Chris Pappas (Hon. ’94)

CEO & Executive Vice President
Pappas Restaurants, Inc.

Chris Pappas (Hon. ’94) is chief executive officer of Pappas Restaurants Inc. He has 30 years of operational management experience in the restaurant industry and is actively involved in the general operations of all Pappas restaurants and in the development of new sites and concepts.

In 2001, Pappas joined Luby’s Inc. as chief executive officer and joined the board of directors. Over the past several years, he and his brother, Harris, have applied their restaurant experience in efforts to improve Luby’s operations, with an emphasis on food quality and customer service.

Pappas serves on the boards of the Greater Houston Partnership and the Sam Houston Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He is also a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership. He received the Hilton College 1994 Honorary Alumnus Award and the 1996 Volunteer of the Year Award.

Additionally, Pappas serves on the board of directors for the National Restaurant Association, the Texas Restaurant Association and the Greater Houston Restaurant Association, and is an advisory board member of Amegy Bank. In 2001, he was inducted into the Texas Restaurant Association Hall of Honor.

Active in the Greek Orthodox Church, Pappas was named an Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate for his outstanding service.

Pappas received a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He and his wife, Maria, have five grown children.