Robert T. ("Bob") Trebing
rtrebing@prolman.com

Robert (“Bob”) T. Trebing, JR. is a senior financial executive with over 30 years of financial management experience, including serving as Chief Financial Officer of companies in the restaurant management, foodservice and hospitality industries. His experience includes responsibility for accounting, financial reporting, treasury, SEC, mergers and acquisitions, tax, risk management, benefits and interaction with boards of directors.  Trebing has worked on several M&A assignments, both on the buy and sell side, and has been involved in multiple bankruptcy reorganizations. He began his career as an audit manager with Arthur Young & Company (now Ernst & Young, LLP), where he earned his CPA certificate and gained business experience with several clients, including A & W Restaurants, Inc. and Los Angeles Dodgers, Inc.  Upon leaving public accounting, his interest in the restaurant industry took him to the Restaurant Group of W. R. Grace & Co.  After several years in which Trebing participated in acquisition teams that acquired over 300 restaurants, he became a member of the management team that led the management buy-out and formation of Restaurant Enterprises Group, Inc.  Trebing was instrumental in the set-up of new stand-alone treasury, tax and risk management departments for this company. Restaurant Enterprises Group and its successor, Family Restaurants, Inc., which was formed through a bankruptcy reorganization, operated over 700 restaurants generating over $1 billion in sales under such brands as El Torito, Chi-Chi’s, Houlihan’s, Coco’s and Carrows.  His financial experience in the restaurant industry began as Manager of Accounting and Financial Reporting and grew to Vice President & Controller and Senior Vice President of Finance.

 Trebing was elevated to Chief Financial Officer at a time when the Family Restaurants chain was struggling, and he was instrumental in several key transactions for the company that was eventually renamed Prandium, Inc.  At Prandium, he completed the sales of two operating divisions for $443 million, repurchased $300 million of public debt, issued $99 million of private debt and established a $55 million credit facility.  Trebing also completed the $68 million merger of Koo Koo Roo, Inc.,  and ultimately managed the financial affairs for a bankruptcy reorganization which converted $284 million in debt into $59 million in new debt and new common equity. Before leaving Prandium, Trebing functioned as acting President and CEO for a period of time.

 Trebing’s reorganization experience and knowledge of the food industry also includes the position of Chief Financial Officer for Gardenburger, Inc., the publicly traded producer and distributor of meat alternative products and branded veggie burgers. At Gardenburger, he adjusted maturities of $79 million in debt and preferred stock, improved operating cash flow during a time of tight liquidity constraints and directed a bankruptcy reorganization which took the company private and converted $90 million in debt and preferred stock into $9 million of new financing and new common and preferred equity.

 In recent years, his consulting experiences have included positions such as Interim Financial Executive for Marietta Corporation, Interim Chief Financial Officer for Discovery Foods, Chief Restructuring Advisor for a fast casual restaurant company which operated 178 stores in 12 states and franchised 196 stores in 17 states and Interim Chief Financial Officer/Senior Financial Advisor for The Ruby Restaurant Group, the operator/franchisor of the 42 store Ruby’s Diner casual dining chain and The Beachcomber Café’s in Newport Beach and Malibu. Trebing has also served as Chief Financial Officer of Frandeli Group, LLC, which is a restaurant investment company specializing in acquiring franchisee-operated companies and restaurant chains. While at Frandeli, his expertise and knowledge of the restaurant industry helped guide the company through four acquisitions and the integration of these new businesses into a cohesive organization.  This included 65 Papa John’s stores in Las Vegas, Ohio and North Carolina and 21 Spaghetti Warehouse restaurants in nine states with $85 million in revenues.

 Trebing holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from California State University, Fullerton and an MBA from the University of Southern California, Marshall School of Finance. He is a member of the California Society of CPA’s, Financial Executives International and The Financial Executives Networking Group.