About

I’ve spent the better part of three decades at the intersection of hospitality and technology. Based in Knoxville, TN, my career has been defined by a simple belief: technology should serve the people who use it, not the other way around.

From the Kitchen to the Server Room

I didn’t start my career in an office; I started in the kitchen. My first job was in the heart of the house, and that operational “grit” stayed with me as I moved into data analytics for our local utilities company and eventually back into the restaurant world.

I’ve been with Aubrey’s Inc. since 2007. For the first 12 years, I was in operations as a Kitchen Manager. That experience was invaluable. It gave me a deep understanding of what a restaurant needs to be profitable and efficient—and more importantly, what it feels like when technology gets in the way of a busy Friday night shift.

Building a Department from Scratch

When I started, Aubrey’s didn’t have an IT department. While still in operations, I started using my background in database management and data analytics to build custom tools to lower our Cost of Goods Sold (COGS). When the numbers proved that tech could directly drive profitability, I made the case to our ownership to establish a dedicated IT function.

Since then, I’ve had the privilege of building our IT infrastructure from the ground up. I serve as a “one-stop shop” for our group, bridging the gap between hardware, software, and people:

  • Strategic Oversight: Developing the overall IT roadmap and serving as the primary point of contact for all vendors.
  • Systems Integration: A core part of my role is ensuring that our disparate systems are talking to each other. I build the technical integrations that allow data to flow seamlessly across our entire stack.
  • Infrastructure & Support: Establishing our help desk, remote management, and network administration while maintaining physical hardware across all locations.
  • Modernization: Administering M365, building SharePoint sites for internal communication, and moving legacy processes toward cloud-based automations.
  • Operational Continuity: I maintain and edit our digital and print menu files, ensuring that our offerings are always current across all concepts while collaborating with our design team on the layouts.
  • Training & Implementation: From selecting our POS systems to training the teams on how to use them, I oversee the entire lifecycle of our software.

My Philosophy: Efficiency Through Automation

What really gets me excited to head into work every morning is the puzzle of a manual process. If there is a way to automate a task or streamline a workflow to make our teams’ lives easier and our bottom line stronger, I’m going to find it.

I’m proud to be a bridge between the technical world and the operational one. My goal is to ensure that while I’m managing the “zeros and ones” in the background, our teams can focus on what they do best: taking care of our guests.