Damian Mogavero

CEO & Founder

The primary ingredients in Damian Mogavero's biographical recipe are passion for hospitality and entrepreneurship.

 

As Avero's Chief Executive Officer & Founder, he fosters a philosophy

deeply-rooted in his personal enthusiasm for culinary arts and wine, as well as his professional experience in corporate finance.

 

Prior to establishing Avero, Damian served as Chief Financial Officer for a

New York City-based restaurant group, where he witnessed first-hand that his chefs and managers didn't have the necessary resources to run their operations efficiently. Not only were their bottom lines suffering, his front-of-house and

back-of-house teams were spending more time in the office running spreadsheets than in the dining room developing their staff and taking care

of their guests.

 

Damian recognized that the restaurant industry needed a revolutionary tool –

a simple-to-use software that could empower food & beverage operators to save valuable time, drive profitability, and provide outstanding hospitality to

their guests. To address this challenge, Damian founded Avero in 1999. He

has since grown his company to comprise 45 employees in three offices nationwide, supporting 10,000+ users across five countries.

 

What began as a childhood hobby for collecting baseball cards and comparing players' batting averages eventually evolved into Avero's score cards for evaluating server productivity. As avowed by recruiting expert Alice Elliot, he "has been on the forefront of reminding this industry that it must be competitive and providing a practical answer on how to do it."

 

Key to Damian's success has been his financial experience, since before becoming a restaurant CFO turned entrepreneur, he'd worked on Wall Street. As an investment banker in the corporate finance department of Dillon, Read & Co, Damian executed $2.5 billion in high-yield debt and equity transactions.

 

The gourmet test kitchen within Avero's headquarters where Damian hosts food and wine tastings plays centerpiece to his blending of passion and profession, bringing him closer to clients in a creative and relaxed setting. As dubbed by Fast Company magazine, he's "the right-brain foodie coexisting happily with

the left-brain MBA."

 

His diverse achievements prompted him to receive America's Entrepreneur Award in 2002. He has also been featured in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Fortune Small Business, Casino Journal, Global Gaming Business, Food Arts, and Sante.

 

He advises and speaks at hospitality and technology conferences (i.e. NRA Show and G2E Global Gaming Expo), partners with leading educational institutions (Cornell Hotel School), and supports nonprofit associations (Share Our Strength).

 

Damian graduated summa cum laude from La Salle University and earned his Master's degree in Business Administration from Harvard University.

 

Favorite Food: Brooklyn pizza.
Favorite Beverage: New and old-world Pinot Noirs.