EXECUTIVE TEAM

Elias Madbak creates value for restaurant franchise stakeholders, driving executive leadership across finance, marketing, team development, and program expansion. Crafting strategy for at least one launch per year for the last decade-plus, Madbak has earned a solid reputation among his executive peers for excellence in franchise deal navigation, business development, and team recruitment. A master advisor to the C-suite and a keen mentor to general managers, he also devises and delivers on winning operational strategies that result in regionally acclaimed location launches.

One might say the secret of Elias’s success is his keen ability to envision and deliver on strategic roadmaps, pivoting the organization to outpace competitors and attain exceptional ROI, he has earned a reputation for transparent communication that has magnetized to his organization exceptional employees hungry to learn from an expert in brand alignment, customer engagement, and principled yet precise leadership. Elias Madbak joined the company in early 2017. His role as Managing Director sees him responsible for the development of international casual dining brands wagamama, Trader Vic’s, all Marco Pierre White restaurants including MPW Steakhouse and Marco’s Italian, and Allo Beirut Abu Dhabi.

In his role, Elias is responsible for over 432 employees, 12 direct reports and an AED 135 million yearly revenue. Madbak was behind the exponential growth and popularity for wagamama where he secured a new flagship location in the world’s largest mall, The Dubai Mall. Madbak also introduced the wagamama brand to new markets in the Middle East in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, doubling the number of units in less than a year. Today the story continues as more expansion plans are afoot. Madbak’s exceptional industry contributions have been honored four times by Caterer Middle East Power 50 (2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021).

Madbak earned a Master of Business Administration from Sullivan University in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Management from University of Kentucky. He currently lives in Dubai, UAE, with his wife, Dana, and their two children, where he enjoys coaching youth soccer and volunteering with human rights organizations.