Our Team
Moana Hotel & Restaurant Group embraces an innovative corporate culture designed to maximize the passion and personal investment of each of its employees, from the top down. Led by a truly entrepreneurial management team, the company's collective expertise and creative vision ensures that each Moana guest receives impeccable service and a memorable experience.
The Company benefits from the leadership and experience of two of its founders, Robert Harmon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Moana Corporation, and Mark Harmon, Chief Executive Officer of Auberge Resorts. Both serve as Directors of Moana Hotel & Restaurant Group.
Tim Harmon, Chief Executive Officer
Tim Harmon brings a formidable level of hotel and restaurant industry experience and expertise to the Moana Hotel & Restaurant Group. As CEO, Harmon is primarily responsible for the acquisition, financing and development of new hotels, resorts and restaurant and overseeing their design and construction. With his background in business and real estate law – he attended the University of California at Berkeley and the Hastings College of Law in San Francisco and practiced law for eight years – Harmon is eminently qualified to lead the company in all areas of its expansion. And with his passion for architecture and design, he is ideally suited to direct the creation of aesthetically refined developments that will stand the test of time. Additionally, he serves as CEO of Solage Hotels & Resorts and Director and Principal of Auberge Resorts.
Jon Swanson, Chief Operating Officer
As COO of Restaurant Operations, Jon Swanson oversees all aspects of the restaurants' day-to-day operations and is also responsible for pre-opening training and operations. He works directly with the managers at each location to instill in them a sense of leadership and autonomy. Managers and employees are encouraged and empowered to provide input and ideas, to have a stake in the restaurant, and to find solutions to problems without going up the chain of command. As a result, Moana is extraordinarily successful at attracting and retaining talented and motivated managers and employees.
A Bay Area native, Swanson brings abundant experience to his position. After graduating from the University of Denver with a degree in hotel and restaurant management, he held management positions at a variety of restaurants in Portland, Seattle and Sacramento. He also opened several Wall Street Cafés, a successful group of café-delicatessens in the East San Francisco Bay area. In 1991, he co-founded the first Paragon Bar & Café in San Francisco's Marina district and served as its opening General Manager. Since then, he has handled pre-opening operations and training that led to successful launches at Paragons in Berkeley, Portland and San Jose.
Stephanie Gluska, CPA, Vice President, Finance and Accounting
As Vice President of Finance and Accounting, Stephanie Gluska oversees financial reporting and analysis, accounting, compliance, planning and forecasting for Moana. With her talent, dedication and experience, Gluska ensures that Moana's accounting and reporting requirements are efficiently and accurately satisfied while constantly adapting to new technologies and business strategies.
Gluska joined the company in 1999 as Controller for Piatti Restaurant Company. Prior to working with Piatti, she was the Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Operations for the US division of a British multimedia company. She also has seven years of public accounting experience with Ernst & Young. A certified public accountant and member of the American Institute of CPAs, Gluska is a Bay Area native and an honors graduate of UC Santa Barbara with a bachelor’s degree in Business Economics.
Chris Fernandez, Vice President, Piatti Culinary Operations
Fernandez came to Moana with a formidable reputation and more than two decades of hands-on culinary experience. He was a partner and the Executive Chef at Poggio where he earned both local and national recognition. The San Francisco Chronicle included Poggio on its list of the Bay Area's top ten new restaurants in 2004 and the top 100 in 2005. Esquire magazine also recognized Poggio as one of the Best New Restaurants of 2004 and Fernandez received the Rising Star Chef award by Restaurant Hospitality. Prior to his tenure at Poggio, Fernandez served as Executive Chef of Stars in San Francisco and Seattle as well as D'asaro and the Crescent Grill where the San Francisco Chronicle named him one of the Bay Area's "Rising Young Stars." He is a graduate of the Western Culinary Institute.
Spencer O'Meara, Executive Chef, Paragon Restaurants
Spencer O'Meara serves as corporate chef for all Paragon restaurants, overseeing menu and recipe development, food costing and purchasing, and pre-opening and ongoing back of house staffing and training. He is also the Executive Chef of the San Francisco Paragon. O'Meara's professional experience includes more than four years at Scala's Bistro in San Francisco. Prior to that, he worked at Le Bec Fin, the Striped Bass and Michel's, all in Philadelphia. He is a graduate of the Scottsdale Culinary Institute.
Marc Quinones, Vice President, Operations
As Vice President of Operations, Quinones is the driver of upholding MHRG restaurant operational standards and the day to day link between our General Managers and company objectives. Quinones brings to the table over 18 years in restaurant management with recent experience at Redwood Coast Brewing Company (Tied House) and as the General Manager of MHRG’s Paragon Restaurant and Bar. A San Francisco native and Cal Berkeley alumnus, Quinones’ detailed business eye, practical application of restaurant management concepts, and sense of humor help create a culture of long term business success.
Linda Salman, Operations Manager
Linda Salman assists in overseeing the restaurants' day-to-day operations including purchasing and marketing initiatives. Prior to joining the company in 2001, she was an account manager for an advertising company. Salman grew up working in her family's restaurant in Cincinnati.
Heidi Darling, Vice President, Marketing
As Vice President of Marketing for Moana, Darling brings years of practical hands-on hospitality management and marketing project management with a passion for grass roots community based and cutting edge internet marketing to her leadership and support of MHRG properties' marketing initiatives. Growing up in Marin and Hawaii has instilled a love for everything “green” - Darling is evangelical in her pursuit of Moana being a good corporate environmental citizen. Darling's past includes management positions at Insalata’s in San Anselmo, Ciatti Wine Brokerage and a local advertising and design firm. When not scanning blogs for anything hospitality related she is most likely found out in Pt. Reyes with her family or in the kitchen canning or baking random seasonal goodies.
Lisa Salvas, Project Manager
Lisa joined the company in 2004 to assist Tim Harmon with a wide range of projects. Her attention to detail and interest in design and development has her currently managing day to day construction projects, remodels and capital improvements for all of Moana’s properties. She regularly coordinates with owners, restaurant managers, architects, designers, contractors, and vendors to ensure that each property reflects Moana’s standards. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies from California State University, Chico in 1990 and previously held administrative positions with Creative Builders, Prudential Securities and Hyatt Hotels.
Laura Crudo, Human Resources Manager
As Human Resources Manager at Moana, Laura Crudo oversees all aspects of Human Resources Administration and Payroll. Prior to joining Moana in 2008, she was an HR Generalist for a multi-site health care industry company in Marin. Crudo is a University of California at Davis alumnus, PHR certified and a member of SHRM and NCHRA. In her free time she enjoys adding to her wine collection and mastering traditional Italian recipes with her husband.