Meet the Team

LAURA MARTIN

Brand Strategy

A dynamic hospitality executive with over 30 years of high-growth, chain restaurant experience, entrepreneurial ownership, big data analytics and strategic consulting work. Laura’s specialties include:

  • brand assessment
  • strategy
  • concept development
  • guest experience
  • analytics
  • consumer insights
  • menu optimization
  • marketing

 

A Progress Strategist, Laura helps clients develop successful brand strategies and rejuvenation plans with holistic, realistic and creative solutions. With a knack for solving complex problems, she helps individuals and businesses achieve success they don’t think is possible. Whether in start-up, turnaround or stagnant conditions, Laura helps clients build brands and concepts that last.

Laura works with private equity groups, lenders, chain leadership and entrepreneurs to assess business and brand conditions and move clients forward – whether as emerging, new-growth concepts or a turnaround for large-scale, legacy brands.

A visionary – she Co-founded Czar Metrics, a Big Data consumer insights and analytics consultancy now merged with Fishbowl Analytics, a Symphony Technology Group company. Czar pioneered highly innovative methods to drive quantitative menu optimization and pricing, working with hundreds of restaurant brands.

In her consulting practice, Laura developed a unique, strategic method for Guest Journey Design by mapping scalable, curated guest experiences that foster deep customer engagement. Harnessing proven psychological science around sensory, emotion and loyalty; the work is a collaboration with leadership teams to integrate the operation, culture and brand into a holistic guest and employee experience.

WHAT I’D EAT FOR MY LAST MEAL:

Having a career that’s blessed me with too many memorable meals to count, for my last one the most important ingredient is being surrounded by incredible friends and family. Sometimes it’s about who’s at the table rather than what’s on it. But I do love me some Southern fried chicken!

“It’s such a privilege to work with such a high talent group. Project by project, the teams assembled bring such deep history and varied skills - and show up fully invested in client success.”