A progressive hospitality professional with experience in nightclubs, hotels, restaurants and special events, Hunter brings a wealth of information and insight into emerging trends and best practices. He now serves in the role of Executive Director of the Main Street Business Improvement District in Santa Monica, acting as the chief lobbyist and advocate for all merchants on Main Street in Santa Monica and as a liaison to The City by representing over 200 businesses and their interests to The City of Santa Monica. He acted as the point person for The City of Santa Monica’s education and outreach efforts on the Minimum Wage ordinance. In this initiative, he worked directly with City Staff to orchestrate programming that educated all businesses in Santa Monica on how to be compliant with The City’s new laws. Prior to this, he founded the Santa Monica Restaurant Coalition (SMNRC.net) in 2015 after working with its Los Angles counterpart (NRC.la) and was instrumental in the crafting of the Santa Monica Minimum Wage Ordinance of 2016 as a hospitality expert in concert with city staff. Hunter recently completed his term as President of the California Restaurant Association’s L.A. Chapter, and is a regular speaker at seminars in Southern California covering issues specific to the industry. He is considered a thought leader in Alternative Compensation Models (A.C.M.’s) and is regularly called upon for advice and practical insight on the topic, both culturally and legally speaking. With seventeen years of hands-on operational experience in management coupled with a solid foundation in design, branding, H.R. and marketing, his personal toolbox of skills makes him uniquely suited to not only conceptualize and strategize, but also to execute complex and sensitive initiatives within an array of spaces, no matter the situation. His technical and general specialties include compliance transitioning, brand refreshing, operational evaluations, government relations, alternative compensation & labor models, repositioning, menu development, culture crafting, H.R. compliance, disaster management (bankruptcy, hostile takeovers), design (interior, menu, web), team building (recruiting, training, coaching), delivery programs, & alternative marketing. Hunter is often called upon to assist struggling small businesses reposition and restructure themselves. He has also been tapped by several emerging technology companies to work on applications and systems unique to the hospitality industry, having worked with corporate brands and independent operations.