20 Most Influential: Andrew Shakman, LeanPath Inc.

Andrew Shakman
Co-founder, President & CEO,
LeanPath Inc.

Andrew Shakman is not a scientist, just a man with a passion for the environment. But it is precisely that passion that places him on our list. About 10 years ago, Shakman channeled his concern over a problem that has bedeviled many foodservice operators and restaurateurs—waste reduction—into the invention of a food waste tracking system to help operators in the foodservice industry monitor the amount of waste they are producing.

LeanPath was created in 2004 as a result of that invention, as the means to market the technology to operators. But when you talk with Shakman, who holds a bachelor’s degree from Stanford and a master’s in fine arts from the University of Southern California, he doesn’t speak so much about what his technology can do for operators. He’s more likely to discuss why waste tracking is important to operators and to the industry as a whole.

LeanPath’s products don’t save customers money so much as give them the information they need to make informed decisions about what they can do to reduce waste and, ultimately, save money and make their facilities more sustainable.

His desire to spread the message of waste reduction has led him to become active in several foodservice organizations. He is on the Industry Advisory Board for the Association for Healthcare Foodservice and the Industry Advisory Council of the National Association of College & University Food Services. His skills and passion have been recognized outside the non-commercial foodservice industry as well. He served on the technical advisory committee for the development of Green Seal’s GS-46 Standard for Green Foodservice & Restaurant Operations, and in 2007 Shakman was honored by the Portland Business Journal as one of its “40 Under 40.” 

Related:FSD's 20 Most Influential

Foodservice Director has undertaken a bold initiative by identifying people who we believe are having the biggest impact on non-commercial foodservice. Our list may surprise you and should certainly intrigue you. Our honorees have backgrounds as varied as their personalities. They range from the father of the modern-day food truck to the wife of a sitting president. They include operators and suppliers, chefs and consultants, CEOs and civil servants. There are traditionalists and there are mavericks. Well-known names share space with hot newcomers. In all, 17 people, two groups of individuals and one institution compose the list. It’s time to meet FSD’s 20 Most Influential.