Leadership

Janey Chu has been with Kitchen United since January 2019 and has built up the HR function over the last couple years to support the growth and scalability of the company.

With over 20 years of experience in human resources, Janey is a skilled and proven HR leader, having worked and had opportunities and experiences with various organizations big and small helping to restructure, supporting mergers and acquisitions as well as building and scaling their teams in startup companies. Prior to Kitchen United, Janey held the role of Director, People Partners and Operations at OpenX, and previously held Sr HR Business Partner positions at tech companies such as Broadcom, Acer/Gateway/eMachines Computers and has also worked in the Entertainment Industry at Miramax Films and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Janey is a graduate of University of California, Santa Barbara.

Katie is the Chief Marketing Officer for the company and oversees all marketing strategy and execution for the DTC business, Kitchen United MIX, and its multiple B2B divisions. She is a senior marketing leader who has developed and executed industry-leading advertising programs that delivered both sales results and improvements in brand health attributes for a diverse list of clients.

A restaurant industry veteran, Katie gained vast experience working with multiple brands such as Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Papa John’s, and Joella’s Hot Chicken. With a fervent approach to creating advertising that leverages the power of digital media and consumer insights, she has produced more than 250 TV commercials – including four Super Bowl spots – and earned multiple international awards, including three Cannes Lions and a Gold Effie. Katie is a graduate of Miami University in Ohio

Kwame S. Brathwaite is the SVP of Real Estate Development for Kitchen United and is responsible for strategic expansion for mix locations nationally. In partnership with the BD team, Kwame ensures the growth of the brand through an omnichannel approach to new site development. Prior to his role with Kitchen United, Kwame was the VP of Real Estate Development for Citibank Realty Services and Regional Portfolio Manager for McDonald’s USA. In those roles, he was tasked with new sites acquisition, disposition and asset management of existing portfolios and managing partnerships from internal stakeholders to vendors. He is an executive with almost 20 years of experience in real estate and a native New Yorker. Brathwaite has a B.A. from Amherst College and an MBA from Marshall School of Business. He founded and has grown his own company and continues to pursue his passion for fine art and his family business.

Christy Kord oversees the Sales Team for Kitchen United responsible for the curation and leasing of our kitchen centers.  She has over 15 years of experience in the retail commercial real estate industry with an expertise in restaurant transactions . Prior to Kitchen United, Christy was the VP of Leasing for URW where spearheaded the lease up of the company’s largest active development project. As a sales executive at GGP and The Irvine Company, she was responsible for driving value and growth for the portfolio via innovative and effective deal making with some of the restaurant industry’s most lauded players.

Corey Manicone grew up in the industry as his parents owned restaurants in Northern Colorado, where he learned first hand the good, the bad and the ugly that comes with operating. In 2015, Corey joined New York City based Relay Delivery as the first employee, helping define the optimal delivery playbook used by hundreds of restaurants. Seeing a need in the market to further enhance the off-premise business model for restaurants, he co-founded Zuul in early 2018, New York’s first ghost kitchen solution. Zuul was recently acquired by Kitchen United. Moving forward, Kitchen United will license Zuul’s proprietary ghost kitchen technology, allowing restaurant operators across the country an opportunity to achieve a much-improved economic model for delivery while also enhancing the consumer experience.