Experience
that drives results
The CORE Insights Group brings together over 100+ years of combined industry knowledge and a track record of delivering on CORE performance metrics in various industries including; Multi-Unit Restaurant Operations, Hotels, Vacation Ownership, Recreation and Distribution, among others. We provide our clients with innovative solutions, centered around proven organizational and operational business strategies that drive exceptional and sustainable outcomes to our clients.
Meet the Crew
Ross A. Kellman
Managing Partner
Ross co-founded CORE Insights Group to focus on the ever-growing challenges and complexities within the Hospitality, Restaurant and adjacent industries. He brings 25 years of direct industry experience and a proven track record of exceeding objectives and delivering results. Ross is a pragmatic, growth minded executive that has built and led large organizations, developed and executed innovative business strategies and delivered exceptional customer experiences.
Prior to CORE, Ross spent over 11 years at Foodbuy LLC, a division of Compass Group NA. During his tenure at Foodbuy, Ross was instrumental in the growth strategy that began with $7M of revenue in 2007, to an industry leading $130M company when he left in September 2018. Ross held several key positions, starting as Vice President, Development, Vice President of Hospitality & Leisure, EVP Growth & Development and President. He is credited with the development and successful launch of the industry leading Hospitality Procurement Services platform, Concierge by Foodbuy® and launched the fully integrated eProcurment P2P platform, Concierge OneSource. He was instrumental in the development of the company’s business strategy and operational construct. As President, he also led the acquisition and growth strategy for Foodbuy, LLC and was successful in bringing S. Sherman Associates® and SpenDifference® into the Foodbuy family of companies.
Prior to joining Foodbuy, he spent nearly 13 years in the Foodservice Distribution industry, beginning with Kraft Foodservice before it was sold to Royal Ahold and then sold again to US Foodservice in 2001. Ross held various positions at the local and national levels, Street and National Sales and Account Management, Service Operations, Procurement and Marketing. Prior to leaving US Foodservice, he held the position of Corporate Vice President, Lodging where he was responsible for all business development and account management for US Foodservice’s National Lodging portfolio which consisted of revenues in excess of $800M, across 42 Distribution Centers in the United States.
During his career, Ross has kept interest outside of his corporate posts and has started several companies, including Z. Cole Group (real estate management), Marquis Home Builders (custom homes) and MSync Solutions (consulting and export brokerage). He has been a licensed General Contractor in North Carolina. Ross was a Board member of the Lake Norman-Huntersville Rotary Club for several years and served on the Board of Directors for The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation from 2018-2020. He is currently a Member of the Board of Visitors for Cannon School.
A Maryland native, Ross graduated from the University of Maryland at College Park with a B.S. degree in Consumer Economics with an emphasis in Business Management and Marketing. Ross is an avid sports enthusiast, philanthropist and charity auctioneer. He is married to his wife Maya, a professional photographer and mother to their two boys, Zach and Dylan.
Aaron J (AJ) Kramer
Partner
In January of 2021, AJ became a Partner of CORE Insights Group and will oversee Client Relations and will support Growth & Development along with assisting with strategic supplier and service provider negotiations.
Prior to joining Core Insights Group team AJ was Sr. Director, Market Development for Foodbuy, LLC a division of Compass Group PLC. AJ joined Foodbuy in November of 2011. Responsible for overseeing a $700M portfolio of high-profile hotel customers, AJ exceeded budget annually, with zero attrition within his account base. His hands-on customer centric approach, led to a high level of success for his clients and was recognized when he was promoted to Sr. Director, Market Development in September of 2017.
From 1993 to November of 2011, AJ had a successful career with the Sysco Corporation, culminating in his leadership role of West Coast Florida Regional Manager, where he managed 75 sales and marketing associates representing over $200M in annualized sales. Consistently outpacing company sales growth, AJ was considered one of the top performers in the company. During his tenure as Regional Manager, AJ established himself as a fair and objective leader that tirelessly worked to support his team and their clients.
AJ graduated with a BA, Marketing from the University of Arizona in 1993. Born and raised in Baltimore, MD, he moved to Sarasota, FL in 1995 where he and his wife Laura and his children Allison, Russell and Mason along with their dog Lola, still reside. In his spare time, AJ enjoys riding his Slingshot motorcycle and cooking gourmet meals for friends and family. He is very active with Manasota Buds and has held various roles within the organization including Vice President of the Board and Committee Chair of the Buddy Walk in the past and continues to be an advocate.
