Brian Arruda

Founder, CEO

Brian grew up in Connecticut, where, like many chefs, his first job was washing dishes. This marked the start of his epic culinary journey. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Brian traveled the world working for global hospitality luminaries such as Charlie Palmer, Thomas Keller, José Andrés, and Daniel Boulud. In 2019, he moved to New York after transitioning from Executive Chef at Bar Boulud to that same position at Boulud Sud.

When the pandemic shut down restaurants across the country, thousands of chefs and hospitality workers suddenly found themselves out of work. Instead of watching the industry collapse, Brian evolved. He created Executive Chefs At Home (ECAH) to help his peers find stability and meaningful work during an unprecedented crisis—and what started as a lifeline, quickly blossomed into a global network connecting chefs and hospitality professionals with private households in need of talent. HELM extends the reach of Executive Chefs At Home—affording its members exclusive access to his elite culinary peers.

Joe Busone

Founder, COO

From an early age, hospitality was not simply a career path for Joseph Busone—it was a familial legacy. Raised in New York, within a family that owned celebrated Italian restaurants, a catering service, and nightclub lounge, Joe grew up immersed in the artistry, operational execution, and environmental warmth that embody exceptional service. From this foundation, an intuitive understanding of what it means to create meaningful experiences for guests became instinct.

Joe began his career working in private suite hospitality at Arizona’s premier sporting arenas and ballparks. He later moved to Las Vegas, where he assumed a departmental leadership role and was instrumental in opening the prestigious ARIA Resort & Casino, and effectively managed its high-roller events and major convention operations. Joe then embarked on his entrepreneurial journey, co-founding an entertainment dining concept with 7 locations spanning multiple states. In 2021, he partnered with longtime friend, Brian Arruda, to scale Executive Chefs At Home from a boutique private chef placement agency to a global provider of luxury hospitality services. HELM is the latest chapter in Joe’s illustrious high-end hospitality services career.

Chris Mahoney

CMO

Chris Mahoney is a high-growth operating executive and strategic brand architect with over 22 years of experience at the intersection of performance marketing, financial modeling, and technological innovation. As the Chief Marketing Officer of HELM, Chris brings the rigorous discipline of a COO to the creative and psychological landscape of luxury experiential marketing. He is responsible for the platform’s overarching brand narrative, its sophisticated design language, and the data-driven systems that fuel its growth initiatives.

Throughout his career, Chris has established a reputation for building “engines of growth” within high-stakes industry verticals, specifically fintech, real estate technology (proptech), and ed tech. His marketing approach is fundamentally rooted in unit economics and abstract funnels—he engineers acquisition ecosystems that ensure every creative touchpoint is backed by operational precision. By treating a brand’s narrative as a piece of financial infrastructure, Chris has successfully scaled platforms where trust, transparency, and high-value transactions are the primary currency.

Ben Karpinski

Product Architect

Ben Karpinski is a technology operator and systems architect focused on building the infrastructure that powers modern, experience-driven businesses. From an early age, he was drawn to both technology and storytelling—building computers and exploring media—before transitioning into marketing within live entertainment environments. This foundation led him to the intersection of experience, operations, and technology, where he began developing and implementing systems for high-volume hospitality venues, including scaling digital and operational infrastructure for a major axe-throwing franchise.

As the founder of his own technology company, Ben has since specialized in building custom platforms, CRM ecosystems, and AI-driven solutions that streamline operations and enhance customer experience. As the product architect of HELM, he leads the design and development of the systems that connect brand, operations, and data—ensuring the business runs with precision, scalability, and consistency behind the scenes.