Lester W. Lambert, CPA
| Lester W. Lambert, CPA | |
|---|---|
| File:Lambert @ Jamie's Italian Sydney opening 2011 2013-10-13 19-47.jpgFile:Lambert @ Jamie's Italian Sydney opening 2011 2013-10-13 19-47.jpg Lambert at Jamie's Italian Sydney opening 2011 | |
| Born | Lester W. Lambert 18 July 1975 Tallahassee, Florida, U.S. |
| 🏫 Education | Goizueta Business School |
| 💼 Occupation | Entrepreneur |
Lester W. Lambert, CPA, (born July 18, 1975), is an American-Australian entrepreneur, eCommerce specialist, former restaurateur, and current CFO of the Velocity Group.
Background[edit]
He was born to English-American and Native-American parents in Tallahassee, Florida and raised in Asheville, North Carolina, Dallas, Texas and Bainbridge, Georgia. He later moved to Atlanta, Georgia to attend Emory University.
In 1995, Lambert joined the United States Army as a Medic, and served as a United Nations Peacekeeper in the Republic of Macedonia. Lambert was Decorated with a Good Conduct Medal, ARMY Achievement Medal, AF Service Medal, UNPREDEP Medal, and an Honorable Discharge.
In 1997 he returned to Atlanta on a US Army Green-to-Gold ROTC scholarship to pursue his business degree at Goizueta Business School at Emory University where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta and after graduation served at the Chapter Advisor for Phi Delta Theta and held positions on the Goizueta Business School Alumni Board & as a Mentor.[1][2]
Night clubs[edit]
After an injury to his eye ended his military career, Lambert earned a position as an Investment Banking analyst with SunTrust in the restaurant capital group. Following two years in the group, Lambert focused his recently acquired talents in hospitality analysis into the operations side of the hospitality industry. His career started as the General Manager at the Tongue & Groove nightclub in Atlanta in 2001.[3] After honing his hospitality skills, Lambert opened the award-winning Compound Nightclub in 2004 with Usher headlining the opening weekend.[4][5] Lambert oversaw 2 1/2 years of successful business, including dozens of celebrity events,[6][7] national & international product releases, and corporate events. During this time, Compound won major local & regional best nightclub awards and the national new nightclub of the year award (2005).[8] Lambert sold his interests in Compound and moved to Thailand in 2006.[9]
Restaurants[edit]
Following a year break, Lambert moved to Sydney, Australia in 2007. Lambert met Kingsley Smith (founder of Kingsley's Restaurant Group) and formed & led the IPO[10] of Pacific Restaurant Group,[11] Australia's first full-service public company restaurant group including the Kingsley's & Chophouse brands. Lambert served as a Founding Director, as Company Secretary, and as the Financial Controller.[12][13][14] Pacific Restaurant Group has since been acquired by the Keystone Group.[15][16]
In March 2010, Lambert met Jamie Oliver.[17] This meeting resulted in a partnership agreement between Pacific Restaurant Group and Jamie's Italian International to open Jamie's Italian restaurants exclusively in Australia[18] and New Zealand.[19][20] The first Jamie's Italian opened in Sydney, Australia in 2011 and has since opened in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Paramatta and Perth.[21][22][23][24]
While in Australia, Lambert earned his Chartered Secretary designation from Chartered Secretaries Australia, his CPA from CPA Australia and sat on the NSW & Queensland boards of Restaurant & Catering Australia.[25][26][27] In addition, Lambert was granted Australian citizenship for his contribution to the Australian economy, and is now a dual citizen of the USA and Australia.
In 2012, Lambert returned to the United States where he consulted for Samba Brands Management in 2012,[28] the founders of Tongue & Groove in 2013-2014[29] and owners of House Nightclub in 2014-2015 on growth strategies, financial management & business development.
