Bio

James joined Salt Creek as an Executive Partner in 2022. He brings nearly 20 years of legal, executive, M&A and franchise experience in a variety of industries with a deep focus in multiple offerings in the Food & Beverage, Restaurant and Franchise sectors. Prior to joining Salt Creek, James was the CEO, President, COO and a member of the Board of the parent company of Fat Tuesday - one of the world’s first and largest retailers of frozen specialty alcoholic beverages. During his tenure, his team created a dual brand franchising system; nearly doubled EBITDA despite a global pandemic; and, delivered over 80% new store/pipeline growth from original store count. James successfully led the sale of the company for the founding family to a strategic buyer. Prior to Fat Tuesday, he was the Vice President of Global Franchise for Ruby Tuesday, Inc. (RTI). He led global operations for the RTI franchise system with over 60 stores on five continents and over $100MM in topline sales. At RTI, James also served as the General Counsel of the then-publicly traded company. He led a team that handled all legal, risk and employee relations matters for Ruby Tuesday and its 25,000 team members. In that role, James led the strategic alternatives process for the eventual $150MM public-to-private sale of RTI. Before RTI, James was a Senior Vice President and the General Counsel of Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Inc. (ENRGI) where he helped develop and grow the traditional and non-traditional franchise offerings and provided executive legal leadership to the then-publicly traded quick casual restaurant chain. James led the $500MM sale of ENRGI’s 3 brands and over 800 units of ENRGI to JAB Holdings. James holds a Juris Doctor from Tulane Law School and was a litigator at the beginning of his career. He has a passion for growing businesses and helping people and believes in honesty, team building and the value of relationships. James lives with his family outside of New Orleans, Louisiana and enjoys CrossFit, tennis and the New Orleans Saints.