Name: Rob Conti
New title: Chief information officer, First Watch
Previous title: Senior vice president of information technology, First Watch
Conti joined First Watch in 2019 and has over 25 years of experience overseeing technology solutions and services for various hospitality brands, including Hard Rock International and The Walt Disney Company, according to a Wednesday press release. During the 18-plus years he spent at Hard Rock, Conti was in charge of global IT infrastructure and operations as well as security and compliance across over 200 businesses in 74 countries.
At First Watch, Conti is responsible for creating the company’s IT strategy and ensuring the success of technology initiatives and programs. In his previous position, he oversaw the rollout of key systems for the company, including the development of a business intelligence platform, cybersecurity program, pay-at-table tablets and kitchen display systems.
The company’s use of customer-facing technology and business intelligence tools helped drive bumps in traffic during an otherwise troubled second quarter. First Watch experienced a record-breaking Mother’s Day, with 1.8% transaction growth, a 5.4% increase in restaurant sales, 20% faster ticket times and higher customer experience scores, First Watch CEO and president Chris Tomasso said during the company’s Q2 2024 earnings call.
First Watch’s data capture and analytics have allowed the chain to better understand its customers, accumulating a database of 7 million consumers. Management has been analyzing and segmenting customer information by visitation patterns to create the right communication for the right audience at the right time, Tomasso said.
“Rob joined First Watch when our IT program was still in its infancy and since then, he has scaled the function and built the team to support our aggressive growth,” Tomasso said in a statement. “He made our systems more sophisticated and our processes more seamless.”
