LET’S SEE PROOF: Steve Cahoon, left, shown at 2022 IAVM VenueConnect with longtime foodservice veteran John Lamkin, joined Proof of the Pudding in May, about the same time the company was acquired by Bruin Capital. (James Zoltak/VN Staff photo)
Atlanta-based concessions and catering company Proof of the Pudding has hired Steve Cahoon as chief development officer.
Steve Cahoon (Courtesy vendor)
Cahoon’s decades of experience in business development include stints at Fine Host Corporation, Ovations Food Services, Boston Culinary Group, and Centerplate, which was acquired by Sodexo in 2017.
Cahoon, based in Largo, Florida, spent the first half of his career in operational roles in sports, entertainment and meeting facilities in North America, Thailand, Indonesia and Spain.
PRESTIGE ACCOUNT: Proof of the Pudding’s accounts include the PGA Tour. (Salem Sports Events)
With Proof of the Pudding, which was acquired by Bruin Capital earlier this year, he will be responsible for growing the company’s business in North America, especially in Atlanta, to build on the company’s 100% client retention rate.
Clients, throughout 15 states, include: the PGA Tour, Gas South Arena, Michelin Raceway & Tower, The World of Coca-Cola, The Carter Presidential Library and Museum, the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Duke University and the Emory Sports Medicine Complex.
“We have some prospective business lined up that will make people take notice,” said Cahoon.
As a competitor, Cahoon said he was impressed with the path blazed by Proof CEO Adam Noyes and Chief Operating Officer Ben Witte as they built “a powerful alternative to the industry giants” over the course of 44 years. Phil Noyes, Adam’s father and the company’s owner and chairman, founded the firm in the early 1980s, when it was called MGR Food Services.
“We’re in a perfect position to build our business and our brand,” said Cahoon, who said he hopes to leverage some of the relationships he’s built in the venues industry over the decades as he works to increase Proof of the Pudding’s North American footprint.
