Geoff Alexander is President and CEO of Wow Bao, a Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises (LEYE) affiliated Asian fast-casual concept. He also maintains his role as managing partner with LEYE. During his more than 30 years with the Chicago-based company, he has worked on the implementation of various successful restaurant concepts.
Always an innovative leader in technology, Geoff brought his expertise to Wow Bao in 2009. His knack for industry disruption was evident through a series of first to market initiatives, putting the concept at the forefront of cutting-edge restaurant technology.
After partnering with Valor Equity Partners in 2017 to tech-enable and scale Wow Bao, Geoff and his team were awarded “The Industry Heroes Award” by Hospitality Technology for adding more than 700 Delivery Kitchens across the U.S. and Canada; allowing restaurant operators to grow top-line sales and increase bottom-line profits. Most recently, Geoff and his team elevated the company’s consumer packaged goods (CPG) presence with the launch of Wow Bao in over 7,000 grocery stores nationwide, including Walmart. In addition to its thriving delivery kitchen and CPG verticals, Wow Bao can be found in airports, colleges and universities, hotels, e-commerce sites including Amazon, and in more than 500 hot-food vending machines across North America.
In 2024, Geoff’s creativity and innovation took Wow Bao into the metaverse with the Dim Sum Palace experience on the Roblox gaming platform. This established Wow Bao as the first restaurant to integrate its rewards program and in-real-life perks in the metaverse.
Geoff is a sought-after industry thought leader and is frequently showcased at conferences, on podcasts, and in consumer and trade press. Nation’s Restaurant News placed Geoff on their Power List and cited him as one of the Most Influential Restaurant CEOs in the country. Under his leadership Wow Bao was twice named “Brand of the Year” by Fast Casual Ð the first company to be recognized more than once. The National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association recognized Wow Bao’s grocery product line as 2024’s Most Disruptive Product. He is also the Chairman of the National Restaurant Association’s Fast Casual Industry Council.
