Having Words With David French Vice President, Government Relations, International Franchise Association

David French got an early taste of the restaurant business in high school when he took a job as a busboy at Jake’s Above the Square in Pittsburgh. Later in college he spent three years managing a student restaurant on the Wesleyan campus for Marriott. His conclusion: “It’s easier managing a restaurant than being a busboy; I have a lot of respect for people who do that job.”

After college French headed down to Washington, D.C., where he worked on Capitol Hill as a