Restaurant Technologies has promoted its Chief People Officer, Alissa Partee, to the position of Chief Operations Officer, the company announced on December 3. Partee, who joined the company in 2020, will now lead operations for its 41 depots across the United States.
In her previous role, Partee oversaw the human resources team during a period of significant growth, as the company’s workforce expanded from 1,000 to over 1,500 employees. Over the past year, she also led the implementation of a new nine-person operations excellence team, which she will continue to oversee in her new position.
“Alissa has proven the ability to successfully overcome any business challenge thrown her way,” said Jeff Kiesel, president and CEO. “This includes successfully leading the organization through tremendous change following the global pandemic where she adapted to meet the needs of the company and its workers quickly. We look forward to Alissa carrying over her understanding of human resources, business, and operations to the COO role and continuing to deliver on our brand promise to customers.”
To prepare for her new role, Partee visited most of the company’s depots to gain insights into their operational needs and how corporate headquarters can better support local teams. “A big part of the COO role is making sure every team is running at full speed,” Partee said. “Most of my career, I’ve been focused on developing leaders, optimizing talent, building high-performing teams, and being well-equipped to make sure all the moving parts of the organization are working together. We will continue to simplify and standardize our operating model so our employees and customers can enjoy the experience that comes from a predictable, well-designed process.”
As CPO, Partee helped Restaurant Technologies achieve nationwide recognition with three national workplace awards from Newsweek: America’s Best Workplaces, America’s Most Diverse Workplaces, and America’s Best Workplace for Mental Health. The company was also recognized regionally as a Best Workplace by the Minneapolis St-Paul Business Journal for the fourth time.
In her new role as COO, Partee will lead all operations with five direct reports who oversee over 1,100 operations team members and managers. She will also chair the company’s safety committee. The search for a new Chief People Officer is already underway.
Before joining Restaurant Technologies, Partee spent three years at Caribou Coffee & Einstein Bros. Bagels, where she served as Chief People Officer for the last two years. She holds an MBA in Finance and Human Resource Management from the DePaul Driehaus College of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Human Resource Development from the University of Minnesota.
Restaurant Technologies, headquartered in Mendota Heights, Minnesota, provides commercial kitchen solutions for over 45,000 customers nationwide. The company specializes in Total Oil Management and AutoMist solutions to improve food quality, safety, and efficiency by automating cooking oil handling and hood and flue cleaning.