Sunny Sassoon assumed the position of Chief Executive Officer at International Coffee & Tea, LLC on December 19, 1998. Mr. Sassoon was integral in the development of the company's strategic and growth plan, which took it from about 30 stores in 1998 to over 600 stores in 2007. Beginning in 2008, Mr. Sassoon changed roles to Executive Chairman, focusing on the development of the company’s strategic business plan.

Mel has been instrumental in the strategic positioning and dynamic expansion of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® (“the Company”), helping lead the Company's growth from 60 to over 750 stores worldwide since 1999. As president, he is now responsible for setting strategy and directing the day-to-day operations of the Company’s global brand and business.

Prior to joining the Company, Mel was the director of development for the Sunvic Group, overseeing the development and operations for Tower Records and Sunvic’s The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf franchise in Malaysia.

Mel completed his Law studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He was admitted to the Bar of both the Middle Temple in England and the High Court of the Republic of Singapore where he practiced as an advocate and solicitor for a number of years.

Terry is responsible for the Company's legal, human resource, real estate and global supply chain initiatives and maintains an active role in the Company's overall leadership. Terry joined the Company in February 2004 as its charter general counsel.

Prior to joining the Company, Terry was a partner at Johnson & Mansky where he represented a variety of retail clients, including Krause's Furniture Inc., Wells Fargo Bank and International Coffee & Tea, LLC.

Terry completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Southern California and received his J.D. from Loyola University School of Law, where he was a member of the Loyola Law Review in the 1978-1979 academic year.

As the Vice President of Business Development for the Company, Bob is responsible for domestic and international franchises, in both traditional and non-traditional locations. The Company currently has over 510 franchised locations in 22 countries, and has been aggressively growing under his leadership.

Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Kaufman spent 12 years as the Senior Vice President of Business Development and Managing Director of International at Tower Records based in Sacramento, CA (7 years) and Tokyo, Japan (5 years). At Tower, Bob created and grew franchise business, oversaw all international operations and was responsible for all new and non-traditional revenue initiatives, including: gift cards, consumer electronics, video games, digital music, Latin music, rack jobbing, and media sales.

Bob has lived in Japan, China, Taiwan, Philippines, and Spain and speaks Spanish, Chinese and Japanese. He has a BA in Asian Studies from University of California at Santa Barbara, and a degree in Chinese language from Peking University in Beijing.

Paul is responsible for all supply chain and manufacturing operations worldwide and the company’s product development and quality assurance functions. These responsibilities include: planning, procurement, manufacturing and product distribution to the Company’s stores located in 22 countries. He is an integral part of the executive team, bringing contemporary solutions to supply chain and business issues within the Company.

Paul has 27 years experience directing all facets of supply chain operations for major multi-unit businesses including Frito-Lay; Allied Domeq units (Baskin-Robbins, Dunkin Donuts and Togos brands); and Pick Up Stix Restaurants.

Paul holds a BS in Business Administration with an emphasis in Production/Logistics Operations from California State University, Fresno. Paul also is a “Certified Supply Chain Professional.”

Coralie is responsible for the Company’s financial planning & analysis, accounting, treasury and IT functions.

Coralie began her career with BNP-Paribas in New York. She held senior financial management positions at E. D. & F. Man Group in Hong Kong (Man Group Plc) and Pershing Finance. She relocated to Los Angeles as the Director of International Business Development of BCBG Max Azria Group and acting CFO of BCBG International Holdings.

Prior to joining the company in 2009, Coralie developed an active consulting practice where she negotiated and managed acquisitions totaling $116 million, spearheaded the acquisition of $140 million publicly traded Canadian Company, led international operations of an American retailer from startup to $65 million revenue in two years and originated strategic alliances with Nordstrom’s, Procter & Gamble and Lane Crawford.

Coralie earned an MBA in Industrial Economics from HEC (Hautes Etudes Commerciales, Paris). She graduated from Paris Dauphine University with an MBA in Finance and from the University’s Doctoral School in Strategies of Organizations.

Mark is exclusively focused on the profitable growth of the Company's 180+ store Domestic Retail Store Division through the development of our people at all levels, while creating a spirit that inspires these team members to deliver a Total Quality Experience for every customer in every store.

Before joining The Coffee Bean® team in December 2009, Mark was a Senior Vice President/ Executive Coach for the Western Division of Starbucks, where he had full P&L responsibility for 3,400 company owned stores in 15 states. After his 10 year career at Starbucks, Mark launched a boutique executive coaching and management consulting practice “Make Your Mark” with a primary focus in providing executive coaching and consulting services to organizations and high potential leaders.

Mark earned his BS in Marketing from Northern Illinois University and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin. Mark also received his Executive Coaching Certification from the Hudson Institute in Santa Barbara in 2008.

As Vice President of Specialty Sales, Tom Clemente is responsible for all growth and management of the Company's Specialty Sales division which includes freestanding kiosks/carts, store-in-store relationships, white tablecloth restaurant chains, hotels, entertainment venues and food management operators. He is also responsible for the management and development of wholesale and licensed brand concepts.

Before joining The Coffee Bean® team in February, 2010, Tom was the Vice President of Sales, National Accounts, at T-Mobile where he was responsible for the company’s largest 3rd Party Retailers of wireless products & services. He spent time with Starbucks Coffee Company as Vice President Sales-Global Consumer Products Sales, Vice President of Sales-Tazo Tea Company, Grocery Sales Director, Grocery Marketing Director and Grocery Sales Manager. He also held management roles at Seagrams, Borden, Inc. and Procter & Gamble.

Tom holds a Master of Business Administration in Marketing Finance from University of Portland, Portland, OR and a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Communications from University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.

Jay is responsible for selecting the best green coffee beans available from the world’s finest growing regions, as well as for all coffee and tea manufacturing, for warehousing and distribution worldwide. He oversees the blending and roasting of all coffee on-site at the Company’s Camarillo, CA facility.

In 1984, Jay began his career with Hillside Coffee. He then held operations management and buying positions at Brother's Gourmet, Gloria Jean's, Coffee People Worldwide and Diedrich Coffee. With his breadth of coffee experience he has developed a reputation for expertise in the industry.

Jay was a founding member of the Roasters Guild and is a volunteer instructor for the SCAA and is a certified judge for the Cup of Excellence® program run by A.C.E. Jay is also a licensed Q grader, and an APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional.

David joined the Company in 1997. As buyer, master blender and senior manager of tea, David is responsible for sourcing, development and internal education on tea. He travels the world to source the finest ingredients from countries such as Sri Lanka, India, Japan, China and Taiwan. He is a driving force in giving back to the origin countries in which we do business.

Prior to joining the Company, David spent 13 years at Halliburton where he was involved with industry sales, service and managerial distribution.

He holds a Bachelors degree in Business from California State University, Northridge.