Tracy Lawler
PresidentTracy’s love of hospitality was formed early in her career working for several restaurants in a variety of front and back of house positions. She then completed the Charlie Brown’s management training program and worked as a unit manager for several years. Moving to the magazine publishing world, Tracy honed her business acumen in a series of positions, eventually being named General Manager of several national publications. She earned an MBA in finance from Stern School of Business at NYU in 1993. Her love of the hospitality industry brought her to JGL in 1997 where she initially assumed responsibility for financial modeling and projections.
In 1999, she took on project manager responsibility for most of the firm’s projects. By 2006, Tracy and the firm’s founder Jim, were discussing succession plans and in 2009 Tracy assumed full ownership of the firm. Since then, the company revenues have more than quadrupled and the team has grown to a robust team of full-time employees. JGL has now done work in 43 states, expanded to retail, higher education, corporate dining and convention centers. Tracy remains engaged with many firm projects and has built a strong team of experts who are passionate about providing expert advice to JGL’s clients. She has written articles for Food Management Magazine, Sustainable Revenue for Museums, and NACUFS. She has lectured at CaterSource and presented at Building Museums Workshop and the American Alliance of Museums annual conference. Tracy is a member of Society for Hospitality and Food Service Management, the American Alliance of Museums, Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and NACUFS.
Tracy’s two favorite foods are grilled octopus and oysters, and she loves shopping for unique kitchen wares in museum shops.