Arby’s owner beefs up executive team
The Inspire Brands C-suite has beefed up with two new executives to fill the roles of chief development officer and chief supply officer. Don Crocker has been named chief development officer, while Christopher Held will serve as chief supply officer. For Inspire, Crocker takes the helm of centralized development functions, including franchising, real estate, construction, architecture/design, franchise recruitment, and facilities management.
Held assumes responsibility for centralizing Inspire’s supply chain functions, with the exception of Arby’s domestic distribution, which is managed by ARCOP, a cooperative.
Inspire, which is majority-owned by Roark Capital affiliates, owns the Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic Drive-In, and Rusty Taco brands. Inspire operates and franchises over 8,400 restaurants in 16 countries. With over 700 franchisees, the Inspire Brands C-suite is getting more attention to achieve cross-brand synergies, establish efficiencies and grow store count across the restaurant portfolio.
More muscle for Inspire Brands leadership
After Crocker served as senior vice president of Real Estate for Inspire, the multi-brand restaurant company promoted him to the new role. Before Inspire, Crocker held leadership roles in Real Estate, Development and Supply Chain at Chick-fil-A.
Held worked at Restaurant Supply Chain Solutions, Yum Brands’ cooperative, serving as senior vice president for Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). As its lead, he oversaw distribution to 4,500 KFC restaurants.
“Don brings a wealth of experience in the restaurant industry,” said Paul Brown, chief executive of Inspire Brands. “We are very excited to welcome Chris as part of the Inspire family. His extensive supply chain experience with QSR and large-scale protein buying makes him uniquely suited to lead our efforts at Inspire.”
[Related article: Raghu Sagi named Inspire chief information officer.]
Senior management has powered up the Inspire Brands C-suite as of late. Raghu Sagi was named chief information officer in March. Also, it tapped a new president for Buffalo Wild Wings in September.
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