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Team

Corporate Team

Eddie Muransky
Eddie Muransky
President
Ed Muransky
Ed Muransky
Chairman
Gary Lockhart
Gary Lockhart
Chief Financial Officer
Chris Sammartino
Chris Sammartino
Executive Advisor
Vernon Cesta
Vernon Cesta
Executive Chef

Angelo Babbaro
Chief Performance Officer

Dayna Blangero
Operations Administrative Assistant

Jeffrey Blaze
Director of Operations

Leo Henry III
Operations Advisor

Bekah Marstellar
Director of Human Resources
Jen Miller
Jen Miller
Operations Team Leader
AJ Minotti
AJ Minotti
Media Specialist
Eddie Moses
Eddie Moses
Operations Manager
Chris Sammartino_Bio Coming Soon.

Chris Sammartino
Executive Advisor

Gary LockhartBio Coming Soon.

Gary Lockhart
Chief Financial Officer

Eddie MuranskyEddie’s immense passion for pizza dates back to Age 6, when he proclaimed that delivering them was his goal in life. This passion has now culminated with the launching of Rise Pies and he is very enthusiastic to see the growth of this exciting concept. Eddie was born in Youngstown, Ohio and also lived in Atherton, California and Tampa, Florida before graduating from Tampa’s Berkeley Preparatory School in 2002. Crediting another passion that dated back to Age 6, Eddie attended the University of Michigan, his father’s alma mater, and received his BBA Degree with distinction from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business in 2006. Eddie went on to the University of Michigan Law School where he received his Juris Doctor degree in 2009. He was admitted to the Ohio Bar in November 2009 and is a licensed attorney. He worked as a Business Litigation Associate for the Cleveland, Ohio law firm of Ulmer Berne LLP until 2012, when he joined The Muransky Companies as Vice President as General Counsel. Eddie oversees the legal side of the company and learned from the excellent management team of Chestnut Land Company, which operates over 70 Auntie Anne’s Pretzel stores for The Muransky Companies, before officially launching Rise Pies in April 2014.Eddie oversees all business operations for Rise Pies and is very excited to make Rise Pies into a thriving national concept. Outside of Rise Pies, Eddie can usually be found playing or watching sports, specifically his Cleveland Indians and Cavaliers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Michigan Wolverines. Eddie resides in Poland, Ohio with his two dogs, Blue and Rocky.

Eddie Muransky
President

Angelo BabbaroBio Coming Soon.

Angelo Babbaro
Chief Performance Officer

Melissa McKay Melissa McKay attended Youngstown State University where she graduated with a bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education. Her passion to help build a strong academic foundation for young children led her to teach first and second grade. She has always loved children and continuing education, but wanted to explore her curiosity for the business world. In 2012, Melissa joined the Chestnut Land Company as a Performance Manager for Auntie Anne’s Pretzels. As Chestnut Land grew and expanded into the pizza business, she joined Rise Pies as the Executive Assistant for Eddie Muransky.In her spare time, Melissa enjoys family and friends, golfing, and weekend trips to new places. Currently she is writing and illustrating a children’s book that she hopes will someday become a favorite in the classroom.Her favorite pizza changes weekly, but the Vernon is a constant top favorite.

Melissa McKay
Executive Assistant

Eddie MosesEd brings over two decades of management experience in various industries to the Rise Pies team. As a young kid growing up in the grocery business, Ed knew that maintaining customer satisfaction would maximize profitability. Ed took that philosophy and applied it to various businesses ranging from real estate to movie theaters. With a strong desire for the food industry, Ed transferred focus to casual dining and in 2011 opened V2 Wine Bar & Trattoria in Youngstown, Ohio. This format paved the way for Rise Pise Pizza.

Eddie Moses
Operations Manager

Vernon CestaBio Coming Soon.

Vernon Cesta
Executive Chef

Meredith Gruelle Meredith Gruelle is one of the newest additions to the Rise Pies team, joining in July 2014. She grew up in Poland, OH and graduated from Ohio University in 2011 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business and Communications. After college Meredith moved to Columbus, OH to work for Nationwide Children’s Hospital. She started out as a Research Assistant, but quickly transitioned into recruiting. Meredith was part of the nurse recruitment team at the hospital, and she quickly realized that her passion was in recruiting!
Meredith recently got married in April 2014 to her husband Corey. They recently moved back to their hometown and could not be more excited to be close to friends and family!In her free time, Meredith loves to spend time with family and friends and her cat Beck. She also loves listening to country music and going to concerts.Her favorite pizza is the gluten free LA Showtime!

