Last edited 9:50 a.m., Jan. 24, 2011Sam Hamra, founder of Springfield-based Hamra Enterprises, is passing the torch to his son, Mike Hamra, to run the company.
At an executive staff meeting and dinner held Sunday night at Metropolitan Grill, Sam Hamra appointed Mike Hamra as president and CEO of the multimillion-dollar Springfield-based company. Sam Hamra returned from his winter home in Naples, Fla., this weekend to celebrate his 79th birthday on Jan. 21 and surprise his son with the announcement.
Hamra Enterprises employs 3,000 workers and recorded roughly $150 million in 2010 revenues, according to
Springfield Business Journal archives.
Sam Hamra remains chairman of the board and his wife, June, is retaining the role of vice chairman.
The younger Hamra joined Hamra Enterprises in 2001 and has most recently worked as its president and chief operating officer. He had previously worked as president and COO of Boston Bread LLC and Chicago Bread LLC, Panera Bread franchises operating under Hamra Enterprises.
Prior to joining the company, he practiced law in Washington, D.C., spending his first three years in his legal career working for the U.S. Commerce Department - where he assisted in drafting the 1996 Telecommunications Act - and for the Federal Communication Commission.
Mike Hamra is 42.
"Mike has demonstrated strong leadership in building and operating our company, and I'm very proud of him for all that he has accomplished," Sam Hamra said in a news release. "His records of exceeding development commitments and breaking national operating records places him in a unique category of leaders in the restaurant industry."
In his new role, Mike Hamra is responsible for the strategy, development and operations of Hamra Enterprises, which comprises five companies:
- Wendy's of Missouri Inc., with 28 Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburger Restaurants in Missouri;
- Boston Bread LLC, with 16 Panera Bread Cafe locations in the greater Boston area;
- Chicago Bread LLC, with 31 Panera Bread Cafe locations in the greater Chicago area;
- SJH Hotels LLC, with a Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites in Lewisville, Texas, and co-ownership in the Baymont Inn on South Glenstone in Springfield; and
- Jade Properties, with real estate holdings in Missouri, Illinois, Massachusetts and Texas.
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