About Our Team

JAMES G. WHIFFEN, F.C.S.I.

Jim Whiffen is a thirty year veteran in the foodservice equipment arena. After earning a degree in Architectural Engineering from Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI and a brief stint in a general practice architectural firm, Jim joined Flagstaff Foodservice and began his career.

Subsequently, Ogden Foodservice Corporation provided larger project opportunities, including Lufthansa at JFK Airport, various stadiums and amphitheaters around the country and many corporate dining facilities. He moved to S.E. Rykoff Company in the early eighties, eventually becoming Director of Engineering for the US Foodservice Contract Design in Boston, MA after USF acquired Rykoff-Sexton.

Jim has worked on a number of venues at the Pentagon, including the 9-11 reconstruction and many other institutional projects in a wide range of college, school, prison, and B & I settings as well as Foxwoods Casino and Fenway Park.

After US Foodservice’s parent company, Royal Ahold, elected to leave the equipment and design business, Jim founded his own firm, Fountainhead Foodservice Group, taking Compass Group and others of the nation’s most prominent foodservice operators with him as clients. Fountainhead has continued the institutional work that is Jim’s forte, and has produced numerous cutting edge commercial installations as well. As a professional member of the Foodservice Consultants Society International (F.C.S.I), Jim is required to maintain his design and engineering credentials within the industry. He is past Chairman of the New England chapter of F.C.S.I. and continues to MC their annual charity golf tournament.

Jim and his wife Wadad married later in life and enjoy traveling. Since their wedding in 2003 they have been to Mexico, Turkey, United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), Bermuda, Aruba, Nevis, Lebanon, the British Virgin Islands, Dubai, Canada, St. Kitts, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, St. Lucia, Great Britain, Czech Republic, Hungary, Barbados and many cities throughout the United States and Canada.

WADAD A. WHIFFEN

Wadad was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Architectural Engineering from the International College of Technical Science in Beirut. Wadad worked in Lebanon for sixteen years as a project manager, handling responsibilities from drafting to executing projects. She has designed various types of foodservice facilities including some of the finest hotels, restaurants, hospitals and foodservice chains in Lebanon. Some of the projects that she worked on include the Marriott Hotel, Regency Palace Hotel, Eye and Ear Hospital and the Juicy Burger fast food chain.

Wadad moved to the United States and rejoined the industry that she knows and loves. She began working at US Foodservice Contract Design in 2000 as a Project Coordinator. She now holds that position for Fountainhead Foodservice Group since their opening.

As Project Coordinator, Wadad develops the foodservice packages from bidding to sales, reviewing the submittals, executing the coordination of purchase orders, acknowledgments from vendors and manufacturers and arranges the respective project trades to assure that the installation process is a success.

Wadad brings a unique perspective as well as years of professional experience in both design and engineering. She speaks fluent English, French and Arabic. She currently resides in North Andover, Massachusetts with her husband Jim.

RYAN R. PEACH

Ryan has fast become a veteran of the foodservice equipment industry. With nearly 15 years experience behind him, his product knowledge and construction industry experience is extensive.

Ryan started in the foodservice industry in 2004 as a Project Coordinator for the Boston office of the Gill Group Inc. Ryan joined Jim at Fountainhead Foodservice as a Project Manager in 2007 when the company was founded.

Ryan has been with the company since its inception and continues to be a key part of the Fountainhead team. Ryan’s clients continue to rely on him to assist in all aspects of their projects from conception to completion. He prides himself on being accessible and responsive to his customer’s needs. His honest straight forward approach is appreciated by his clients. The scale of projects that Ryan handles can be very large and complicated, but he welcomes them as an opportunity to learn and grow professionally. Ryan is as comfortable on the site as he is in the office. His time spent on various job sites across the country have taught him lessons that he never would have learned in the office. Ryan is always willing to assist any of his colleagues. He is a team player that his co-workers can count on.

Ryan is a graduate of Norwich University, the Military College of Vermont. He lives in Burlington, MA with his wife Heather and their daughters Lily and Vivian. Ryan is a history buff and loves to read about various periods in history.

JENNIFER K. ST. JEAN

Jennifer has been involved in the foodservice industry since 1999. She started her career in the industry with a small startup company and initially handled customer invoicing. She stayed with that company as they grew and was involved in all aspects of the financial operations before joining the Fountainhead team in 2009. As Controller, at Fountainhead Foodservice Group, she handles the day to day accounts payable and receivable, as well as purchase order processing, invoice reconciliation, financial reporting, project costing and financial reconciliation.

Jen lives in Atkinson, NH with her husband Chris and their two children.

DANIELLE LAURO

Danielle has been involved in the foodservice industry since 1993.

Her career started with a large St. Paul, MN based family owned catalog sales company doing restaurant equipment phone sales. Danielle was hired primarily to help with the Mashantucket Pequot Museum contract job that the company had won. A year later, once the project was finished, her job desciption included customer service, reconciling and maintaining open sales and purchase order reports, receiving, and inventory control. When the company decided to close their Connecticut store, Danielle was asked to stay on and handle the logistics of shipping the remaining stock to different distribution centers and the consolidating of the support locations.

In 2008, Danielle went to work for a Hartford based foodservice equipment company where she worked with Diane DeVince for a couple years in the Contract Design Department entering and submitting bids. She was involved with AIA pay applications and certified payroll reports. After Diane left the company in 2010, Danielle continued with job auditing and inventory control.

In February of 2013, Danielle joined Diane DeVince in the Fountainhead Foodservice Group Connecticut office. Danielle provides all aspects of project coordination for the CT projects including sales, technical support, demonstration scheduling and certified payroll reporting.

When Danielle is not working she’s enjoying her 5 children and 4 grandchildren.

LINDA J. BOWDEN

Linda joined Fountainhead in 2014 as a project coordinator assisting Cheryll, James and Ryan. She began her career in the foodservice industry in 1980 working in customer service for a local restaurant equipment supplier. In her twenty years with Brite Way Corp. the company grew from one location doing business locally to three locations adding mail order country wide. Linda moved from customer service to purchasing, distribution and sales. In 2000, Linda joined Food Equipment Solutions, providing purchasing, handling customer service and assisting with contract design work for the foodservice/healthcare industry. Linda left the foodservice industry for a few years and worked managing client accounts for a fulfillment house.

Linda lives in Bradford with her husband Ryck.

MATTHEW H. DUCHARME

Matt has been working in the hospitality industry in the past 28 years, starting out bussing table at a small French Canadian breakfast hotspot in NH.  He graduated in 2002 from Johnson and Wales University with an Associate’s degree in Culinary Arts and Bachelors in Food Service Management.  He spent 10 years with the Olive Garden as a Culinary Manager and General Manager at multiple locations around Massachusetts.  From there he has worked as a Director of Dining Services and Regional Manager while in daily operations.  He has also spent eight plus years in the sales and consulting side focusing on all non-food supplies and equipment categories.

He now resides in Auburn NH with his wife and three children.  They enjoy baseball, basketball and soccer as well as spending time camping in the summer and skiing in the winter.