Current[edit]
Lambert currently serves as the CFO of the Velocity Group, which holds interests in multiple businesses, including Todd Barrett Swimwear - an international woman's swimwear retail eCommerce company, Bitsy's Bikinis - a swimwear manufacturing, retail eCommerce and wholesale company selling under multiple brand names including Bitsy's Bikinis, Bitsy's Wholesale, Tiny Bikini Swimwear & Bitsy's Bands, Velocity Properties - a residential property firm, Velocity Hospitality Consulting, J. Bakes LLC, an Oregon-based retail & wholesale pharmaceutical company, and owns & manages one of the largest Turo Rental Car Fleets in the Southeast.[30]
Personal[edit]
Lambert is a member of the American Legion, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, the Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe,[31] CPA Australia, Chartered Secretaries Australia, the Phi Delta Theta Presidents Panel & Knights of Pallas, the Goizueta Alumni Entrepreneur Network, the Goizueta Alumni Real Estate Network, the Goizueta Partners and Lamplighters Society, and serves as a Mentor to MBA candidates at Goizueta Business School,.[32]
References[edit]
- ↑ "Goizueta Business Magazine Winter 2007". goizuetamag.emory.edu. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ↑ "Goizueta Business Magazine Spring 2009". www.goizuetamag.emory.edu. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ↑ "Tongue & Groove Best Night Club Atlanta GA - T&G Forever". Tongue & Groove Best Night Club Atlanta GA - T&G Forever. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ↑ http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2006/01/02/story1.html?page=all
- ↑ Brown, Cathy. "the hudspeth report". www.thehudspethreport.com. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ↑ File:Lambert w Nicky Hilton 2005.jpg
- ↑ File:Lambert w CeeLo Green 2006-2.JPG
- ↑ "2005 Club World Awards results". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ↑ "Club king". Creative Loafing Atlanta. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ↑ LaFrenz, Carrie (2 June 2008). "Pacific Rest group looks for investors". Retrieved 31 May 2017 – via The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ↑ http://production.hospitalitymagazine.com.au/food/news/keystone-s-acquisition-of-pacific-restaurant-group
- ↑ "Goizueta Business Magazine Spring 2009". www.goizuetamag.emory.edu. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ↑ "Wes Lambert - Kingsleys - ZoomInfo.com". ZoomInfo. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ↑ http://www.hospitalitymagazine.com.au/news/archive/new-green-program-saves-restaurant-group-14-per-ce
- ↑ "Keystone acquires Pacific Restaurant Group - foodService". Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ↑ "Jamie's Italian target of takeover". Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ↑ http://www.peach-report.com/Profiles/1030324/jamies_worldwide_dealmaker.html
- ↑ "Bites: News from Brisbane's food scene". Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ↑ Mathewson, Nicole (24 February 2012). "Jamie Oliver eatery mulled for city". Retrieved 31 May 2017 – via Stuff.co.nz.
- ↑ http://www.restaurantnz.co.nz/Section?Action=View&Section_id=436
- ↑ "Party town: Sydney's A-list 12 March 2012". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ↑ http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/gallery-e6frewt9-1226294773233?page=5
- ↑ http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/jamies-new-sydney-kitchen-rules/story-e6freuy9-1226162073366
- ↑ Doherty, Peta (22 November 2011). "Diners discover queueing for Jamie's is quite a treat". Retrieved 31 May 2017 – via The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ↑ "Wes Lambert - Restaurant Catering Magazine". 1 July 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ↑ http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.fcsi.org/resource/resmgr/apd_newletter/apd_enews_(nov_2011)_final.pdf
- ↑ http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.fcsi.org/resource/resmgr/asia_pacific/2011_-_fcsi_apd_ff_program_t.pdf
- ↑ "Samba Brands Management". sambabrandsmanagement.com. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ↑ EndPlay (20 November 2013). "Tongue & Groove celebrates 19 years with anniversary party". Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ↑ "Velocity Group, LLC". www.thevelocitygroup.co. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ↑ "The Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe, The Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe Whigham, GA Home". lowermuskogeetribe.com. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ↑ "Wes Lambert - EmoryBusiness.com". www.emorybusiness.com. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
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