Jim Collins
Chief Executive Officer
Jim Collins is the founder, owner and operator of Town Kitchen and Grill in Montrose, CA, a 100 seat new American restaurant that recently won 10 best new American restaurants in Los Angeles. But that’s just his night job. During the days Jim has CEO’d a series of national, venture-backed distributed enterprises including Affinity Internet, a hosting company with more than 500,000 websites and Pictage, a B2B2C enterprise connecting professional photographers and their clients. Today Jim is CEO of Pasadena, CA based Kitchen United, a commercial kitchen outsourcer and operator serving the delivery, restaurant and entrepreneurial food community.
Meredith Sandland
Chief Operating Officer
Prior to joining Kitchen United, Meredith Sandland was the Chief Development Officer for Taco Bell, a division of Yum! Brands. In that role, she added more than $1 billion in sales to the system through the addition of 1,000 restaurants. She was responsible for concept, franchise sales, expansion strategy, market planning, real estate, architecture, construction, and maintenance. She also led International Development Strategy and overall Brand Strategy in other roles during her tenure at Taco Bell. Previously, Meredith worked for more than a decade for Bain & Company, specializing in Private Equity due diligence and post-acquisition alignment of management teams and owners.
Atul Sood
Chief Business Officer
Atul Sood is the Chief Business Officer for Kitchen United and is responsible for spearheading strategic partnerships along with administrative and financial management. Prior to his role with Kitchen United, Atul was the Director of Business Development for McDonald's Global Digital organization, where he was responsible for launching and managing McDonald's food delivery partnerships. Atul began his career in investment banking and has, amongst other roles, founded, grown and sold his own start-up in the sales technology space.
Massimo Noja de Marco
Chief Culinary Officer
Massimo Noja De Marco serves as Kitchen United’s Chief Culinary Officer. Prior to joining the company, Massimo owned and operated PH+E, a boutique consulting firm focusing on opening restaurants, hotels and bars across the US, Mexico and Europe. He served as Vice President of Operations for SBE Entertainment, controlling all operational aspects for the Restaurants and Nightlife division. Previously he covered the same role at Wolfgang Puck Catering and Events, overseeing operations for all venues in S. California, including major events and awards shows, such as the Academy Awards.
Formerly, Massimo owned and operated restaurants in NYC and Los Angeles and ran the Food and Beverage Department for The Ritz Carlton Marina Del Rey and Hillcrest Country Club in Beverly Hills.
Massimo was raised in a seven-generation family in Hospitality in the Lake District outside of Milan, Italy, where he graduated with a degree in Hospitality Management and a Bachelors in Public Relations from IULM University in Milan. For three years he ran the family business composed of boutique hotels and restaurants in Italy.