James J. Greco

James J. Greco
Greco at a Bruegger's bakery.
Born	January 4, 1958 (1958-01-04) New Haven, Connecticut
Residence	Boynton Beach, Florida, United States
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Georgetown University (B.A.) University of Miami (J.D.) Cass Business School, City University, London
Occupation	CEO and President of Sbarro, Inc.
Website
Sbarro

James Joseph Greco (born January 4, 1958) is an American businessman and entrepreneur. Currently, he serves as the Chief Executive Officer, President, and member of the Board of Directors of Sbarro, Inc, one of the world's leading Italian quick service restaurant concepts. Prior to joining Sbarro, Greco held numerous other executive positions in the food service industry including Chief Executive Officer of the restaurant group Le Duff America, Chief Executive Office of Fieldbrook Farms Corporation, and Chief Operating Officer of Natural Country Farms.

Early Years and Personal Life

Greco was born in New Haven, Connecticut and grew up in nearby Hamden, Connecticut. He graduated from Hamden High School in 1976, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Georgetown University in 1980, and a J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law, in 1983. Additionally, Greco has completed International Studies at the Cass Business School of City University, London, England.

Greco is a member of the Connecticut Bar Association and the Florida Bar Association. As well as being active on the board of advisors for the Lender School of Business at Quinnipiac University, Greco also serves on the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Food Bank and the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce. Greco resides in Boynton Beach, Florida with his wife, Valerie.

Early career

After graduating from law school, Greco served as a partner in Connecticut-based Greco and Greco law firm from 1983 to 1991, specializing in consultation to and representation of real estate and corporate clients.

Greco executed one of his first turnarounds at Ellington, Connecticut-based Natural Country Farms, a manufacturer of private label and food service fruit juices, where he served as Chief Operating Officer for five years.

Following Natural Country Farms, Greco served for seven years as Chief Executive Officer of Fieldbrook Farms, a $100 million manufacturer of private label ice cream in Dunkirk, New York. A team of investors, led by Greco, took over a failing Fieldbrook Farms and named Greco Chief Executive Officer. As CEO, he successfully designed and executed a strategic plan to turn the company around. Greco's efforts resulted in a doubling of profits and a large increase in productivity.

Bruegger's

Greco first joined Bruegger's in 2003. Following his arrival the company enjoyed over twenty consecutive quarters of positive same store sales and total-sales growth. Additionally, in 2010, Bruegger's announced $254 million in revenue. Under Greco, Bruegger's has expanded to operating over 300 bakery cafés in 26 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada. On November 13, 2009, Greco oversaw Bruegger's eleventh and largest acquisition to occur during his tenure at the company when Bruegger's purchased the restaurant holdings of Timothy's World Coffee. Through a wholly owned subsidiary called Threecaf Brands Canada Inc., Bruegger's assumed control of Timothy's three restaurant brands: Timothy's World Coffee, Michel's Bakery Café, and mmmuffins.

On October 5, 2009, Greco was named Restaurant Operator of the Year by the Nation's Restaurant News during the publication's Golden Anniversary Celebration. He was awarded the honor in Dallas, Texas at the 50th anniversary Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators (MUFSO) conference. He was selected by readers of the publication from among six nominees, the others being: Chuck Fallon, president of Burger King North America; Phil Friedman, chairman and chief executive of McAlister's Deli; Jeffrey Harvey, president and chief executive of Burgerville; Randy Kibler, president and chief executive of Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits; and Cameron Mitchell, president and chief executive of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants.

Le Duff America

In March 2011, Groupe Le Duff, a French restaurant group, acquired the Bruegger's chain and its subsidiaries from the investment group Sun Capital Partners, earning Sun Capital a return of 36% per year on its investment and making Groupe Le Duff the second largest bakery café group in the world. Greco was named the CEO of the company's American restaurant holdings, under the name Le Duff America, headquartered in Burlington, Vermont; Dallas, Texas; and Toronto, Canada. Today, Le Duff America is the parent company of the restaurant chains Bruegger's, La Madeleine, Brioche Dorée, Timothy's World Coffee, Michel's Bakery Café, mmmuffins, as well as several others. The group, under Greco, ran nearly 600 restaurants and annually saw about $450 million in revenue. In December 2011, Greco announced he would be leaving the company at the end of the year to pursue other opportunities.

Sbarro

In January 2012, Greco joined Sbarro as Chief Executive Officer, President, and member of the Board of Directors. Sbarro, headquartered in Melville, Huntington, New York, is one of the world's leading Italian quick service restaurant chains and the largest "shopping mall-focused" restaurant concept in the world. Sbarro operates more than 1,000 restaurants in over 40 countries. Greco, who is credited by industry experts with the strong performance, growth, and turn around of the Bruegger's chain, was recruited to Sbarro to lead the company as it continues to grow, innovate, and improve.