The Paradies Shops has named a vice president of food and beverage and a vice president and general counsel.
Leslie Christon joins the company as vice president of food and beverage and will be responsible for increasing Paradies’ presence in the airport food and beverage concessions. She has 25 years of experience in food and beverage-oriented retail and hospitality, having held senior management positions for publicly traded and privately held companies such as On The Border Restaurants/Brinker International, Red Lobster/Darden Restaurants, Flying J Restaurants, Shells Seafood Restaurants and Sutton Place Gourmet/Balducci’s.
She is a past board member of the Women’s Foodservice Forum and past national president of the Roundtable for Women in Foodservice. She often speaks at industry conferences and is also a Conti professor with Penn State and a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier.
Another newcomer, Karen Leach, has been named vice president and general counsel. She was most recently a partner with Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough’s Atlanta office where her practice focused on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, private equity, securities and corporate law. She has represented companies, including The Paradies Shops; investment banks; investors in public offerings; private placements; and M&A transactions in numerous industries.
She is a member of the Georgia Bar, the Atlanta Bar and American Bar Associations and serves as vice chair/chair elect for the Corporate Counsel Section of the Atlanta Bar Association. Leach also is former chairwoman of the board of directors of Gilda’s Club Greater Atlanta, a nonprofit organization providing services for cancer patients and their families.
“I am very pleased to announce the addition of these two key leaders to our organization,” said Gregg Paradies, president and CEO. “Both bring exceptional backgrounds and work experience that will help strategically position The Paradies Shops for upcoming growth opportunities in airport food and beverage, airport retail and concessions within other industries, as well.”
