MINA Group and Chef Michael Mina announced that effective Dec. 8, 2022, Jason Himber, current president of MINA Group, will become chief executive officer.

Himber has been with the MINA Group as president since 2021 with increasing responsibilities that have included operations, real estate, construction, business development and marketing. In his new role as CEO, he will be responsible for the overall performance of the company and its growth strategy, as well as continue to oversee multiple key business functions.

"When Jason joined the company last year, our hope was that he would one day assume the position of CEO, a role that has been vacant for the past five years," said Chef Michael Mina. "Since he has been with the company, we have worked together to successfully navigate the business as we came out of the pandemic and have sharply refined our focus. It has been a pleasure working with and learning from Jason and I am excited about the company's future under his leadership."  

Himber's nearly two decades of experience includes a successful track record in value creation and growing companies across the restaurant, hospitality and, most recently, healthcare industries. Prior to joining MINA Group, Himber was the CEO of Easy Speech Therapy Center, a multi-unit, private equity-backed, multi-disciplinary autism therapy business. Over the course of his career, he has held key leadership positions at Yum! Brands, over-seeing a multi-billion-dollar P&L, M&A, franchising and marketing/pricing strategy for the KFC brand, as well as CMG Companies, a boutique private equity firm located in Dallas, where he developed growth strategies for several of CMG's portfolio companies, centered around both de novo and strategic acquisition activities. Under his leadership, several of CMG's portfolio companies grew to unprecedented heights, including the company's investment in a 110-unit franchised restaurant chain, which grew to more than 250 units across 15 states and over $35 million in EBITDA.

"It's an honor to have earned the opportunity and to be trusted by Chef Mina to take this best-in-class company to a new level," said Jason Himber. "Over the past year, we have re-evaluated all parts of our business, dialed-in on our growth strategy, and have started building a world-class team across areas. In this new role as CEO, I am particularly looking forward to continuing the significant progress we have made in our company culture, in training and development, and accelerating the growth and financial success of MINA Group across the globe."

Chef Mina will remain in his role as chef and founder, and now as executive chairman of the board. Himber's promotion will allow Chef Mina to further his position as a culinary visionary, focus on the development of new restaurant concepts, cuisines and innovative styles of service, as well as provide education and training to people at all levels of the hospitality and culinary industries. Chef Mina will also continue to assist in directing the philanthropic activities and initiatives with which he and MINA Group feel most passionately aligned.

Source: Mina Group