Chris Pappas (Hon. 鈥�94)
CEO & Executive Vice President
Pappas Restaurants, Inc.
Chris Pappas (Hon. 鈥�94) is chief executive officer of Pappas Restaurants Inc., the Houston-based family company whose brands include Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen, Pappasito鈥檚 Cantina, and Pappas Bros. Steakhouse. A career restaurateur with decades of operational management experience, he remains actively involved in the general operations of all Pappas restaurants and in the development of new sites and concepts.
Pappas served as president and chief executive officer of Luby鈥檚 Inc. from 2001 to 2021 and sat on its board of directors. He and his brother, Harris, brought their restaurant experience to the company鈥檚 operations with an emphasis on food quality and customer service. Pappas stepped down as chief executive in January 2021 as Luby鈥檚 carried out a shareholder- approved plan to sell its assets and dissolve.
Pappas serves on the boards of the Greater Houston Partnership, the Sam Houston Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and the Hilton College Dean鈥檚 Advisory Board. He also serves on the boards of directors of the National Restaurant Association, the Texas Restaurant Association, and the Greater Houston Restaurant Association, and is an advisory board member of Amegy Bank. He was inducted into the Texas Restaurant Association Hall of Honor in 2001 and received Hilton College鈥檚 Volunteer of the Year Award in 1996.
Active in the Greek Orthodox Church, Pappas was named an Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate for his service.
Pappas received a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He and his wife, Maria, have five grown children.