Real Mex Makes Leadership Appointments

Real Mex Restaurants, a full service, casual dining Mexican restaurant chain, announced the following appointments: Blake Barnett to CFO; Rio Gueli to EVP of Operations; Mark Bartholomay to EVP of Operations; Jared Dougherty to SVP of Marketing; Thanh Ninh to SVP of Human Resources; Andy Mai to SVP & Chief Information Officer.

"I am excited about the new additions to Real Mex, which will significantly strengthen our leadership team and add to the current momentum we are experiencing to transform the Real Mex brands and reconnect to our customers," said Charly Robinson, President and CEO of Real Mex. "Each of these individuals brings diverse and proven capabilities in the areas of operations and business development and has extensive leadership experience. I am confident that their collective skills will support our turnaround strategy and enhance our ability to capitalize on emerging opportunities, pursue growth initiatives and improve revenues."

Real Mex is a portfolio company of Z Capital Partners, L.L.C. and Tennenbaum Capital Partners.

The company noted that Blake Barnett joins Real Mex Restaurants from Kraco Enterprises, where he served as CFO since 2012. Prior to Kraco, Barnett was Principal Consultant at B&B Consulting for two years, where he developed financial and strategic plans and evaluated alternative business opportunities to drive sales and earnings for his clients, including a $1.5 billion public firm. Before B&B Consulting, Blake served as CFO at Ambassadors International (AMIE) and from 2007-2008.

Barnett also has experience in the food and restaurant business, having served as CFO at Albertsons from 2004-2006 and Divisional CEO for YUM Brands from 2002-2004.

Rio Gueli comes to Real Mex Restaurants with over 20 years' experience in the area of restaurant operations and development. As EVP of Operations, he oversees half of the chains restaurant operations, which includes El Torito, Las Brisas and Who Song & Larry. Gueli also oversees the Manager in Training program as well as non-exempt team member training programs.

Gueli most recently served as Director of Food and Beverage at Bass Pro Group. Prior to that he was Director of Operations at Houston based Landry's Restaurants, focusing on West Coast Operations for the Joe's Crab Shack Chain.

Real Mex said that Mark Bartholomay comes to Real Mex Restaurants with over 17 years' experience in the area of restaurant operations and development. As EVP of Operations, he oversees half of the chains restaurant operations, which includes Chevy's, Acapulco, El Torito Grill, Sinigual and El Paso Cantina. He also oversees Banquet/ Catering, Beverage development, Construction and Facilities.

Prior to joining Real Mex, Bartholomay served as the Chief Development Officer at Hurricane Grill and Wings, COO at Kona Grill Corp., VP of Business Development at Famous Dave's of America, and SVP of International Development and Operations at Rainforest Cafe. Throughout his tenure in the restaurant industry he has been an integral part of business growth through unit and franchise expansion while developing and enhancing the company's strategy and development programs. Prior to getting into the restaurant business Bartholomay practiced public accounting and was an investment banker assisting in the funding of over $400 million of equity and debt transactions.

Jared Dougherty joins Real Mex Restaurants from Playboy Enterprises where he last served as SVP of Global Brand Management. As the SVP of Marketing at Real Mex Restaurants, Dougherty will oversee the Marketing, PR and National Sales aspect for the company.

While at Playboy, Dougherty was responsible for Marketing, PR and Licensing Operations, and he managed the brand's $1 billion consumer products business around the world as well as the re-launch of the Playboy branded Clubs and Casinos. During his tenure at Playboy, Dougherty was part of the core team that lead the operational transition from a public company to a Private Equity funded organization. Prior to Playboy, Dougherty was with the Frito-Lay division of PepsiCo where he managed media relations, product publicity, crisis management, executive visibility and cross- corporate communications. He also played a key role in the company's successful re-launch of the Doritos brand. Dougherty began his career at Ketchum Public Relations working on global brands including Levi Strauss & Co. and ABSOLUT vodka, as well as tour publicist for music acts including Goo Goo Dolls, Sugar Ray, and The Roots.

According to a release, Thanh Ninh recently joined Real Mex Restaurants with over 15 years' experience in the area of Human Resources. Ninh's expertise includes change management, organizational development, employee relations and total rewards. As the SVP of Human Resources he will oversee and drive the Company's cultural diversity, talent acquisition, human capital and total rewards initiatives.

Ninh started his HR career as a generalist for Video City and eventually moved into a total rewards role for an internet startup and business services company. He then spent two years at AT&T/ Cingular Wireless where he was as a HR Business Partner managing two call centers that eventually moved to a union environment. In his latest position, where he was VPHR for Yard House Restaurants, he built the HR department during his 7 year tenure. He was instrumental in growing the chain from 15 locations to 44 locations which resulted in the chain being acquired by Darden for $585mil.

Andy Mai comes to Real Mex Restaurants with over 19 years' experience in the area of technology and information systems. As the SVP/CIO, he is responsible for developing and deploying solutions to improve cost efficiencies and drive sales and will work to elevate and increase Real Mex's competitiveness in the casual dining segment through intelligent technology offerings.

Prior to joining Real Mex, Mai held EVP positions for Elephant Bar Restaurant, Director Information Technology for Edwards Theatre Circuit and various technical and leadership positions in the insurance and petroleum industries.

((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected]))