Executive Spotlight: Jim Guarino, Executive Director Supply Chain Operations, Panda Restaurant Group

Supply Chain Scene: Let's start with your story — how you got to where you are now, and any key moments that shaped your journey along the way.

Jim Guarino: Like many of my colleagues in our industry, I started in the kitchen. First, prior to graduating from Texas Tech, at the Depot Restaurant and Bar in Lubbock. Then, continuing a culinary journey  as a sous chef at Stonebridge Country Club in North Dallas. From there I moved to Stonebriar, where I worked under a master chef, and then became the chef of a catering company in the Texas Hill Country — my family  had a ranch there, and I looked forward to working for an offsite catering company

From Kerrville, When I moved back to my hometown of Houston  — I landed a manager role with what was then Morrison Hospitality, a contract management company similar to Sodexo or Compass. Over the course of about ten years, Morrison was acquired a couple of times and eventually became Sodexo. In the first five years I was in operations — catering director, account manager — and because of my culinary background, they had me doing a lot of high-end events at universities: graduation ceremonies, board and regents dinners. I was kind of the traveling chef, along with my account management responsibilities. That eventually led to a corporate services role as the Area Executive Chef for Sodexo in the Northwest, which was really my first foray into multi-account management — working with the sales team on menu development, merchandising with the marketing team, culinary and food safety training. It was an expansion of my culinary role into something broader.

When my time at Sodexo ended, I landed at Old Chicago and Rock Bottom Restaurants in Colorado, where I was the culinary trainer for a couple of years. That's when Maryanne Lewis, VP of Supply Chain asked me to join her team. She said, "Jim, I want you to come work in supply chain." My first reaction was absolutely not. I'm a chef, I'm a creative, I'm not sitting at a desk. Three weeks later, I was working in the supply chain for Maryanne. I ended up working for her for 13 years.

In 2006, I moved into supply chain at Rock Bottom, and then in 2008, during the downturn, Maryanne worked with our owners and the C-suite to spin off our supply chain into a separate company called SpenDifference — an outsourced supply chain organization serving restaurant brands. We worked with Long John Silver's, Focus Brands, Sizzler, and a number of others brands across the country. Building that organization was essentially a startup experience. We wore a lot of hats. I managed the packaging, smallwares categories, and led customer management. Through our growth and Maryanne’s commitment to my development — I became a  VP of Client Solutions, where my team and I managed customer relationships and business development ensuring value to our clients. After ten years of working with Maryanne and our awesome teams, SpenDifference merged with Foodbuy (Compass Group). That was a real validation of what we had built. And working through those years made a significant impact on my career and my personal life.

In 2019, I had the opportunity to come to Panda Express. I came in as a consultant in July of that year, with an objective to help then SVP of Supply Chain, Jim Thomas with a  distribution bid, reorganize the network, and improve service levels for operators. Within three months, I had an apartment in LA and was all in — 60-hour weeks, and then COVID hit and it became 80 or 90. Over the next few years I was fortunate to become a permanent associate at Panda, and my role continued to grow. Today I oversee four teams: distribution, product supply, , program management, and a warehouse operation we run right here at the support center in Rosemead.

SCS: Reflecting on your career, how did you manage uncertainties such as supply disruptions or market fluctuations? What proved most effective?

JG: The short answer is transparency — and relationships built on trust. Those two things are what get you through when everything else breaks down.

COVID is the obvious example. When the pandemic hit, it was ready, set, go — and there was no playbook. But what carried us through was the strength of our partnerships with distributors and suppliers. When you have genuine relationships, you can have honest conversations in a crisis. When you don't, everyone retreats to protecting their own position and nothing gets resolved.

That kind of conversation is only possible when you've built a foundation of transparency and trust. With our longstanding partnership with SYGMA and Nicholas Foods and launching new partnerships in 2020 with Gordon Foods and Ben E Keith, we used the pandemic crisis to forge partnerships that support a network that is closer stores, reduces miles to serve, and positions Panda to manage through any number of crisis we are faced with. Not if, but when something goes wrong, we can sit down together and find a solution. Working together to protect our respective businesses and our partnership. If transparency isn't there, you end up working in opposite directions at exactly the moment when you need to be pulling together.

