William founded W.H. Bender & Associates, a premier Restaurant and Foodservice consultancy providing Management Advisory Services (MAS). He has provided best practices leadership to restaurant operations while working and consulting in all food service industry segments. Additionally, Bill serves as a vice president of management to Ken Schwartz, FCSI, the CEO of SSA Foodservice Design + Consulting, Tampa, Florida. Bill is a sought-after speaker and presenter of training sessions and strategic planning for organizations and company conferences. He was a featured speaker for the National Restaurant Association at its Chicago Show and the FCSI World Conference. He has presented training for the California Restaurant Foundation, the California Department of Education - Home Economics Careers and Technology Education Conference, Professional Culinary Institute, Art Institute, Mission College Hospitality Management, and Howard Community College. Bill has been a Professional Member of the Foodservice Consultants Society International (FCSI) since 2000. This international society promotes professionalism in food service and hospitality consulting with stringent membership requirements. He has served as a member and chair of FCSI-The Americas Council of Professional Standards. He is an active member of the California Restaurant Association and National Restaurant Association. Bill has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the California Restaurant Foundation since 2009 and is an emeritus board member. Bill lives in San Jose, California, with his wife, Pamela.

1. 408.784.7371 • www.whbender.com 1430 Norman Avenue
San Jose, California 95125-5217
William H. Bender, FCSI @wmbender
Founder & Principal @whbender
William is the founder of W.H. Bender & Associates, a premier Restaurant and Foodservice
consultancy that provides Management Advisory Services (MAS). He has provided restaurant
operations best practices leadership while working and consulting in all foodservice industry
segments. Additionally, Bill serves as a vice president of management to Ken Schwartz, FCSI, the
CEO of SSA Foodservice Design + Consulting, Tampa, Florida.
Bill joined Steak and Ale Restaurants and quickly worked through entry-level positions to become
the Kitchen Manager of the 19th
unit and east coast training restaurant in Rockville, Maryland. This
enabled him to work along side many of today’s industry leaders as the Steak and Ale Casual
Dining brand skyrocketed under the leadership of Norman Brinker and Vice President of
Operations Carl Hays. He served on the new store opening team for the region before being
transferred to the high volume Gulf Freeway unit in Houston, Texas where he served as Kitchen
Manager and Bar Manager.
He was then recruited to open T.D. Hays Steak House in San Diego. This team formed Oceans 8
Inc. and opened Steak, Seafood and Entertainment concepts at four separate locations during the
next twelve years. Bill was promoted to General Manager and then Director of Operations,
responsible for multiple units.
William joined consulting firm Results in Management that specialized in restaurant operating
systems and cost controls in 1987 as a Director and opened his own office in San Jose. Client
Upscale Food Outlets/Monterey Pasta Company recruited him in 1993 to become the Vice
President of Operations for their fast-casual start up concept. He was a member of CEO Lance
Mortensen’s executive team that successfully completed the Initial Public Offering (PSTA) raising
over twelve million dollars for the company. The company opened 42 restaurants in 24 months.
Bill returned to consulting with his own firm in 1996. His background in foodservice management
provides a unique insight to running a profitable restaurant operation in today’s hyper-competitive
marketplace. Using a tight focus on restaurant fundamentals, he obtains results for client’s - high
volume independents, regional and national chains and start-up concepts. He has written and
produced proprietary training systems/processes - FutureView™ Strategic Planning, ServPoints
Sequence of Service™ and ProActive Management™ for clients and has implemented these
systems at the unit and company level. Bill’s creative force, communication style and sense of
humor, provide lasting results when training and motivating teams.
He has consulted with numerous institutions in a variety of segments throughout the industry. They
include: Famous Dave’s, Cheers Boston, Laramar Group, The Loop Pizza Grill, Jumburrito, B.D.’s
Mongolian Barbeque, Erik’s DeliCafé, Host Marriott, Century Theatres, Cattlemens, Hennessy’s
Taverns, Moss Beach Distillery, Takara Japanese Restaurants, and a host of others.

2. 408.784.7371 • www.whbender.com 1430 Norman Avenue
San Jose, California 95125-5217
Bill is a sought-after speaker and presenter of training sessions and strategic planning for
organizations and company conferences/retreats. He was a speaker for the National Restaurant
Association at its Chicago Show, and the FCSI World Conference. He has presented training for
the California Restaurant Foundation, the California Department of Education - Home Economics
Careers and Technology Education Conference, Professional Culinary Institute, Art Institute,
Mission College Hospitality Management, and Howard Community College.
Bill has been a Professional Member of the Foodservice Consultants Society International
(FCSI) since 2000. This international society promotes professionalism in foodservice and
hospitality consulting with stringent membership requirements. He has served as a member and
chair of FCSI-The Americas Council of Professional Standards.
He is an active member of the California Restaurant Association and National Restaurant
Association. Bill has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the California Restaurant
Foundation since 2009 and is now an Emeritus Board Member.
Bill lives in San Jose, California with his wife Pamela.