28 | theceomagazine.com
competition.
“
We don’t
MIND
”
Managing a major conglomerate of quick service restaurants,
Jean Paul Manuud preaches the value of emotional intelligence
and welcoming staff.WORDS DANIEL HERBORN • IMAGES JASPER SALCEDAJ
ean Paul Manuud’s experience
in the quick service restaurant
(QSR) industry dates back
to college, when he had a
part-time job working in
Shakey’s, a popular pizza and
pasta franchise across the
Philippines. Initially drawn to
the restaurant by the job security it offered,
he ended up staying there for several years
in different capacities. “I spent a fair piece
of my working life at Shakey’s,” he recalls.
An even greater part of his career has
been spent at The Bistro Group, where he
has now worked for 21 years. The group
manages 17 franchise restaurants in the
Philippines, each an international QSR
brand with a focus on tasty, unpretentious
food, a casual, welcoming atmosphere and
warm, caring service.
Jean Paul joined in 1997 as a
management trainee and has progressed
through posts as manager, general manager,director of operations and finally vice-
president for operations. In 2012, he was
appointed to his current role as President
and COO of the Group, which now has
dozens of franchises and sub-franchises across
the island nation.
Many of the group’s restaurants offer
a quintessentially American heartland vibe,
like TGI Fridays, Texas Roadhouse and
Buffalo Wild Wings. Other restaurants in
the group make a homey atmosphere their
prime selling point. For example, Modern
Shanghai aims to bring the kind of cooking
rarely found outside Chinese family homes
to a mass audience.
As Jean Paul tells it, there is a fine balance
between capturing what made the franchises
so broadly appealing in the first place and
ensuring their product lines work for The
Bistro Group’s largely local customer base.
Changing menus that are often beloved,
iconic and strictly regulated requires clear
communication between The Bistro Group »INSPIRE | Interview