The same principle applies to suppliers. The partnerships that work best are the ones where we can put everything on the table — the good and the bad — and find a path forward together. Don't be afraid to argue your point. The best partnerships I've had involve plenty of disagreement. What matters is that you're committed to finding a solution that works for both sides. This is the “Panda Way”.

SCS: Looking at the advancements in technology today (Artificial Intelligence), how do you think they're reshaping supply chain management compared to the way things were previously?

JG: I see it as an opportunity to eliminate friction — and that's really the lens through which we look at AI at Panda. We're a people-first company, so the conversation was never about replacing labor. It's about removing the noise that gets in the way of our people doing their best work.

On the supply chain side, that means automating the manual, repetitive work — invoice management, fuel surcharge reconciliation, the day-to-day administrative tasks that consume time without adding strategic value. If AI can handle that, my team gets to focus on the work that actually moves the needle. And, it’s the work we all enjoy doing.

But the application I'm most excited about is on the operations side. For example, receiving in a restaurant is genuinely difficult. Our associates are busy, back-of-house space is tight, and product receiving creates friction for managers who should be focused on their team, food quality and the guest experience. We've been exploring  technology and processes that may eliminate the need for managers to “check-in” and order against the invoice.  We are also launching a new credit management process to eliminate the time the store leaders spend chasing credit.  Identifying these opportunities and working with cross functional stakeholder and partners to find solutions is key to operations success! It’s a game changer — not because it eliminates a job, but because it gives our store managers their time back. Our Supply Chain Operations team is working with other Support Center departments and Operations to remove non-value added activities in the stores. 

There's a lot of fear in the media about AI eliminating jobs, and I understand it. But I genuinely believe we will create as many as we lose, and possibly more. I think people will always want to be served by people. That human connection is something technology can support but never replace. At Panda, we want to control that narrative — to be intentional about how AI works for us rather than letting the technology drive our outcomes. Embrace it, absolutely. But guard it too. The goal is to use it to elevate everything we do.

SCS: Beyond practical experience, what skills do you believe are crucial for success in supply chain management? What advice would you offer to young professionals who want to grow and stand out?

JG: Say yes. That's where it starts. I actually have a fortune cookie on my monitor screen from Panda Inn that says exactly that — “SAY YES” and when my team comes in for meetings, I point to it as a reminder.

I look back at my career and every single job has led me to this role. The culinary background, the operations experience, the startup grit at SpenDifference, the customer relationships — it all connects. I've never really applied for a job. Doors opened. And I believe doors open for people who make a difference and who make connections.

Which brings me to the other thing I always tell people: remember names. When I go to conferences, my team will say, "How do you know everybody?" And my answer is that I remember people. I know their names, I know where they work, I know what they do. I take the time to acknowledge who they are. That matters more in this industry than almost anything else. Our community of foodservice supply chain professionals is truly special — there's nothing quite like it. Being able to reach out to a peer at another brand and say, "Hey, do you have 20 minutes? How are you handling this?" — that kind of access is invaluable. Nurture those relationships early and they will pay you back throughout your entire career.

And don't be afraid to step into roles that scare you a little. I was a chef. I told Maryanne absolutely not when she asked me to come into supply chain. Three weeks later I was all in — and it changed everything.

SCS: You've attended the Supply Chain Expert Exchange conferences for many years. What do you get out of them?

JG: Honestly, it's a reunion — and that's not a small thing. I've been going for years, and over that time I've built so many relationships within this community. You get so deep in your own world sometimes that you need to raise your head and get some outside perspective. The Supply Chain Expert Exchange gives you that. It's a re-connection that deepens relationships year over year and pays you back in ways you don't always expect. Whether I'm someone's resource or they're mine, that exchange of knowledge is at the heart of what makes this community so special.