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Welcome to Tomorrow

We believe that effective leaders don't simply seek "jobs"; they seek organizations with a compelling story, exceptional leaders, and room for continued growth. As you scroll through this page, you will gain a better understanding of Restaurant Technologies' narrative, where the company has been, and where it is going.

Regional Director of West Operations ($75M+ P&L)

RESTAURANT TECHNOLOGIES (RT)

Restaurant Technologies (RT) is a high-growth integrator of automated safety and efficiency solutions, and complex peripheral services, for the commercial kitchens of restaurants (independent, QSR, fast food), convenient stores, retail outlets, grocers, delis, casinos, hotels, and other food services organizations.  Owned by Energy Capital Partners, a ~$20B ESG investment firm, RT employs over 1,200 people and is generating roughly $1B in annual revenue, with steady long-term, double digit year-over-year growth, and an extraordinarily high-performing bottom line. Founded by entrepreneurial spirits tied to the McDonald's organization in the 1990's, RT is a well-established organization with an impressive executive team that is currently driving transformation, innovation, scalability, and major growth across the US. 

As the company has reached critical mass and continues to evolve on its journey to drive growth beyond $1B, the RT executive team has made it a top priority to significantly invest in their enterprise business processes creating a much stronger, more scalable infrastructure. RT is transforming a legacy centralized field execution function, upskilling to a more decentralized senior "operator" model focused on standardization of process, systematic execution, and consistent feedback loops. Tasked with leading one of RT's most critical regions in the West, the Regional Director of Operations will assume full P&L accountability of a ~$75M territory including 7 depots (distribution centers). This leader will be responsible for all field execution and optimization across the west territory related to service, distribution, and financial performance.

A Foundation you can build on

Getting a sense of the foundation that has been built prior to your arrival offers a lens through which you can see where your career may go.

Restaurant Technologies (RT)

Restaurant Technologies (RT) is a ~$1B, privately held, vertically integrated full service integrator of automated safety solutions and services for commercial kitchens across the United States.  RT is the fastest-growing provider of cooking oil management, and back-of-house hood and exhaust cleaning solutions, in the country.  It services well over 45,000 national quick-service and full-service restaurant chains, independent restaurants, grocery delis, hotels, casinos, convenience stores, universities, and hospitals and has grown tremendously year-over-year for decades.

RT's History

RT was founded in the late 1990's by a group of entrepreneurial spirited leaders from the food service industry who had strong ties to the McDonald's organization and recognized a serious challenge in the way that cooking oil was managed in commercial kitchens.  They realized that the lack of automation in the handling of oil - its replenishment, monitoring, filtration, and even the logistical movement of the product - was exposing many workers to serious danger, enormous amounts of labor intensive and costly work, and creating an absolute mess in kitchens across the US.  So they started Restaurant Technologies in 1997 to solve this problem on the foundation of a single, incredibly well-engineered system and service model, which is branded today as "Total Oil Management" - an all-encompassing solution for cooking oil delivery, filtration, grease removal, automated replenishment, and recycling at the push of a single button.  Having developed a proprietary, evolutionary system that was non-existent and remains without much competition, the company has grown immensely at a very rapid pace.

A Stand Out In Food Service

Restaurant Technologies is a stand out in food service as it operates in a niche space with little competition.  With its incredibly well-operated, vertically integrated structure, RT owns its proprietary systems and technology, and has intelligently built peripheral service structures around these equipment solutions to drive "vertical integration", which includes its own delivery teams, storage facilities (depots), installation services, and customer support/field service groups.  Recognizing its strength of position in the space, RT has embarked on a transformation to drive continued growth of the existing "core" product portfolio while introducing new products and services in an effort to continue diversifying the organization in the greater food services space within which RT is only 1% penetrated.

Scale

RT is the most efficient and fastest growing provider of oil management solutions in the food services industry today, employing over 1,200 people across the United States whose efforts are generating roughly $1B+ in annual revenue.  RT operates over 41 distribution centers, and services over 45,000 customers across restaurant and hospitality industries, including some of the most formidable brands in the business like McDonald's, Burger King, HyVee, Dairy Queen, Jack In The Box, Denny's, Kwik Trip, and many more.

