Rick Camac

Rick Camac is a proven brand builder and concept creator with strong leadership skills. Over a career in two industries — technology and hospitality — he has succeeded in launching startups as well as running large regions for billion-dollar organizations.

In the restaurant industry, Rick has primarily focused on concept development, branding, fundraising, operations and management. Known as a tireless performer and acknowledged troubleshooter, Rick has been involved in the opening of 12 restaurants in the U.S. and abroad. He has owned two restaurants that survived 10 years or more (5 Ninth and Fatty Crab) in the New York City market. Incredibly, every restaurant that Rick has opened received a review in The New York Times (including two-star reviews from three New York Times reviewers and 11 New York Times stars in total).

Rick’s track record of performance is one that speaks for itself. He received the coveted Michelin Bib Gourmand award for two concepts and has been a guest lecturer at several venues. He has also been a guest judge on network TV. In addition to restaurant management and operations, Rick has significant experience at the industry level. Specifically, he was a New York City Chapter Board Member for the New York State Restaurant Association from 2012 through 2015, and participated at the state level by serving for two years on its Member Benefits Committee.

Rick trained tech and restaurant managers, taught leadership and team building, and guest lectured at ICE before becoming the Dean of Restaurant & Hospitality Management. “Having a well-rounded background and understanding basic business fundamentals is important,” he says. “Oftentimes, in the real world, employees (including managers) only learn about a small piece of the business (FOH, BOH, Admin). I believe everyone benefits from understanding the goals, financial and otherwise that the restaurant is looking to meet. Having that understanding makes the employee a stronger contributor, which in turn makes the organization better (and stronger).”