Paul Westra Joins iPic Entertainment As Chief Financial Officer

BOCA RATON, Fla., March 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- iPic Entertainment today announced the appointment of Paul Westra as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) effective March 3, 2017. Mr. Westra joins iPic after spending over 20 years as a sell-side analyst covering the restaurant industry, including mostly recently at Stifel Financial SF.

"We are extremely happy to have Paul join iPic Entertainment to head our finance team. Paul's a great addition to our senior management team as we have built the corporate infrastructure to become a much larger company. Paul's capital market experience will be immensely beneficial as we continue to grow the business and contemplate future opportunities for external financing to fuel our growth," stated Hamid Hashemi, founder and CEO of iPic Entertainment.

Since 2013, Paul has been a Managing Director at Stifel Financial where he added to his illustrious 20-plus-year career as one of Wall Street's top-ranked Equity Research Analysts. Paul has been frequently quoted by leading business news sources such as Bloomberg, Barron's and Forbes—providing commentary on the restaurant industry's competitive landscape and forecasting trends that impact operations and financial returns. He is best known for his unique strategic vision of the industry as well as for his proprietary valuation methodology. Over the years, Paul also gained practical restaurant executive experience having worked for an information technology company focused on the foodservice industry as well as from co-founding two New York City restaurants, Phebe's and Dylan Prime.

In 2015, Westra was credited with prompting the restaurant industry's shift toward the "LOHAS movement", which emphasizes farm-to-fork dining, quality ingredients and sustainability at the core of its mission—a practice that has been employed across all iPic restaurant concepts nationwide.

Paul brings exceptional research, industry knowledge, insight and operational experience to the CFO role at iPic. Westra earned his Master's in Business Administration degree from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and a Bachelor's of Business Administration Degree from the University of Massachusetts. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter holder. Paul and his family will relocate from Dallas, Texas, to South Florida for this role.

About iPic Entertainment

Established in 2006 by Hamid Hashemi, Boca Raton, FL-based iPic Entertainment is recognized as the fastest growing affordable luxury movie watching theater brand in the nation, launching independent restaurant brands with multiple locations: The Tuck Room with locations in Miami, FL, and Houston, TX; The Tuck Room Tavern in Westwood, CA; City Perch Kitchen + Bar with locations in Bethesda, MD, Fort Lee, NJ and a third location to open in Dobb's Ferry, NY; Tanzy Restaurant in Boca Raton, FL, and Scottsdale, AZ. A pioneering industry leader, iPic Entertainment's mission is to provide visionary night-out entertainment escapes, presenting high-quality, chef-driven culinary and mixology in unique destinations that include premium movie theaters, restaurants and lounges. iPic Theaters currently operates 15 locations in 10 states with 113 screens in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin and new locations are planned for California, Connecticut, and New York. For more information, visit www.iPic.com

Media Contact:
Michelle Soudry
The Gab Group
561.750.3500
msoudry@thegabgroup.com

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SOURCE iPic Entertainment