Michael Lawrence

After attending college in Louisiana, Michael Lawrence moved to New York City where he worked at The Quilted Giraffe and March. He took a sabbatical from March to attend ICE and after graduating, he became general manager at La Colombe d’Or. 

By far the most significant professional decision Lawrence made was in 1998, when he joined the ranks of Chef Daniel Boulud's namesake restaurant, DANIEL, as assistant manager. He would spend the next 25 years helping to shepard the burgeoning restaurant empire-what became the Dinex Group-into the massive international hospitality brand it is today.

Within a year Lawrence was named General Manager and became Operations Director in 2005, eventually retiring as Executive Director of Operations. With 13 different concepts in New York City alone, and ten more spanning the globe from Miami, to Singapore, to Saudi Arabia, Dinex is arguably one of the most prolific hospitality groups in the world. 

In his role, Lawrence oversaw all of renowned chef Daniel Boulud’s restaurants. Everything from kitchen maintenance, dining room music, and china purchasing to carpet replacement, staff recruiting, training and menu layout were within Lawrence's purview. He was, for all intent and purposes, Daniel Boulud's right-hand-man. His presence, oftentimes in-person at any given Daniel property, was instrumental in the growth and success of the multi-award-winning group.