Christine Barone

Fox Restaurant Concepts (FRC) has hired former Starbucks executive Christine Barone as chief executive officer of True Food Kitchen, an innovative restaurant brand founded by hospitality visionary Sam Fox and inspired by the principles of Dr. Andrew Weil's anti-inflammatory food pyramid. Christine will work closely with Sam in FRC's home office in Phoenix, Ariz. to transition True Food Kitchen into a stand-alone company under Centerbridge Partners' majority ownership over the next year. In her role, Christine will drive True Food Kitchen's continued growth strategy, while building a world-class leadership team to support the company's expansion. She will oversee the marketing, operations and expansion of True Food Kitchen and its 13 locations nationwide. Prior to joining True Food Kitchen, Christine served as Starbucks' senior vice president of food, evenings and licensed stores. While at Starbucks, she led the roll-out and launch of La Boulange bakery offerings to over 12,000 Starbucks stores in the U.S. and Canada. Christine previously led multiple teams as a management consultant with Bain & Company, where she helped transform several retail and consumer businesses. She began her career as an investment banker. Christine graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts in applied mathematics and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is a board member with Ninkasi Brewing Company. Christine is relocating from Sammamish, Wash., to Scottsdale, Ariz., where she will reside with her husband and three children.