How Guzman y Gomez CEO Steven Marks stop Wall Road for Mexican meals

SYDNEY — When Steven Marks landed a job at a high Wall Road hedge fund, he thought he had it made.

Marks, then 23-years-old, was one in all simply two grads in his 12 months to earn a spot on legendary U.S. investor Steve Cohen’s New York equities crew — a feat for a man born on the unsuitable aspect of the tracks in 1970s Brooklyn.

By 27, he was heading up a London buying and selling desk, having fun with life off Chelsea’s iconic Sloane Sq.. However, by 30, the sheen had worn off and Marks yearned for a contemporary begin.

“Folks assume it’s important to have one profession, however that is simply not true,” stated Marks.

So, he determined to show life on its head, and booked a one-way ticket to Australia with a dream of beginning over.

Seventeen years on, Marks is the co-founder and CEO of Guzman y Gomez, the Australia-born Mexican casual-dining chain hoping to present the likes of Chipotle a run for its cash.

Marks began the enterprise in 2006, just a few years after relocating Down Beneath, and has since expanded to 115 areas throughout Australia, Singapore and Japan.

However, as he instructed CNBC Make It in Sydney, it is a success story that began fairly accidentally.