Our Take On RT

Performance

RT is an explosively growing organization.  Its leadership team is not interested in status quo or maintenance.  Rather, they wish to continue the intelligent expansion of the business from a top and bottom line perspective, personnel and team growth, and product portfolio diversification and growth.  RT hires aspirational, high-performing leaders who align with the company's expectation for continued change and healthy growth.

Integrity

RT's leadership team embodies strength in character.  From the CEO through the entire organization, this team is constantly encouraged and expected to do what is right with candor, without compromise.  The executive team is honest, forthcoming, and transparent and fully understands the value in establishing trust inside and outside the organization.

Speed

RT's leadership team moves quickly.  Decisions and progress are made with tremendous velocity, an imperative characteristic of a high-growth, vertically integrated organization.  RT embodies an entrepreneurial culture, where leaders have the autonomy to drive the business forward in the most nimble and agile way.

What You Will Be A Part Of

As a senior leader at RT, you will position the organization for its future, which requires an understanding of those around you, what they collectively stand for, and how they positively impact the world.

ESG - French Fries to Fuel

RT has partnered with Chevron Renewable Energy Group to turn used cooking oil into low carbon fuel furthering aligning with their ESG initiatives. 

TOTAL OIL MANAGEMENT, RT'S FLAGSHIP PRODUCT

A thorough explanation of Restaurant Technologies' flagship product, Total Oil Management.

AUTOMIST - AUTOMATED HOOD & FLUE CLEANING

RT's newly introduced product, Automist, is explained in further detail.

RENAISSANCE HOTEL CHANGES THE WAY THEY MANAGE OIL

Executive Chef, David Creamer, shares his satisfaction with his partnership with Restaurant Technologies.

A DAY IN THE LIFE

The field force driver team describes what it is like working at Restaurant Technologies.

CAREER PROGRESSION - CEO SPEAKS WITH BILL MOODY

Restaurant Technologies' CEO, Jeff Kiesel, spends time with long-time RT employee, Bill Moody, speaking about Bill's career progression and experience working at the company.

The Company You’ll Keep

Who you’ll work with is often more important than the work itself.  Get to know the Restaurant Technologies leadership team you will be engaging with and supporting in this role.

Lee Schiller

Vice President of Field Operations (Direct Manager)

Lee serves as the Vice President of Field Operations at Restaurant Technologies, bringing extensive expertise in operations, logistics, and leadership. His nearly three-decade military career as a logistics officer in the U.S. Army encompassed command assignments, strategic leadership roles, and multiple deployments, during which he honed skills in strategic planning, crisis management, and team leadership. After retiring from the Army in 2016, Lee transitioned to the private sector, joining Penske Logistics, where he advanced from General Manager to Vice President of Operations. In this capacity, he managed a substantial logistics business, overseeing a team of 2,300 and a $330 million P&L, driving significant growth through customer and employee engagement, operational excellence, and process improvement. Lee's leadership philosophy emphasizes proactive engagement and open communication, fostering strong connections with employees at all levels and maintaining transparency throughout the organization.

Alissa Partee

Chief Operations Officer

Alissa joined Restaurant Technologies roughly 4 years ago as the Chief People Officer, providing HR advisory services in a variety of areas including coaching, diversity & inclusion, employee experience, and leading organizational change through unprecedented times of growth and maturity. She grew up in northern MN, specifically the Iron Range, which plays a significant role in her down-to-earth, midwestern nature. Prior to joining RT, Alissa was a part of iconic brands such as Caribou Coffee, Marvin Windows, and Buffalo Wild Wings, exposing her to first-class, authentic, people-driven cultures as well as high-growth environments. After a highly successful run in the CPO chair, RT recently announced Alissa's succession to Chief Operations Officer, where she assumes full accountability over HR/Talent, Operations Excellence, and IT. Alissa's "no-fear" mindset and core purpose of "contributing to someone else's success" are the perfect intangibles to lead RT through its' next phase of growth and maturity. 