Meredith Gruelle
Recruiter

Leo Henry IIIBio Coming Soon.

Leo Henry III
Operations Advisor

Bekah MarstellarBekah is the Director of Human Resources for Muransky Companies, which includes our most recent addition of Rise Pies. She landed in Human Resources 10 years ago, starting as a management trainer for a quick service pizza franchise company. Having started as a delivery driver and working her way up through store management to HR management, Bekah attributes her passion for people capability and running great operations as being an intricate part of her success as a strategic HR partner. She enjoys interacting with all facets of people, and helping the company with benefits, payroll, employee relations, training and development, and strategic management.

Bekah earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Youngstown State University and a Master’s of Science Degree in Human Resources Management from Capella University. She is extremely excited to be a part of the Rise Pies team, and hopes to use her Operations and HR experience in fast, casual pizza dining to help the company continue to grow!Bekah and her husband Larry live in Austintown, OH with their six children, ranging in ages from 18 years to 5 years old. Most of their weekends are filled with baseball, dance, volleyball, cheerleading, or soccer! She also enjoys photography, reading, or a night out with friends.

Her favorite Rise Pies specialty pizza would hands-down be The Vernon with hot peppers, but can always go for 72 Blue! YUM!

Bekah Marstellar
Director of Human Resources

Jeffrey BlazeBio coming soon

Jeffrey Blaze
Director of Operations

AJ MinottiAJ works as the Media Specialist for Rise Pies. He graduated from Duquesne University in 2007 and 2010, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater Arts and a Master of Science degree in Multimedia Production. After spending a few years on the road filming travel documentaries and working for various startups, AJ is delighted to handle the company’s needs for websites, photography, videography, social media, and A/V support. AJ currently lives in Poland, OH with his wife Jessica and his twin baby girls, Sophia and Olivia. In his free time, he enjoys BBQing, video games, and rooting on Cleveland sports.

AJ loves experiementing with with new pizzas every time he visits Rise Pies. But when he’s hungry, voices in his head scream, “Da Bears!”

AJ Minotti
Media Specialist

Jen MillerJen joined the Rise Pies team in April of 2015, as the first full time operations team member. Jen has been working in foodservice since the age of 16 and has a great deal of hands on, in the trenches experience. This experience allows her to assist with and trouble shoot challenges that our management teams face on a daily basis. She prides herself on being a good communicator, who is attentive to detail, organized and hard working. She is always ready to take on a new challenge! Her primary responsibilities include communication with the stores, inventory analysis, food and labor cost control, coordinating vendor accounts and ordering small wares for new locations, new store support and ensuring stores are in compliance with Rise Pies operational standards.

Jen is thrilled to be part of a rapidly growing concept where her experience will benefit the company as a whole and she will have the opportunity to continue to grow professionally as well.

Born and raised in Alliance, Ohio Jen currently resides in the home she grew up in, with her husband Mike and their three dogs. She is the proud mother of two beautiful daughters, Ellen and Aleisha, who have “left the nest.” In her free time, Jen enjoys entertaining in her home, spending time with family and friends, playing with her dogs and finding a great bargain in a resale shop. She has a huge love of lighthouses and enjoys traveling, especially to the beach!

When it comes to pizza, Jen normally builds her own, starting with a classic crust and the garlic and olive oil or Alfredo sauce. She is a big fan of the Chicken Carbonara Pizza!

Jen Miller
Operations Team Leader

Dayna BlangeroDayna was born and raised in Poland, Ohio. She graduated from Poland Seminary in 2007. She then attended the university of Akron for a brief time before relocating to the south. She worked for a public safety company called Galls, LLC. And worked closely with the fire and police departments In Raleigh, NC and Atlanta, GA.

In September of 2015 Dayna moved back to her hometown with her son, Nathan, to be near family and friends. She has been an employee with the Muransky companies since October 2015. Dayna is very excited to be a part of the growing Rise Pies team.

Her favorite pizza is the Margherita!

Dayna Blangero
Operations Administrative Assistant

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