John C. Miller (born 1978) is an American businessman and attorney serving as the CEO of CaliBurger and its parent company CaliGroup.

Early life and education

John C. Miller was raised in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Miller has a bachelor's degree in economics from the

University of Redlands The University of Redlands is a private university headquartered in Redlands, California. The university's main, residential campus is situated on 160 acres (65 ha) near downtown Redlands. An additional eight regional locations throughout Califo ...

. After graduating from

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...

with a JD, Miller was admitted to the California Bar.

Career

Miller was vice president of intellectual property at a public pharmaceutical company, Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, from 2004 to 2010. He co-authored a book called ''The Handbook of Nanotechnology: Business, Policy, and Intellectual Property Law''. After spending time working in Asia, Miller founded Pasadena-based technology company CaliGroup. CaliGroup's new technology is trialled at the CaliBurger chain of restaurants, offering solutions for "food production, delivery, take out and drive thru". They have invested in gaming to make the restaurant experience more entertaining. Robotics, created by the subsidiary Miso Robotics, are used in the kitchen to fry burgers. Through the Cali Group subsidiary PopID, facial recognition software allows customers to place orders and pay. Miller believes the "restaurant industry has come under attack from increasing costs" and aims to use robotics to "drive down costs associated with labor, especially turnover." He remarked: "Millenials that we hire don't tend to stay very long. They come in, we train them, they work for a while, then go drive an

Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery (Uber Eats and Postmates), package ...

and go home and play competitive video games". In a Fox News interview in 2017, Miller said the robotic technology increased the quality, consistency and hygiene standards of food as "robots don't spit in food or contaminate food." He said employees' strengths were related to "social interaction" with customers. In response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

in 2020, Miller said body thermometer devices would check for feverish temperatures as customers entered CaliBurger's Pasadena store. In 2020, Miller was included on

Nation's Restaurant News ''Nation's Restaurant News'' (''NRN'') is an American trade publication, founded in 1967, that covers the foodservice industry, including restaurants, restaurant chains, operations, marketing, and events. It was owned by Penton Media (acquired by ...

' Power List.

CaliBurger

CaliBurger is a fast-food restaurant with West Coast-styled fries, burgers, and milkshakes. The menu in certain locations includes vegan options with sauces and cheese, and patties by

Beyond Meat Beyond Meat, Inc. is a Los Angeles–based producer of plant-based meat substitutes founded in 2009 by Ethan Brown. The company's initial products were launched in the United States in 2012. History Founding Ethan Brown founded the company in ...

. Spiked milkshakes, beer, and wine are available at select locations. The company has a broad international presence, with locations in the United States, Mexico, China, Kuwait, Malaysia, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, and United Arab Emirates. CaliBurger was sued by

In-N-Out Burger In-N-Out Burger is an American regional chain of fast food restaurants with locations primarily in California and the Southwest. It was founded in Baldwin Park, California, in 1948 by Harry (1913–1976) and Esther Snyder (1920–2006). The cha ...

in 2012 for selling "Animal Style" fries and serving milkshakes in palm-tree-print cups; the lawsuit was settled and CaliBurger agreed to change their menu and decor.

Restaurant kitchen robotics

CaliBurger uses a

robotic Robotics is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist human ...

device named "Flippy" in its restaurants for certain types of food preparation. An upgraded version called "Flippy Robot-on-a-Rail" or "Flippy ROAR" was announced in October 2020. It is being implemented in 50 CaliBurger locations. In 2018, a Flippy robot was installed in food concession in

Dodgers Stadium Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ...

. In July 2020, White Castle began trials with a Flippy robot in one of their restaurants in Chicago. In 2020, Miso Robotics, a subsidiary of the CaliGroup, unveiled the next generation kitchen robot called Flippy 2.0, which is faster and more versatile than the previous model. Time magazine called it one of the best inventions of 2022. In 2022, Flippy 2.0 was installed in 100 White Castle locations and

Jack in the Box Jack in the Box is an American fast-food restaurant chain founded February 21, 1951, by Robert O. Peterson (1916–1994) in San Diego, California, where it is headquartered. The chain has over 2,200 locations, primarily serving the West Coast ...

began trials at a single location in San Diego.

Personal life

Miller married violinist

Caroline Campbell Caroline Campbell is an American violinist. She is a Solo (music), soloist and chamber music, chamber musician who performs and records classical music, classical, jazz, film and popular music. Early life Campbell was born in Albany, New York, A ...

in April 2005. He filed for divorce in June 2011, but they reconciled the following February. They filed divorce papers again in October 2014. In October 2016, they agreed to joint legal custody of their daughter Violet and son Quest. The divorce was finalized in November 2018. Miller dated actress

Jennifer Garner Jennifer Anne Garner (born April 17, 1972) is an American actress. Born in Houston, Texas, and raised in Charleston, West Virginia, Garner studied theater at Denison University and began acting as an understudy for the Roundabout Theatre Compan ...

from mid-2018 to early 2020. According to sources and paparazzi photos, they restarted their relationship in April 2021 and have been together since.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, John C. Living people American company founders American chief executives of food industry companies University of Redlands alumni Stanford Law School alumni 1978 births