John E. Tobe, Chairman of the Board

John Tobe brings to Laura's Lean Beef more than 30 years of experience in food industry management and marketing. Tobe was CEO and president of Jerrico, Inc., whose restaurant concepts included the successful international seafood chain Long John Silver's Seafood Shoppes.

After Tobe's retirement from Jerrico in 1990, surf's loss became turf's gain. Owner of an 800-acre cattle farm in Kentucky since 1979, Tobe focused his attention on the beef market. His interest in innovative cattle production methods, and his recognition of changing consumer habits regarding beef, ultimately brought him together with fellow Kentuckian Laura Freeman, who had in 1985 founded Laura's Lean Beef, a company producing all-natural lean beef.

In 1991, Tobe joined Laura's Lean Beef to direct an ambitious regional expansion program. Similar to the fashion in which the Long John Silver's concept anticipated a national passion for seafood, Tobe believes Laura's Lean Beef represents an idea whose time has come, a lean yet delicious approach to one of America's favorite foods.