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David May
District Manager
David oversees the Central Connecticut market, focusing on great customer service and operational excellence. Prior to joining HBG in January 2015, David spent 16 years with Chili’s Grill & Bar as an Assistant Manager, Managing Partner and Area Director. In total he has over 28 years of experience in the restaurant industry.
Every summer David can be found volunteering at the Traveler’s Championship PGA golf tournament where he is Assistant Chairman of the Player Relations committee. He is an avid golfer, Boston sports fan and loves spending time with his wife and two children.
Mark Drapeau
District Manager
Mark oversees the operation of the Rhode Island bakery-cafes, including sales building, selecting talent, team development & building, profit management, budgeting and standard operating procedures. Mark has taught multiple classes on many operational and leadership topics and acted as the company’s first Safety Manager. Mark received awards such as GM of the Year, Café of the Quarter, and District Manager of the Year for Market Driven Innovation and Hands On Leadership. Prior to joining HBG in 2006, Mark worked in many segments of the restaurant industry during and after attending Rhode Island College. Mark enjoys working for an organization that encourages community involvement on a grand scale. Some of his passions include supporting Panera's Rhode Island charity partner, Children’s Friend, camping, canoeing, martial arts, exercise, and spending time with his wife and six children.
Ryan Nelson
District Manager
Ryan oversees cafes throughout the Hartford market. He joined Panera in 2006 as an Assistant Manager and has since held roles as General Manager, Regional Training Manager, and now District Manager. In 2017, Ryan was the Support Staff of the Year for his work with company leadership in assisting the company gain profitability while executing at a very high level. His management style is one of transparency and competitiveness but achieving results in a fun manner. At home, Ryan can be found spending time with his wife and daughter, sharing laughter with just about anything he does.
Anthony LaLima
District Manager
Anthony manages many of Howley Bread's southern Connecticut and Massachusetts cafes. He joined the District Manager team in 2018, bringing with him years of cafe operational experience.
Robin Meermans
Controller
Robin provides leadership to all accounting functions. Accounting has been the career of choice over her entire work history, spanning business sectors including manufacturing, retail, entertainment, and public accounting. When not crunching the numbers, you can find her either at a slot machine in Vegas, outdoors working in her flower gardens, or just enjoying nature.
Terrie L. Gilland
CPP- Payroll Manager
Terrie oversees the Payroll department, located at the Ohio Support Center in Westlake, Ohio, which processes Payroll for 1300 HBG employees. A certified Payroll Professional since 2003, Terrie has been employed with HBG since 2006. Her prior positions include HR/Payroll Supervisor for The Great Lakes Construction Company, Payroll Manager for Riddell Sports and Office Manager at The Cleveland Christian Home for Children. She currently serves as Volunteer Dog Rescuer, Crazy Dog Lady, Skilled and Accomplished Annoyer of her son, HGTV addict and Firefly/Serenity geek.
Lee Howley III
Director of Information Technology
Lee (3) provides back office IT support for three Panera Bread franchises. He is responsible for email and server maintenance at the corporate headquarters in Westlake, Ohio. He spearheaded the implementation of an HRIS system and has overseen multiple Panera technology rollouts that have increased manager efficiency and reduced the need for more manual entry of data. He enjoys long bike rides through the Cleveland Metro Parks.
Adam Vanek
Director of Finance
Adam is responsible for all report writing, analysis, special projects, and supporting the accounting team. He graduated from Baldwin Wallace University with a Bachelors in Accounting and Finance. Previously he worked for a Healthcare IT startup and before that spent over six years with a franchisee of a multi-unit smoothie concept where he worked his way from Shift Leader to District Manager, while performing all financial functions for franchisee. When Adam not ‘slaying the numbers dragon,' he can usually be found volunteering at his church, reading or catching up with family and friends. He also loves cooking, the occasional video game and is a lifelong Cleveland Browns fan.
Diane Irwin
Director of Human Resources
Diane has over 25 years of human resources experience working in both the restaurant and the retail industry. Throughout her career, she gained experience in all aspects of human resources with her main focus being employee relations, employee benefits, workers’ compensation and leave of absence management. She serves as a resource for employees navigating workplace and benefit questions and concerns. When not at work, Diane enjoys attending plays and musicals, traveling and she is a lifelong New England Patriots fan. Diane is also an avid animal rescue advocate who lives with two rescue cats.
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