Paul W. Davis
Partner
Paul is a co-founder of CORE Insights Group, created to address ever-changing operational and supply chain challenges facing the Hotel, Resort, Timeshare, Multi-Unit Restaurant and Recreation industries. A proven executive level leader, Paul’s 30 plus years of work in Hotel and Restaurant operations, culminating with his extensive Global Supply Chain experience provides him with unique skill sets to drive value to clients.
Prior to CORE, Paul first consulted with, then joined Foodbuy, LLC a Division of Compass Group, NA from June of 2016 to the end of 2018. His consulting work focused on content development, execution and contracting of non-food categories for Foodbuy. He was responsible for delivering over 40 new contracts that helped generate significant income and cost savings to the Company. Paul was then recruited to oversee the Foodbuy Hospitality Account Management Team while transitioning his supply chain work over to the Foodbuy Procurement team.
In May of 2009 Paul was recruited to rebuild Global Supply Chain for Wyndham Worldwide, one of the world’s largest Hotel, Timeshare and Vacation Exchange companies, holding the title of Senior Vice President, Strategic Sourcing. During his tenure, Paul led the team’s transformation that significantly lowered operating costs for the Company and its Franchisees. Paul was responsible for establishing a stable supply chain throughout Europe, Latin America and Asia for Wyndham’s growing international business. Significant focus was placed on sustainability initiatives and supplier diversity. In 2014, his team was recognized by Diversity Inc. as having the #1 Fortune 500 Supplier Diversity program in North America.
From 1999 to May of 2009, Paul first joined and then led the strategic development of the Global Supply Chain for Starwood Hotels and Resorts. In 2003, he was promoted to Senior Vice President, Strategic Sourcing. Up until his departure to Wyndham, he and his team successfully lowered operating costs for the Company and its affiliated hotels while implementing a global strategic plan for both domestic and international supply chain with influence in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Canada.
Prior to Starwood, Paul held various hospitality positions including Resort Management, Restaurants and Catering and Food Service Distribution. A 1985 graduate of The Pennsylvania State University, Paul currently resides with his wife Donna and his children Max, Gillian and stepdaughter Geena in Ridgefield CT along with their two dogs, Bauer and Zona. He enjoys playing both guitar and golf in his free time.
CORE Client Success Team
CORE’s Client Success Team consists of our Senior Vice President, Procurement, Directors of Sourcing, Vice President of Client Success, Directors of Client Development, and Client Advisors, each qualified professionals with many years working with customers to drive successful solutions across many different segments of the Hospitality and Multi-Unit Restaurant industry.
Kon Han
Sr. Vice President, Procurement
Kon is a seasoned procurement and supply chain professional with nearly 20 years of of experience focused in the hospitality and leisure industry. Kon spent many years at both Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Wyndham Hotels and Resorts focusing on the procurement of IT, Professional & Financial Services, Operating Supplies, Equipment, Food & Beverage, Fitness/Spa, Golf, and Retail Services. He also work more recently with Drive Shack/Puttery, where he served as Sr. Vice President, Head of Supply Chain.
Scott Wendell
Sr Vice President, Systems & Technology
Expertise Includes: Identifying valuable market/process/financial data to drive operations and insights; Building and implementing systems to capture and analyze; Develop and execute actionable measures to more efficiently focus on increasing value to clients, shareholders and operational teams.
Diana Brokaw
Vice President, Client Services
Diana’s brings 30+ years of experience in Sales and Business Development was built through leadership positions in global organizations, volunteer work with national non-profits, and collaboration with friends and neighbors on local projects. Throughout her career working for multi-billion foodservice companies, Diana has been responsible for the growth and development of more than $1B in sales, directed and developed national sales teams, opened markets, and launched verticals.
Kevin Daly
Vice President, Growth & Development
Kevin has spent the majority of his career working to drive value to his clients. He has a vast array of experience in building new business portfolio’s across the Hospitality, Foodservice, Tech, and Financial Services industries. Kevin’s proven track record of success in building winning sales and development teams is a testament to his tenacity and genuine desire to deliver results to clients.
