EST. 2008

At Sweet Management Group we eat, breath and live a food passionate lifestyle.

We believe food is the ultimate connection point. We know creating memories around the table is impactful. And we thrive on using culinary as a marketing tool to bring people together and drive results.

The Team

 
Image of Lonny Sweet as a kid eating
 

LONNY SWEET

CEO

After almost a decade in sports marketing, representing the best athletes, coaches and broadcasters in the business, Lonny launched Sweet Management Group (The Connect Group) in 2008, initially continuing to pursue a career in sports marketing. The path of SMG changed when Lonny met Chef Forgione following his Next Iron Chef victory, and the rest is history (or so we hope).  He is a proud sales guy, prouder father of two girls and fierce protector of his 617 cell phone area code. #masshole #bostonstrong #gosox #gopats #wickedawesome

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Picture of Cassie as a kid eating
 

CASSANDRE PALLAS

VP Talent Management & Client Services Director

Cassie took an unexpected road on the way to Sweet Management Group. After graduating from Wesleyan University with a double major in Architecture and Art History (yay liberal arts education!), she worked at several small architecture firms and Edelman Digital before realizing that she was hungry for the food world. Immediately before Sweet Management Group, she spent several years working in Corporate Communications at POSSIBLE, a digital marketing agency. She’s a born and bred New Yorker who loves a good craft project and a strong cocktail. #sorrynotsorry #Tribeca #hapa

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RACHEL WAYNBERG

VP Talent/Head of Brand Consulting

A lifelong food enthusiast originally from a Washington, DC suburb, always dreamed of a career in the culinary world. After college, she spent some memorable years in Austin, Texas (Hook'em!), and then followed her passion for food to New York City. In 2003, Rachel co-founded Intellivent Group, a groundbreaking marketing agency specializing in food and beverage. Throughout her career, she has created tailored marketing and strategic partnership programs for industry leaders and startups alike, with clients including PepsiCo, McDonald's, Freshly, Emirates, ConAgra, Yum Brands, and Diageo. When she's not hard at work, Rachel enjoys indulging in her passions for music, food, drinks, and travel.

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BAILEE OPENSHAW

Senior Director, Talent and Business Development

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio (GO BROWNS) Bailee made her move to NYC in 2021. She’s always been food connected and passionate in her spare time, but after spending a combined 10 years in recruiting, finance and most recently, marketing in the wine & spirits space, she decided it was time to pursue her passions of food and business. Fortunately, she landed at SMG. She loves perusing the NY art galleries, drinking really good wine, and will never say no to tequila. 

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JULIA OPPENHEIM

Account Coordinator

Julia graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 2024 looking to combine her love for food, marketing, and innovation, and found that all at SMG. She gained hospitality and restaurant operations experience at Union Square Hospitality Group in NYC and expanded her marketing expertise with Nova Hospitality in Austin. Now back in NY (she grew up on Long Island!), Julia is excited to tackle her NYC food bucket list. You’ll often find her exploring grocery aisles for the latest CPG trends, and is always down to go out as long as late night pizza is involved. 

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