If you live in this region you know CAVA. Started in 2006 in Rockville, MD as a traditional sit-down restaurant called Cava Mezze, the fast casual spot now has nearly 400 locations across the country. Co-founder and CEO Brett Schulman joined the company in 2009, helping spearhead its journey to become the largest restaurant operator in the Mediterranean category in the U.S. restaurant industry, and on July 17 he's joining us for Lessons in Leadership. 

Learn about what it took to grow from a small regional restaurant to one of the most well-known fast casual chains in the country, and how Schulman is leading the way in a thriving industry focused on eating fast, eating healthy, and above all, eating deliciously.

Brett Schulman is the Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of CAVA:  a leading Mediterranean culinary brand with a mission to bring heart, health, and humanity to food.  CAVA serves modern, authentic, and vibrant Mediterranean food to a national audience in restaurant and grocery channels through a unique, culinary-driven experience. CAVA has been recognized by QSR Magazine as one of the top 25 best brands to work for and Fast Company Magazine as one of their 50 most innovative companies.

Prior to co-founding CAVA, Brett spent over a decade in the financial world at firms, including Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown and its predecessor, Alex. Brown, before becoming the COO at Snikiddy, a natural and organic food company. At Snikiddy, he helped expand the brand from the conceptual stage to a nationally distributed growth business, which was subsequently acquired by Utz Quality Foods. 

Brett has been recognized for his leadership as the Washington Business Journal’s CEO of the Year and the Association for Corporate Growth’s Executive of the Year for a public company.  Brett has also been named to Nations Restaurant News Power List, has been recognized by Goldman Sachs as one of their 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs, and is the recipient of the EnTERPreneur award from the University of Maryland.  Brett is a Washington, DC native, a graduate of the University of Maryland, and resides in Bethesda, MD, with his wife Mary and children Sunny, Sadie, and Luke.