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Beard Foundation restructures executive suite

CEO aims for more impact on food world

Bret Thorn, Senior Food Editor

June 29, 2018

2 Min Read
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Clare Reichenbach

Photo: JBF

Clare-Reichenbach-James-Beard-square_2.pngThe James Beard Foundation has restructured its leadership team in a move CEO Clare Reichenbach said would align its “talent to our strategic priorities.”

Mitchell Davis

Photo: Clay Williams

Mitchell_Davis._Photo_Credit_-_Clay_Williams_2.pngUnder the new structure, Mitchell Davis has been promoted from executive vice president to chief strategy officer overseeing corporate strategy and acting as “industry liaison and ambassador for the Foundation globally,” the group said in a press release.

 

Kris Moon

Photo: Jeffrey Gurwin

Kris_Moon_Photo_Credit_-_Jeffrey_Gurwin_2.pngKris Moon, formerly the foundation’s vice president, is now chief operating officer, with responsibility for overseeing all revenue, including sponsorships, fundraising and development, as well as information technology and property and operations of the James Beard House, which hosts hundreds of dinners annually from visiting chefs.

Katherine Miller

Photo: JBF

Katherine_Miller-james-beard_2.pngKatherine Miller, who was senior director for policy and advocacy, is now vice president of impact and is in charge of such programs as the foundation’s Chefs Boot Camp for Policy & Change and Smart Catch, which is the group’s seafood sustainability initiative. She’s also responsible for chef advocacy and food waste programs, diversity initiatives, scholarships and women’s leadership programs.

Siobhan Flaherty Haber

Photo: Michael Johnston

Siobhan_Flaherty_Haber._Photo_Credit_-_Michael_Johnston_2.pngSiobhan Flaherty Haber, who was director of special events and Greens — the foundation’s group for members under the age of 40 — is now vice president of events, including the gala James Beard Foundation Awards and associated parties. She’s also still in charge of expansion of the Greens organization.

Alison Tozzi Liu

Photo: JBF

Alison_Tozzi_Liu-james-beard_2.pngAlison Tozzi Liu, former editorial director, is now vice president of marketing, communications and editorial, responsible for all internal and external communications and public relations as well as marketing, brand strategy and content origination, such as the members’ newsletter. 

Additionally, chief financial and operating officer Marilyn Platzer is now also chief of staff.

The restructuring arguably began in February, when Reichenbach was hired as CEO, replacing Susan Ungaro, who had been the foundation’s president for 11 years. At the time of Reichenbach’s appointment, the foundation said the new title was more in line with the way similar foundations were structured.

In a statement Reichenbach called the reorganization “comprehensive,” and said, “It sets us up for success as we embark upon the next phase of ambitious growth. … It will enable a more strategic approach, strengthening the value we bring to the culinary community, food lovers, and partners alike. I have great confidence in the team, and am excited for this next chapter.”

Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected]

Follow him on Twitter: @foodwriterdiary

About the Author

Bret Thorn

Senior Food Editor, Nation's Restaurant News

Senior Food & Beverage Editor

Bret Thorn is senior food & beverage editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality for Informa’s Restaurants and Food Group, with responsibility for spotting and reporting on food and beverage trends across the country for both publications as well as guiding overall F&B coverage. 

He is the host of a podcast, In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn, which features interviews with chefs, food & beverage authorities and other experts in foodservice operations.

From 2005 to 2008 he also wrote the Kitchen Dish column for The New York Sun, covering restaurant openings and chefs’ career moves in New York City.

He joined Nation’s Restaurant News in 1999 after spending about five years in Thailand, where he wrote articles about business, banking and finance as well as restaurant reviews and food columns for Manager magazine and Asia Times newspaper. He joined Restaurant Hospitality’s staff in 2016 while retaining his position at NRN. 

A magna cum laude graduate of Tufts University in Medford, Mass., with a bachelor’s degree in history, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Thorn also studied traditional French cooking at Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine in Paris. He spent his junior year of college in China, studying Chinese language, history and culture for a semester each at Nanjing University and Beijing University. While in Beijing, he also worked for ABC News during the protests and ultimate crackdown in and around Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Thorn’s monthly column in Nation’s Restaurant News won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for best staff-written editorial or opinion column.

He served as president of the International Foodservice Editorial Council, or IFEC, in 2005.

Thorn wrote the entry on comfort food in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, 2nd edition, published in 2012. He also wrote a history of plated desserts for the Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, published in 2015.

He was inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014.

A Colorado native originally from Denver, Thorn lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Bret Thorn’s areas of expertise include food and beverage trends in restaurants, French cuisine, the cuisines of Asia in general and Thailand in particular, restaurant operations and service trends. 

Bret Thorn’s Experience: 

Nation’s Restaurant News, food & beverage editor, 1999-Present
New York Sun, columnist, 2005-2008 
Asia Times, sub editor, 1995-1997
Manager magazine, senior editor and restaurant critic, 1992-1997
ABC News, runner, May-July, 1989

Education:
Tufts University, BA in history, 1990
Peking University, studied Chinese language, spring, 1989
Nanjing University, studied Chinese language and culture, fall, 1988 
Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine, Cértificat Elémentaire, 1986

Email: [email protected]

Social Media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bret-thorn-468b663/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bret.thorn.52
Twitter: @foodwriterdiary
Instagram: @foodwriterdiary

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