Yelp Fireside Chat with Christine Barone

In late July, Yelp’s CEO – Jeremy Stoppelman – talked to Christine Barone, who joined Yelp’s Board of Directors in February of 2020. Christine is the CEO of True Food Kitchen, an award-winning seasonal kitchen and bar that has pioneered health-driven dining. During the chat, Jeremy talked to Christine about her career in the hospitality industry and how this experience influences her engagement on the Yelp board. They also discussed what it means to successfully steer a restaurant chain through a pandemic and how Christine combines her career with the needs of her family. 

Additionally, Christine and Jeremy talked about the value of mentors and how to find them. We learned that aside from her official board of directors, Christine has built a personal board of directors that help her make the right decisions. Whether it’s in business or in her personal life, there’s the person she can rely on that always tells her the truth, and there’s another person who helps her think through a difficult decision to help her come up with a creative solution. Christine said, “I have these folks on speed dial, but I also want to make sure that I return the favor.”

More About Christine Barone: Ms. Barone has grown True Food to 45+ restaurants across the U.S. Prior to True Food, she ran the food business at Starbucks as Senior Vice President of Food, Licensed Stores and Evenings, where she led the roll-out and launch of La Boulange bakery offerings to over 12,000 Starbucks stores in the U.S. and Canada. Prior to Starbucks, Ms. Barone spent ten years leading multiple teams as a management consultant with Bain & Company, where she advised leaders of retail, consumer, and technology businesses on strategy, marketing, organization, and operations. She began her career as an investment banker. Ms. Barone graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in applied mathematics and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.