ezCater, a provider of corporate food solutions, recently announced that Stefania Mallett, co-founder and current CEO, has decided to step down from her full-time executive management position. She will continue to serve as a Director on the company’s Board of Directors. Ashwin Raj, an experienced e-commerce and marketplace technology leader, will succeed Mallett as CEO of ezCater and will also join its Board of Directors, effective August 14, 2023.
Mallett co-founded ezCater with Briscoe Rodgers in 2007 as a technology solution to help business professionals find reliable catering for meetings all over the country. Today, ezCater is one of the leading technology platforms purpose-built for food for work in the United States with over 100,000 restaurants on its platform, customers in 50 states and virtually every industry, and more than 850 employees nationwide.
From day one, Mallett built a company grounded in respect, “going beyond helpful,” and transparency. ezCater has been repeatedly recognized as the best place to work by Fortune, Inc., Boston Globe, and more. Mallett also led ezCater through its successful recovery from the COVID pandemic. In March 2020, the company experienced an 85% drop in bookings, but it returned to its full pre-pandemic size in 2021, and then grew bookings 87% in 2022 compared to 2021.
“From the start – 16 years ago – I’ve been building ezCater so that it could one day operate without me. I’m beyond proud of our successes, including that the company has outgrown me,” said Mallett. “Now’s the right time for both me and ezCater to enter new chapters. Ashwin is a strategic thinker and a long-term builder who shares our values, including our commitment to ‘going beyond helpful’ for our customers and partners. I’m confident he will lead ezCater through its next successes.”
Raj is passionate about leading teams and scaling businesses that are built on true customer value. He is experienced in leading growth, profitability, and innovation at high-growth and public companies. He led the ride-share business of Lyft from 2021 to 2023, most recently as the Executive Vice President, Head of Rideshare. In this role, he oversaw the company’s core multi-billion-dollar revenue business unit and all central tech functions, and achieved adjusted EBITDA profitability. He held various roles at Lyft from 2017 to 2021, including as Vice President, Payments and Customer Platforms, and played a key role in Lyft becoming a public company.
Before Lyft, Raj was the Director of Amazon Pay in North America at Amazon.com, Inc. and transformed Amazon Pay into a multi-billion-dollar business in less than two years. Prior to that, Raj held multiple leadership roles at Visa, Inc. specifically in core payments products, mobile payments, and strategic partnerships.
“I am delighted and honoured to lead ezCater and sincerely appreciate the trust that the ezCater Board and team have placed in me,” said Raj. “I am energized by the tremendous opportunity ahead for ezCater, as food is a critical component that increases workplace effectiveness, strengthens employee retention, and brings people together. Stefania, Briscoe, and the very talented team at ezCater have built an impressive company with a strong foundation, and my goal is to build on that by going even deeper in addressing the needs of our customers and catering partners. Together, we will make ezCater the go-to brand for food for work.”
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