ALSAC/St. Jude Boards
of Directors and Governors

J. David Karam is the Chief Executive Officer of Sbarro, a leading Italian quick service restaurant company.  Mr. Karam joined Sbarro when he was appointed Chairman of the Board in January of 2012 and assumed the additional duties of CEO in March of 2013. 

Before joining Sbarro, Mr. Karam was the President of Wendy’s International from 2008 to 2011.  During his tenure at Wendy’s, Karam led a successful turnaround, which included significant improvements in product quality, operational execution and brand profitability.  Under his leadership, Wendy’s rose to become the second largest QSR Hamburger chain in the U.S., surpassing Burger King for the first time in the company’s 42-year history.  In 2011, Karam was inducted into Wendy’s Hall of Fame. 

Prior to joining Wendy’s in 2008, Mr. Karam was president of Cedar Enterprises, one of the largest franchisees in the Wendy’s system.  While President of Cedar Enterprises, the company was awarded the R. David Thomas Founders Award, the Diamond Award for National Marketer of the Year and numerous other recognitions.  He joined Cedar Enterprises in 1986 as Vice President of Finance before being promoted to President in 1989.  Mr. Karam previously served as senior auditor for Touche & Ross from 1982 to 1986. 

Karam is a CPA and holds a B.S. in Accounting from The Ohio State University and is a graduate of the Owner President Management program at the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration.  He serves on the Board of Directors for Henny Penny Corporation, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and the Pontifical College Josephinum.  He is the current chair of the ALSAC Board of Directors.

Paul J. Ayoub is chair of Nutter and a partner in the firm's Real Estate Department.  He also is co-chair of Nutter’s COVID-19 Task Force and a member of the Nonprofit and Social Impact practice group. Paul represents clients in the financing and development of commercial real estate projects in Greater Boston, New England and throughout the country. He also advises for-profit and non-profit organizations in the area of corporate governance.

Paul represents major North American banks and local lending institutions in construction, permanent, and mezzanine loans. As a real estate attorney, he represents developers and private equity investors in the acquisition, sale, permitting, and leasing of all property types. Paul also advises clients on financing structure alternatives, including preferred equity, joint venture, and partnership arrangements. Additionally, he has extensive experience representing clients in complex debt reorganizations.

Paul is involved in several civic, professional and charitable organizations. He is Chair Emeritus and a member of the Executive Committee of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. He also has co-chaired the Chamber’s Regional Real Estate Development Leadership Council. Paul is a member and past president of the Board of Directors of the Real Estate Finance Association. He is a prior co-chair of the Real Estate Finance and Workout/Foreclosure Section of the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Real Estate Section.

He currently serves on the Board of Incorporators of the Boston Local Development Corporation and served on the Mayor’s Reopening Advisory Board of the City of Boston during the peak of COVID-19.

Nationally, Paul serves as chair of the national Board of Governors of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, as well as a member of the Board of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude. He previously served as chair of the ALSAC Board.  He also serves as a co-chair of the International WELL Building Institute’s 2021 IWBI Health Equity Advisory.

During law school, Paul was editor-in-chief of the Boston College International and Comparative Law Review. Prior to his career as an attorney, Paul worked in Massachusetts state government in various capacities, including as assistant press secretary to the Governor.

Paul and his daughter have published Inspire Me! A father-daughter book of quotations to motivate, teach and inspire, an Amazon best seller, the proceeds from which are donated entirely to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

For the past several years, Paul has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America and Chambers and Partners as a leading U.S. real estate attorney. He also was selected as one of the Boston Business Journal’s “2020 Power 50 – Extraordinary Year Extraordinary People."