Title: General Manager, Operations Manager
Company: Ciccio Bomba
Location: TX/USA
Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Operations Management, Università degli Studi della Tuscia, Italy (2008)
Career History: General Manager, Operations Manager, Ciccio Bomba, Austin, TX (2025-Present); Technical Recruiter and Operations Coordinator, Wetalentia (2025-2025); Flight Instructor, Chief Pilot and Operations Support, Veracity Aviation, Georgetown, TX (2022-2025); Helicopter Pilot, Veracity Aviation, TX (2019-2022); Founder, Chief Executive Officer, Director of Operations, Dolce Bacio Gelato & Desserts, Austin, TX (2016-2023)
Dante Scarano, General Manager and Operations Manager at Ciccio Bamba, has been recognized as a Marquis Emerging Leader for their contributions and achievements in the field of hospitality.
Born and raised in Italy, Mr. Scarano excelled as an Air Force Academy student and second lieutenant at Aeronautica Militare before launching his career with 12 years of service in the Italian Navy. Between 2005 and 2017, he served as a petty officer, including time in special operations forces as a Navy SEAL and in operations and personnel management. He and his wife, Francesca, subsequently moved to Sydney, Australia, where they opened a hospitality business specializing in desserts and frozen desserts. After three years, they relocated permanently to Austin, Texas and opened Dolce Bacio Gelato & Desserts, which they operated from 2016 to 2023, during which it expanded across the United States and Australia before they had two children and ultimately sold the company to a friend.
Mr. Scarano subsequently entered the aviation industry, progressing from helicopter pilot student to flight instructor, assistant chief pilot, chief pilot and eventually an EMS pilot through Veracity Aviation. In addition, he also found success as a chief pilot with Hill Country Helicopters. But because the EMS position required 14 days on and 14 days off, which kept him away from his children for nearly half the year, he decided to leave aviation and return to the hospitality industry after some time—backed by accrued expertise in people leadership, process improvement, talent acquisition, and operational execution.
Since 2025, Mr. Scarano has excelled in his current position, serving as the general/oeprations manager of Ciccio Bomba, an Italian café-bakery-restaurant concept owned by comedian and actor Tom Segura. He started as the company’s sole employee and grew it to a 53-person workforce while also successfully opening three locations within five months. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations, oversees vendor contracts, and coordinates hiring, recruiting and full-cycle talent acquisition from position posting through onboarding. He also manages food vendor contracts and relations; provides customer care and support services; and oversees human resources operations, onboarding, recruiting coordination, payroll support and team leadership for organizations with more than 40 employees.
Mr. Scarano’s primary personal motivation throughout his career and volunteer work is a commitment to serving others. This core value guided his early career choices, first during his military service, then in his community involvement in Texas, where he used his skills to assist other through volunteer roles with Texas Search and Rescue—utilizing his military background to train for an assist in locating individuals in emergency and difficult situations—and the Texas State Guard. Within the latter, division of the Texas Military Department, he helped provide disaster relief to the community during hurricanes and flooding.
Looking toward the future, Mr. Scarano, who is passion about developing new business concepts, strives to establish and lead his own startup as founder and chief executive officer.