NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PJ SOLOMON, an investment banking advisory firm, today announced the appointment of Edna Morris as a Senior Advisor to the firm. Ms. Morris will partner with Scott Moses, Head of PJ SOLOMON’s Food Retail & Restaurants Group, and Greg Grambling, a Director in the Group, in advising clients in the restaurant industry.
A veteran of the food and beverage industry, Ms. Morris has over 40 years of leadership experience that includes positions of influence with some of the most well-known restaurant groups and organizations in the United States. She has served as President of Red Lobster (then owned by Darden Restaurants), Blue Coral Seafood & Spirits (then owned by OSI Inc), Quincy’s Family Steakhouse and the James Beard Foundation. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Tractor Supply Company and has previously served on the Boards of Cosi, Inc., Einstein Noah and on the Board of Trustees for the Culinary Institute of America. She is the founding Chair of Women’s Foodservice Forum and will co-chair their 30th annual leadership conference in 2019.
“The hallmark of our firm is the deep industry expertise that we provide our clients, and Edna embodies that,” said Marc Cooper, Chief Executive Officer of PJ SOLOMON. “Her addition allows us to continue the successful build-out of our leading Food Retail and Restaurants practice and provide superior strategic advice to clients in the restaurant sector.”
Ms. Morris has been the recipient of several industry accolades, including the MUFSO Golden Chain Award, the Women’s Foodservice Forum’s Trailblazer Award, the Foodservice Council for Women’s Beacon Award, an Elliot Mentor Award and named an NRN Power Player. She is a frequent speaker at industry and Board related events.
In her current role as a Managing Director at private equity firm Axum Capital Partners, Ms. Morris leads the restaurant strategy practice and serves as an Industry Expert for the firm’s restaurant portfolio companies (Wild Wing Cafe, Back Yard Burgers). She is also the Chief Executive Officer, founder and a partner of CityRange, two chef-driven casual dining restaurants. “I am delighted to be part of PJ SOLOMON's restaurant advisory practice; I respect their integrity and approach to partnering with clients, which goes far beyond completing deals”, Ms. Morris commented.
“We take pride in our role ‘advising the families who feed America’s families,’” said Scott Moses. “We are convinced that Edna’s extensive experience, impeccable reputation, numerous relationships of trust, strategic creativity, strong work ethic and long track record of success in the restaurant sector will help accelerate the development of our growing restaurant advisory practice.”
About PJ SOLOMON
Founded nearly 30 years ago, PJ SOLOMON is one of the leading financial advisory firms on Wall Street, with a legacy as one of the first independent investment banks. We advise on mergers, acquisitions, sales, restructurings, recapitalizations, capital markets solutions and activism defense across a range of industries, including retail, grocery and restaurants, media and entertainment, energy, infrastructure and power.
We offer unmatched industry knowledge in the sectors we cover, providing comprehensive strategic solutions, tailored to generate long-term shareholder value.
We are the best of all worlds. Today PJ SOLOMON is an independently operated affiliate of Natixis, part of Groupe BPCE, a top 10 European and a top 20 global bank. Our clients enjoy proprietary access to an international advisory and financing platform with coverage throughout North and South America, EMEA and Asia. For further information visit pjsolomon.com.
