Gyan Chandra, Board Chair
Vice President and Account General Manager, DXC
Gyan Chandra holds key positions in various esteemed organizations, including being a part of the Advisory Board of Overbond. He also contributes his expertise as a Member of the Board for the John Howard Society of Ontario and serves as the Treasurer for the John Howard Society of York Region. Furthermore, Gyan Chandra actively participates as a Member of the Public Advisory Council of ICES.
Gyan is a strong proponent for education. As Vice President and Account General Manager, Gyan leads one of DXC’s largest and most strategic client relationships. He is responsible for revenue, profit, satisfaction, risk management, innovation, and operations. His focus is to drive technology enabled business change in support of client strategy and objectives.
Dean Sockett, Secretary
People and Culture Champion
Dean has championed HR strategies that have been instrumental in the positioning of Keg Restaurants as an iconic brand in Canada. As past Senior Vice President People and Culture, he was an integral member of the senior leadership team providing consultation, advice, and direction on operational initiatives as well as overall company strategy. Recognized internally as well as externally as an expert in creating and delivering a superior service culture with truly engaged employees.
His past Association/Board involvement has been with the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council Advisory Board and the University of Guelph School of Hospitality Advisory Board.
David Thompson
Global Operations Executive, C-Suite Business Leader
David has owned and operated twelve different corporations in fields as diverse as retail, real estate development, information technology, management consulting, publishing, high technology, and e-learning development. David was named as one of the top 40 business people in the City of Ottawa under 40 years of age and is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.
With 29 years of experience as a Municipal Councillor, County Reeve, Public School Board Trustee and Mayor, David brings a wealth of experience to the Smart Serve Board.
Carolyn Marcotte
Vice President, Legal and Compliance, Caesars Windsor
Carolyn Marcotte has been a member of the Executive Team at Caesars Windsor since 2007 when she joined the company. In her capacity as General Counsel, Carolyn manages all legal affairs for the Company. She also serves as the Company’s Compliance Officer where she is responsible for ensuring regulatory compliance. In addition to these duties, Carolyn also oversees both the Security and Surveillance Departments, Responsible Gambling program and Internal Audit.
She has past experience on the board of the United Way/Centraide Windsor-Esses County and the Responsible Gambling Council.
Megan Stover
Vice President of People + Culture, Charcoal Group of Restaurants
Megan is a passionate Hospitalitarian championing education, culture-building, and organizational performance for over 1,300 incredible hospitality professionals at The Charcoal Group. With 25-years of restaurant operations experience, she brings an operator-informed perspective to responsible service, with a focus on regulatory alignment, risk mitigation, and scalable training solutions. Through her ownership in several licensed establishments and industry advisory work, Megan is passionate about advancing service standards and supporting the development of the next generation of industry professionals in Ontario.
Dan Morrow
Senior Vice President of F&B for Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE)
Dan Morrow is Senior Vice President of F&B for Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), having joined MLSE in 2014, and oversees a portfolio that includes Scotiabank Arena, BMO Field, Coca Cola Coliseum as well as two full-service restaurants located outside of Scotiabank Arena; Real Sports Bar and Grill and e11even.
A life-long stadium and events enthusiast, Dan spent 10 years at Rogers Centre (formerly SkyDome) in various operations and accounting roles, ultimately spending his final three years as Director of Operations for Levy Restaurants, a division of Compass Group Canada. A defining moment in his career occurred in 2007 when he was appointed Director of F&B for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, working for the local organizing committee, VANOC. During his three years in this role he crafted the overall vision for the foodservice operations for the Games, worked with local authorities and supply chain to ensure their operational readiness for the Games. For the period leading up to the Games he oversaw the two athletes’ village locations which served in excess of 50,000 meals on a daily basis.
Dan is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario and a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA-CMA), attaining his designation in 2001. Dan is also a graduate of the Ivey School of Business Executive Program (IEP) in 2018.
Dan is active member of the restaurant community in Ontario, serving as current executive board member and past chair of the Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association (ORHMA) as well as being on advisory groups for Kostuch Media’s Foodservice and Hospitality publication and Topikos Spirit and Beverage Company, a local distributor of beverage alcohol.
Dan is passionate about life and travel, having been to over 50 countries worldwide and enjoys getting deep into the local culture in every place that he visits.
Maria Allan
Senior Sales Professional in the Beverage Industry
Maria Allan is an accomplished senior sales professional with extensive leadership experience in Beverage Alcohol and CPG industries. She is multilingual with a proven ability to inspire and engage high performing cross-functional teams. She spent three years as Country Manager of Constellation brands and prior to that, 16 years as sales director Eastern Canada for Jackson Family wines. Two years prior she was with CVBG Dourthe -Kressman as their Export Director for Canada. She has additional experience in senior sales and marketing roles with Kellogg’s, T.J. Lipton and Pillsbury and Lever Bros. Maria has extensive wine training, to Kalon Master Certification in 2018, along with Court of Master Sommeliers Accreditation in 2005.
Len Little
Sales and Hospitality Guru
Len Little brings a wealth of hospitality experience to our Board. With a history of leadership in industry associations and a career spanning over three decades. Len’s been a part of top-notch organizations like The Ontario Restaurant Hotel & Motel Association and the Toronto Restaurant Association. Len’s deep passion for hospitality spanned over decades of operating five Cajun Seafood Restaurants. He currently leads in Commercial Real Estate with a focus on the Hospitality Industry. His insights and dedication are invaluable to our organization.
Roberta Sawchyn
Hospitality and Guest Satisfaction Champion
Roberta Sawchyn, a Certified Hotel Administrator with an impressive 25 years of hospitality experience, is at the forefront of the industry, renowned for her commitment to superior customer care and guest satisfaction. Roberta’s career includes roles such as Guest Services Manager at Hospitality Embark Port Services, General Manager at the Best Western Plus Nor’Wester Hotel & Conference Centre for nearly two decades, taught Hospitality at Confederation College, and Executive Housekeeper & Rooms Division Manager at Airlane Hotel & Conference Centre. Her accolades include multiple awards, such as the Best Western Chairman’s Award for Quality Assurance and the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence. Roberta’s remarkable achievements extend beyond the hospitality sector, with active involvement in community organizations like the Ontario Northland Board and the Thunder Bay Hotel Association.
