David Birzon, CEO, Snooze

David Birzon’s love for the food industry began in 1991 when he started as an evening prep cook and baker at Paradise Bakery in Aspen, Colorado. David was surprised to find extraordinary joy in his position serving up homemade ice cream and cookies to Aspen locals. Together with the founders, David helped build the nationally known brand that proudly grew a strong culture and industry-leading economics over his 23-year tenure. After successfully selling Paradise Bakery to Panera Bread in 2007, David spent four years as a Senior Vice President at Panera and President of the Paradise Bakery brand, where he was responsible for both companies and franchised locations. In 2011, David and his family moved to Carbondale, Colorado. He set out to find a restaurant business that “could change the world.” David heard about an innovative breakfast concept named Snooze and was immediately blown away by how clever the concept was. David became CEO of Snooze in 2012 and was nicknamed “Old Major,” after the pig who leads all the other animals to revolution in George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Under David’s leadership, Snooze has grown to now operating over 35 restaurants across five states, with over 2,100 employees.