Shared Plate Strategies Appoints Leslie Napolitano as Vice President of Business Development to Drive Strategic Growth

Veteran foodservice sales and business development leader brings decades of K-12 expertise, industry relationships, and strategic growth experience to the Shared Plate Strategies leadership team.

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif.  Shared Plate Strategies is pleased to announce that Leslie Napolitano has joined the company’s leadership team as Vice President of Business Development, bringing decades of foodservice sales leadership, strategic business development, and deep K-12 market expertise to the organization.

Napolitano has built a career around developing businesses, strengthening customer partnerships, leading high-performing teams, and translating market opportunities into sustainable growth. Her extensive experience in the K-12 foodservice channel includes a deep understanding of school nutrition operations, procurement and bid processes, distributor and manufacturer partnerships, menu and product strategy, and the complex operational and nutritional requirements facing today’s school districts.

Throughout her career, Napolitano has worked closely with school nutrition leaders, distributors, brokers, manufacturers, and cross-functional teams to develop programs that address real customer needs while creating measurable business results. Her K-12 experience includes building and commercializing large-scale school foodservice programs, developing innovative breakfast solutions, and partnering with some of the nation’s largest and most complex school districts.

Founder and CEO Ben Lucas Thomas shared, “Leslie and I gelled immediately over shared values, and I know that she is going to help us make a big leap forward in helping child nutrition leaders enhance programs across the country.”

“I am incredibly excited to join Shared Plate Strategies and become part of a team that understands both the business and the purpose behind school nutrition,” said Napolitano. “K-12 has been an important part of my career for decades. I understand the challenges school nutrition leaders face, but more importantly, I understand the tremendous opportunity that exists when we listen to operators, bring the right partners together, and build solutions around what students and school communities truly need.”

As Vice President of Business Development, Napolitano will focus on accelerating strategic growth, expanding Shared Plate Strategies’ K-12 business, developing new customer and industry partnerships, and identifying opportunities to broaden the company’s impact across the foodservice marketplace. She will also work closely with the Shared Plate Strategies leadership team to strengthen the company’s go-to-market strategy and build scalable pathways for long-term growth.

Napolitano brings extensive executive-level experience leading large and complex foodservice businesses, developing national and regional sales strategies, navigating organizational change, and working across sales, marketing, finance, supply chain, operations, and learning and development. Her leadership philosophy centers on relationships, trust, disciplined execution, and creating solutions that deliver value for both customers and business partners.

The addition of Napolitano represents another step in Shared Plate Strategies’ continued growth and its commitment to bringing experienced, forward-thinking leadership to the evolving foodservice and school nutrition marketplace.

“There has never been a more important time to bring strategic thinking, collaboration, and innovation to K-12 foodservice,” Napolitano added. “I look forward to working alongside the Shared Plate Strategies team and our partners to help school nutrition programs solve challenges, uncover opportunities, and ultimately serve students better.”