André Vener

Founding Partner, Dog Haus

Along with his two business partners, André co-founded Dog Haus in April 2010 with the mission of elevating stadium food classics into culinary masterworks. Over the last decade, Dog Haus has expanded from its Pasadena, California, base to nearly 50 locations from coast-to-coast. André and his partners have spearheaded the brand’s rapid expansion by forming alliances with leading ghost kitchen networks, an innovative partnership with Live Nation and the 2020 introduction of The Absolute Brands—a suite of virtual restaurant concepts spun off from several of Dog Haus’ signature menu items, such as the Bad Mutha Clucka.

André has been interviewed as a restaurant industry expert on multiple national platforms, including CNN, FOX News Channel and MSNBC. He and his Dog Haus partners were featured on the cover of QSR Magazine’s April 2020 edition, and they have been profiled in Entrepreneur magazine, Food & Wine and more.

Prior to co-founding Dog Haus, André served as executive producer of Pasadena Entertainment where he produced hundreds of events in venues of all sizes, including The Rose Bowl, Los Angeles County Arboretum, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and more. André founded and operated redwhite+bluezz, an award-winning restaurant and jazz club which served great food, wine and live music for eight years. Before entering the hospitality industry, André served as CEO and president of the California Philharmonic for 10 years, with his leadership seeing the orchestra performing annual concert series at noted venues Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Ambassador Auditorium and Santa Anita Race Track.

André earned his Executive Master of Administration in 2007 from the Claremont Graduate School of Management, and his Bachelor of Arts in psychology from San Francisco State University. A competitive athlete, André played soccer in college and served as captain of the Los Angeles-based semi-pro soccer club Euro Stars. He has played across the U.S., as well as in Germany, Holland and Costa Rica. André enjoys sharing his passions for food, wine and world travel with friends and family. He, his wife, Amanda, and daughter, Ava, live in Pasadena and enjoy spending weekends on Catalina Island.