Trevor MacKenzie is an accidental restaurateur, and a natural one. The self-taught and self-made entrepreneur worked his way through his career’s early years across various jobs and industries in a search for his passion in life, including character-forming time as a cowboy in Canada’s Rocky Mountains.

Trevor’s search ended when destiny intervened. A chance stint bartending at night to help him pay for a ‘mac daddy’ apartment he had rented overlooking the stunning seafront of his native Vancouver introduced him to the buzz of the food and beverage business. By the second night, he knew he was where he belonged. Within a month, he had set up the bar, set up the restaurant, and been appointed the restaurant’s trainer. The fit was seamless. The rest is history. That restaurant stint also sparked a lifelong love affair with the grape; Trevor is a wine connoisseur par excellence and can hold his own amongst the best sommeliers.

Since then everything has fallen into place for this natural born restaurateur who has notched up 20 years in the industry, honed his craft at legendary restaurants in some of the world’s foodie capitals, and gone on to open more than 50 restaurants in Asia, the Middle East and the US.

A brief stop-over in Thailand sparked a chain of events that resulted in a meeting with Mango Tree Worldwide and COCA Holding International CEO and entrepreneur Pitaya Phanphensophon. Pitaya gave Trevor the big opportunity he had been searching for.

Since joining the group as a franchise brand partner, Trevor and Mango Tree have picked up a host of prestigious awards, including Outstanding Thai Franchise to the World, the Excellent Franchise Leadership Award, a nomination for International Franchiser of the Year and a Q Mark Award from the Thailand Department of Import and Export, and the Prime Minister’s Export Award.

Not a man to rest on his laurels, Trevor is a relentless adventurer forever dreaming up fresh quests to challenge himself. He has climbed Mount Fuji and Mount Kilimanjaro as part of a charity effort to help raise money for a close friend’s physically disabled son. An upcoming trip to Dubai will see him indulge his love of skydiving.

No less exhilarating has been the ride that has seen the Mango Tree group’s international outlets grow to now gross over USD$80 million annually, across 64 outlets, with a target of 100 restaurants worldwide by 2020. A true and passionate believer in his product, Trevor is a key executive partner driving expansion globally with the vision to take the Mango Tree brand, and the magic of Thai cooking to a growing audience, eventually planting a Mango Tree in every major international city worldwide.