second largest bakery café group in the world.[15] Greco was named the CEO of the company's American restaurant holdings under the name Le Duff America. Today, Le Duff America is the parent company of the restaurant chains Bruegger's, La Madeleine, Brioche Dorée, Timothy's World Coffee, Michel's Bakery Café, mmmuffins, as well as several others. The group, under Greco, runs nearly 600 restaurants and annually sees about $450 million in revenue.