Jeff Kiesel

Chief Executive Officer

With an MBA from Purdue University and over 30 years of leadership experience, Jeff Kiesel is the incredibly well-respected CEO of Restaurant Technologies, a role he's assumed for the last 16 years.  Jeff is a high energy, very passionate executive who embodies authenticity, candor, transparency, and honesty.  He is a down-to-earth CEO, easily approachable, who sets very high expectations and acts as a strong supporter of his team in achieving those lofty goals.  Jeff is the opposite of a micro-manager, and although highly supportive of his direct reports, hires senior leaders with the expectation that they take their onboarding and success into their own hands, leading autonomously with independence and little "daily" oversight.  Jeff is a family man, and prioritizes health and fitness inside and outside of the office.

Mike Reese

Chief People Officer

Brian Quinn

Vice President of Commercial Operations

Joe Nadzam

Senior Director of Operations Excellence

Diana Geseking

Chief Legal Officer

Kenndall Sayward

Director of Service & Distribution

A Day in the Life

Given RT's impressive growth and innovation over the last two decades, they now find themselves at a pivotal phase of operational transformation. The executive team has properly acknowledged their need for a more scalable, stronger infrastructure and subsequently made intelligent investments to positively impact the business in many functions. This multi-market Operator will assume full P&L accountability of one of RT's prominent regions in the west covering 11 states, driving $75M+ in annual revenue with a laser focus on the day to day delivery of the business with an emphasis on standardization, and utilizing a successful model to impact KPIs related to people, service, distribution, and financials. This leader will be critical in empowering their team to service a very expansive network across 7 depots located in Arizona, Las Vegas, California, Colorado, Washington, and Oregon. In an effort to streamline the operations function, this leader will need to partner cross-functionally with other groups supporting field execution such as operations excellence and shared services, allowing them to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and improve overall productivity.

Due to the significant expansion of several notable National Account clients, RT is preparing to invest in expanding the network, potentially adding 3-4 net new units (depots) in the west. In addition, current depots are performing extremely well adding new customers resulting in huge territory coverage and sophisticated logistics. As a result, this new Regional leader will be responsible for evaluating potential micro-sites in current geography to continue providing a white-glove customer experience. 

Responsibilities

  • Develop and execute the operational strategy in partnership with the operations leadership team aligned with the overall business objectives.
  • Collaborate with the Field Operations Leadership Team to set short- and long-term goals, objectives, and key performance indicators to streamline operations across the company.
  • Lead and inspire a high-performing operations team, providing guidance, mentorship, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
  • Recruit, train, and develop skilled and motivated depot leadership teams.

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  • Ensures all depot deliverables are met each day/week/month, while identifying longer range trends and gaps in performance; makes appropriate adjustments with urgency
  • Streamline and optimize processes to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and improve overall productivity.
  • Analyze financial data to identify opportunities for cost savings and revenue generation.
  • Collaborate with the customer support team to ensure high levels of customer satisfaction.
  • Address and resolve customer issues promptly and effectively.
  • Able to identify and direct change to drive financial results

Requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Operations Management, or a related field (MBA preferred).
  • 7-10 years of progressive leadership experience in operations management.
  • Experience in a high-growth and scaling organization
  • Proven track record of successfully leading and managing operational teams in a multi-site workforce; naturally results driven and motivated; demonstrated ability to drive results and achieve operational targets.
  • Sponsor of change and motivates team to adopt best practices and standard operating procedures (SOPs)
  • Influential leader - leads in a capacity that drives higher performance, deep engagement and a spirit of continue improvement

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  • Strong analytical, strategic thinking, and problem-solving skills.
  • Able to execute deliverables with consistency and continuous improvement
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal abilities.
  • Ability to travel up to 75% of the time
  • Preference for a candidate located within the West. Our depot locations within this territory include: Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Denver, Northern California, Seattle, and Portland.

What You Bring to the Table

Consistency

RT has been growing extensively over the last decade and needs to continue scaling intelligently. In order to do so, this leader will build trust in the field by serving the front-line associates in a way that’s easy, repeatable, creates predictable results, and doesn’t keep changing. 

Influential Voice

As RT continues to centralize and standardize their operations function, this leader will collaborate and effectively communicate with other markets to drive operational efficiency and instill the mindset that everyone is impacting the business as one cohesive team. 

Compelled by Data

RT's culture was built around an energetic, entrepreneurial spirit resulting in vast change and innovation. Therefore, this leader will navigate ambiguous situations by absorbing large data sets, and making data-driven decisions to progress the business forward. 

We believe this opportunity has the potential to be your next best thing. What do you think?