AUSTIN, TX—HotSchedules and Fourth, leading providers of the restaurant and hospitality industry’s only integrated workforce, cost control and inventory management solutions, revealed the formation of a new executive leadership team comprising industry experts and technology evangelists from both entities.
As a result of the recent merger, Fourth and HotSchedules will unite under the leadership of Ben Hood, CEO; David Cantu, chief customer officer; Simon Bocca, chief growth officer; Matt Leone, chief operating officer and Christian Berthelsen, chief technology officer.
With an ongoing commitment to client success and profitability, the strategically curated executive leadership team will unveil the 2020 product vision at Spark 2019 in Austin, TX on November 5-7, 2019. The annual user conference brings together hundreds of senior operators, thought leaders and technology experts from around the world to discuss the latest industry trends shaping the future of hospitality.
“Since the merger, Fourth and HotSchedules have been working diligently to combine products and industry insights to ensure customers have the solutions they need to deliver superior guest experiences,” said Hood. “Our products are so well-aligned and dovetail in a way that ensures all players in the restaurant and hospitality ecosystem benefit, from servers to operators. It’s exciting to lead this next stage of growth and drive innovation forward for the industry as a whole, together as one united force.”
The newly formed executive leadership team includes:
Ben Hood: CEO, joined Fourth in 1999
An industry veteran, Hood hails from the retail and hospitality sector. Hood joined Fourth as its first employee and as CEO, he is responsible for driving the company strategy, building winning teams and cultivating a united value-driven culture.
David Cantu, chief customer officer, co-founded HotSchedules in 1999
Cantu has more than 17 years of restaurant operations experience. As chief customer officer, Cantu focuses on building and maintaining strong customer relationships, which fuels the ongoing development of innovative solutions.
Simon Bocca, chief growth officer, joined Fourth in 2004
Bocca has more than 25 years of restaurant and hospitality industry experience. As chief growth officer, Bocca is responsible for setting and driving the sales and marketing strategy.
Matt Leone, chief operating officer, joined HotSchedules in 2016
Leone has nearly 20 years of experience in the software industry. As chief operating officer, Leone leads the customer management organization, global enterprise services team and business operations team.
Christian Berthelsen, chief technology officer, joined Fourth in 2003
Berthelsen has over 21 years of software engineering and management experience. As chief technology officer, Berthelsen oversees product roadmap, development and infrastructure of all software and solutions.
“As we look to our next phase of growth, ensuring we have the best team in place to drive customer success remains our top priority,” said Cantu. “Combining leadership from both Fourth and HotSchedules creates an industry-leading powerhouse of restaurant, hospitality and technology experts. Together, we will accelerate the development of innovative solutions that enable customers to navigate their biggest challenges and scale profitability.”
As a global leader in end-to-end restaurant and hospitality management solutions, the newly merged entity enables customers around the world to solve complex business problems and thrive in a rapidly evolving and highly competitive industry. The combined company’s complete software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution suite offers industry-specific predictive scheduling, demand forecasting and inventory management/procurement as well as HR/benefits and payroll services.