# Gary Apito

> Gary Apito is the Chief Executive Officer of Rouxbe, the online culinary school that has trained more than one million students across 180 countries. A career culinary-education operator, he spent seventeen years helping build the French Culinary Institute and International Culinary Center in New York before moving into online learning, joining Rouxbe in 2016 and rising from VP of Operations to COO to CEO. His focus is scaling professional-grade cooking instruction through high-definition video as traditional brick-and-mortar culinary schools close worldwide.

- **Role:** Chief Executive Officer at Rouxbe
- **Organizations:** Rouxbe Online Culinary School, The French Culinary Institute, International Culinary Center, Sanford-Brown Institute
- **Nationality:** American
- **Known for:** Led Rouxbe past one million students trained across 180 countries (announced May 2025)., Oversaw more than 50% expected year-over-year growth at Rouxbe from 2024 to 2025., As COO of the French Culinary Institute, helped scale revenue roughly ten-fold.

## Career timeline

- **1998** — Joined The French Culinary Institute (New York), eventually serving as President and Chief Operating Officer.
- **2011** — Concluded a roughly 17-year run at FCI/International Culinary Center after leading its largest growth period.
- **2012** — Became President at Sanford-Brown Institute, New York City.
- **2016** — Joined Rouxbe as Vice President of Operations.
- **2016** — Promoted to Chief Operating Officer of Rouxbe.
- **2022** — Became Chief Executive Officer of Rouxbe.
- **2025** — Announced Rouxbe had surpassed one million students served worldwide across 180 countries.

## Achievements

- Led Rouxbe past one million students trained across 180 countries (announced May 2025).
- Oversaw more than 50% expected year-over-year growth at Rouxbe from 2024 to 2025.
- As COO of the French Culinary Institute, helped scale revenue roughly ten-fold.
- Grew FCI's footprint from about 10,000 square feet to more than 100,000 square feet.
- Led FCI's West Coast acquisition of the former Professional Culinary Institute in Silicon Valley.
- Rose from VP of Operations to COO to CEO at Rouxbe within roughly six years.

## Latest updates

- **2025-05** — As CEO, announced Rouxbe surpassed one million students served worldwide, reaching 180 countries.

## Links

- Website: https://rouxbe.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyapito

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/gary-apito
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-17