Lisa McKinney
Sr. Director, Client Success & Development
Lisa brings over 20 years of experience working with large multi-site clients in the Foodservice, Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Industries. She has a passion for building long standing relationships with her clients and is keenly focused on delivery value and results.
Bruce Baker
Sr. Client Advisor
Over 52 years of Hospitality & Food Service industry
Offer Consulting Services to Clients that drive Sales & Profit Growth
- 10 years as Owner, Operator & Employee of Restaurant Business
- 42 years with Sysco Corporation, holding various positions in Sales, Merchandising, & Operations
- 12 years running contract sales for Sysco’s West Coast Division
Industry & Philanthropy:
- Served on the local Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association Board
- Manatee County American Cancer Society- 3 yr as Board Chair
- Served 5 years on the Missouri School Food Service Board
Bruce has been married to his wife Betty for 35 years.
Jeff Johnson
Sr. Client Advisor
Jeff is a long time, Strategic Account Sales Executive, managing large multi-location accounts. He amassed a 40 year career with PepsiCo in various positions in both Retail and Foodservice. He has deep experience in the Foodservice space, managing the Foodservice sales team on the Restaurant/Rec Retail side for the South Division.
Jeff Sat on the board of the Sarasota/Manatee Restaurant & Lodging Association and was a member of the Sarasota Country 100 Club Servicing law enforcement.
CORE Contributors
CORE Insights Group is fortunate to have a broad array of business and industry expertise through our team of Contributing Partners. All of our Contributing Partners are accomplished professionals within their areas of expertise.
Roger Taylor
F&B Operations, Hotels & Restaurants
As a CORE contributor, Roger brings over 35 years of experience building F&B operations, including branding/re-branding, decor/design, culinary development and on trend concepts. He also has a keen understanding Front and Back of the House Hotel operations having run luxury resorts and building one of the most profitable Hotel F&B operations in the United States.
John Reardon
Hospitality Supply Chain
John has 20 years of Strategic Sourcing and Global Supply Chain leadership experience within the hospitality industry. He has been a successful developer of several next generation industry sourcing leaders and has led a large high performance sourcing organization while at Starwood Hotels & Resorts. John leads several strategic sourcing initiatives within CORE.
Bob Hartnett
Health Advocacy & Decision Support
Bob has 28 years of experience in healthcare and benefits consulting. Consumer health advocacy/decision support and second opinion services are a critical component to address rising healthcare costs for organizations. Bob can deliver programs that provide measurable ROI and net savings on overall healthcare spend of your employees/members and their families. Bob holds an MBA with specialization in Healthcare Management and Marketing.
Michael Williams
“Food Thinker”
Highly skilled and accomplished working with teams to maximize Food and Beverage Operations, Culinary Management, Marketing, Product Design & Development.
Gurvinder Patara
Global Supply Chain
Gurvinder is based in the UK and is a proven sourcing professional with over 20 years experience across international markets. He specializes in delivering strategic solutions to clients in the hospitality, leisure, theme park and corporate sectors. He successfully combines his marketing, procurement and business development expertise to develop and deliver strategies that meet the business, financial, commercial and operational goals.
John Foster
Protein Expert
John’s has amassed extensive knowledge in the meat protein industry over the past 37+ years; he has extensive experience in protein and seafood Sales, Sourcing/Contracting, Hedging, Trading, Portion Control, Quality Assurance and Covid-19 Facility Protocol Management.
John has worked as an independent meat trader, as well as sustained stints with Swift (3 years, Sr. QA inspector), Cargill (7 years, Carcass Certification/Sales) and Buckhead Beef/Sysco (15 years, purchasing, SVP sales & merchandising, culminating with promotion to President/CEO of Atlanta, New Jersey and Auburndale).
Served 4 years on the Board of Directors for the Las Vegas Restaurant Association.
Colleen Mahoney
Technology Sourcing & Strategic Negotiations
Colleen has over 25 years of technology related sourcing experience including software, SaaS, outsourcing, integration and professional services. Colleen specializes in enhancing engagement levels between internal and external stakeholders, negotiating and managing multi-million-dollar contracts, and building strategic partnerships with vendors.