Jason Profitt

Jason Profitt, Vice President of Technology at Piada Group, has spent nearly a decade shaping the digital backbone of the fast-casual Italian restaurant chain.

His journey to Piada was unconventional. His first interaction with the brand was as an external partner revamping the brand’s online ordering, before joining as an insider driving Piada’s technology strategy from within.

Jason’s introduction to Piada came while working for a software development firm contracted to overhaul the company’s digital presence. 

“When my main point of contact at Piada when I was at my prior company learned that I was leaving, he just brought me on board,” he says. “There wasn’t a position, but it showed that Piada is clearly forward thinking.

“It showed that from an organisational leadership perspective they valued the knowledge I already had.”

Jason’s background spans technology support for small businesses, traditional software development and even hands-on restaurant work as a teenager. 

“I always pictured myself being in the technology industry and never really thought about applying it to restaurants,” he shares. “But after I got into it, it was amazing to learn how much technology goes into a restaurant.

“I often tell people who aren’t familiar that there’s a whole lot more to it than just what you’re probably thinking of, like online ordering in a mobile app. Technology for a restaurant can go so much deeper than that.”

And making technology that works for Piada has been a fun but challenging task for Jason.

He continues: “Because I’m a problem solver, I love being able to think about the different ways to attack, approach and solve problems with technology. So when I joined Piada, the door was largely just wide open for me to see what I could explore and work on. 
“Coming in, seeing the space to put technology solutions in for either our guests or teams and finding ways for other departments to do things that they maybe didn’t know as possible – that’s just fun for me. I have a lot of space here to do that.”

As Vice President of Technology, Jason oversees a team that is deeply integrated into every facet of Piada’s business. He describes his function as “having our hands in just about everything,” collaborating closely with marketing, culinary, finance and operations departments. 

Jason’s approach is rooted in the belief that technology should serve as an enabler – removing friction, supporting staff and enhancing the guest experience.

Throughout his tenure – and as Piada looks ahead – Jason champions the integration of advanced analytics and data-driven decision-making.

Under his leadership, the company has moved from a traditional data warehouse model to a more flexible data lake architecture, leveraging AWS to support future growth and AI-driven insights. 

This shift enables Piada to store and analyse vast amounts of data, supporting both operational efficiency and personalised guest engagement.

“We’ve come in and seen a space to put technology solutions in for either the guest or our teams where initially maybe we didn’t initially realise something was possible,” Jason says. “This is fun for me as problem solving is something that I really enjoy. There’s a lot of space at Piada to do that. We’re always thinking about how we drive value to our guests with technology.

“For the technology team, our focus is – and going forward will be – very heavily directed toward guest engagement. How can we invite the guests back through personalised communications? Through tailor-made offerings? Through anything that’s going to be valuable to that specific guest?”

It’s this passion for problem-solving and his commitment to both technology and people have made Jason a driving force behind Piada’s technological evolution.

To read the full article in the magazine, click HERE.