Leadership

Built and Run by an Operator.

Potenza Food Group is led by Len Cuoco — 35 years as CEO, President, and CFO of middle-market companies, with operating experience across restaurants, franchise systems, packaging, and manufacturing. Senior operating partners across multi-unit restaurants, coffee and bakery, and specialty food are being added selectively.

Founder & Managing Principal

Len Cuoco

Operator, turnaround executive, and strategic intervention leader with operating experience across restaurants, franchise systems, foodservice, packaging, and middle-market manufacturing.

Over 35 years, Len has served as CEO, President, and CFO for middle-market companies navigating performance challenges, ownership transitions, and operational reset. Restaurant and franchise engagements span Burger King, IHOP, Del Taco, and Palenque Group, among others, and include the acquisition of a distressed 11-unit restaurant chain where Len served as both President and equity participant.

Len also serves as Managing Principal of Donato Capital, Mancini Advisors, and Potenza Crescita, and as the executive behind North American Corrugated — the sibling operating platform focused on corrugated, POP display, folding carton, and graphics-heavy packaging.

Leads:

diagnostics and decision documents
operator-led intervention
multi-unit and franchise engagements
operating intelligence design
transaction-aware operating strategy

The Operating Bench

Senior operating partners — added selectively.

The platform is being built deliberately — operating credibility first, headcount second. Senior operating partners across multi-unit restaurants, coffee and bakery, and specialty food are being added on a fractional basis. The fractional model is a feature, not a constraint: it preserves the seniority of every engagement and the discipline of the work.

The right operator depends on the situation. Tell us the situation.

Potenza Food Group works with restaurant groups, coffee operators, bakeries, and specialty food businesses facing operational underperformance, margin pressure, leadership strain, growth complexity, ownership transition, or strategic inflection.

Schedule a Confidential Discussion

All conversations are confidential