About Us

Erik Morris joined Roark in 2007, is a member of Roark’s Investment Committee and currently serves as the Chief Investment Officer. He has spent more than 20 years in private equity where he primarily focused on multi-location, consumer-oriented businesses. Prior to joining Roark, Morris was a Partner at Grotech Capital Group, a private equity firm based in Baltimore, MD. Prior to joining Grotech, Morris worked in the investment banking division of Deutsche Bank and its predecessor entities, BT Alex. Brown, and Alex. Brown & Sons. Morris received a B.S. from the Kenan-Flagler School of Business at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Jerid Grandinetti serves as the Brand Head of Baskin-Robbins US, part of the Inspire family of restaurants. Inspire is a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,300 Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s, and SONIC restaurants worldwide. Inspire is supported by about 650,000 company and franchise team members.

Grandinetti sets the strategic direction for Baskin-Robbins and is responsible for overseeing the brand’s marketing and franchise operations teams, as well as the brand’s relationship with its franchise community, representing 2,300 restaurants across the country. 

Grandinetti has been a part of Baskin-Robbins Team 31 for 14 years, serving in various roles within operating systems, supply chain, logistics and marketing.  Prior to joining Baskin-Robbins, Grandinetti was a restaurant entrepreneur and worked in the investment management and environmental consulting industries. 

In his previous position as Vice President of Marketing & Culinary, he led the strategic transformation of the Baskin-Robbins brand identity and a digital revolution for the brand, as it rolled out full-menu mobile ordering and the Baskin-Robbins Rewards loyalty program. 

Grandinetti is an alumnus of University of California, Berkeley where he received a bachelor’s degree in political economy (PEIS).  He currently sits on the board of the Joy in Childhood Foundation and the Dunkin’ PAC. 

Palmer Proctor is CEO of Ameris Bank and CEO of Ameris Bancorp and serves on the Board of Directors of both. Proctor holds degrees from Auburn University and The Stonier Graduate School of Banking, Georgetown University. He is a director of Brown & Brown, Inc., a member of the Advisory Board of Allied Financial, director of Choate Construction Company and served as past chairman of the Georgia Bankers Association. Proctor is involved in many civic activities, serving as emeritus director and past president of Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, former trustee of Fernbank Museum of Natural History, past cabinet member for the Westside Future Fund Campaign and administrative chairman of Peachtree Road United Methodist Church. He is also a member of the Rotary Club of Atlanta and the Buckhead Lions Club. Proctor and his wife founded the Night of Hope Gala, supporting research for MDA/ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and serves on its executive committee. In August 2021, Proctor was recognized by the Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of the Most Admired CEOs.

Wonya Lucas is president and chief executive officer of Hallmark Media. Lucas oversees the company’s portfolio of entertainment brands, including linear networks Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, and Hallmark Drama; subscription video on demand service Hallmark Movies Now.

Prior to joining Hallmark Media in August of 2020, Lucas was president and chief executive officer of Public Broadcasting Atlanta, where she oversaw Atlanta’s NPR (WABE) and PBS (ATL PBA) stations. Previously, she was president and chief executive officer of TV One, where she became the second African American woman to hold the president and chief executive officer role at a cable television network. Prior to joining TV One, Lucas held several positions at Discovery Communications, including executive vice president and chief operating officer for Discovery Channel and Science Channel, and global chief marketing officer, which entailed oversight of marketing in 210 countries and over 130 networks.

Before joining Discovery Communications in 2008, Lucas served as general manager and executive vice president of The Weather Channel Networks, where she was responsible for corporate strategy and development and strategic marketing for The Weather Channel, Weather Channel radio and weather.com. She joined The Weather Channel Networks from Turner Broadcasting System, where she acted in a variety of roles, including senior vice president of strategic marketing for CNN (cnn.com, CNN radio, CNN Networks Worldwide and HLN); vice president of business operations and network development for TNT and TBS; and vice president of entertainment marketing for TNT Entertainment properties.

Earlier in her career, Lucas spent several years in various brand management roles for The Coca-Cola Company and Clorox.

Lucas currently serves on the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors, Sundance Institute Board of Trustees, as well as The Cable Center’s and NCTA’s Board of Directors. She received an MBA in Finance and Marketing from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and BS Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. In 2022, she was named among The Hollywood Reporter’s Power 100 Women in Entertainment, Adweek’s TV Executive of the Year, a Multichannel News Wonder Woman, and WICT Networks’ Woman of the Year (Programmer). Most recently, she was named to The Cable Center’s Hall of Fame and Broadcasting and Cable’s Hall of Fame.

Lucas is based in the company’s Studio City office and reports to Mike Perry, president and chief executive officer of Hallmark Cards, Inc.

Marc Rosen is the chief executive officer of JCPenney. Rosen is focused on leading transformational growth through the next era of the business and strengthening omnichannel capabilities to deliver a seamless shopping experience for customers however they choose to shop.

Rosen has over 25 years of retail and e-commerce experience having previously served as executive vice president and president of Levi Strauss Americas at Levi Strauss & Co., leading commercial operations for Levi's®, Dockers®, Signature by Levi by Levi Strauss & Co.TM, and Denizen® brands across all channels. As leader of the company's Digital Enterprise Office, he drove the digital strategy for one of the world's largest brand-name apparel companies.

During his tenure at Levi Strauss & Co., Rosen held executive-level roles overseeing their direct-toconsumer business. In this position, he was responsible for leading the company's global e- commerce and retail businesses, including 3,000 stores, resulting in transformational growth. Prior to Levi Strauss & Co., Rosen spent 14 years at Walmart Inc. in a variety of senior leadership functions, ultimately serving as senior vice president of global e-commerce. He began his career at Ernst & Young, providing strategic retail advisory services.

Rosen holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and earned his master's degree in business administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Michelle Jarrard is the CEO of BioCircuit Technologies, an early-stage medical device company focused on peripheral nerve repair and neurorehabilitation. Prior to the launch of BioCircuit, Jarrard served as Managing Director of the GRA Venture Fund, a venture capital fund focused on early-stage companies commercializing intellectual property developed on local university campuses.

Jarrard entered the technology start-up space following a 25-year career at McKinsey & Company. While there, she was a Senior Partner and the Firm's global Chief HR & Talent Officer, and a member of the Firm’s Global Operating Committee, with responsibilities spanning the Firm’s 50+ country footprint. She spent the first half of her career at McKinsey as a client-serving consultant and partner specializing in operations improvement.

Jarrard is also a Board Member of two public companies, Lazard Ltd and Crawford & Company. She was a Trustee of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (2012-2019) and a Trustee of the Georgia Tech Foundation Board (2014-2019).

Jarrard has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech. Michelle has resided in Canada, the US and England. She and her husband, Jimmy, reside in Atlanta and have two grown children.

Neal Aronson founded Roark Capital Group in 2001 and is a member of Roark’s Investment Committee. In addition to his responsibilities as Managing Partner, Aronson is most actively involved in Roark’s investments in Inspire Brands, Driven Brands, FOCUS Brands and Primrose Schools, and was previously the Chairman of the Board of Roark’s prior investment in Wingstop. Prior to founding Roark, Aronson was Co-Founder and CFO of U.S. Franchise Systems (“USFS”). Aronson helped transform USFS from one brand with 22 hotels in nine states to three brands with more than 500 hotels in 50 states and five countries, making USFS the tenth largest hotel company in the United States. Prior to founding USFS, Aronson was a Principal of Odyssey Partners, L.P., a private investment partnership founded by Jack Nash and Leon Levy. Prior to Odyssey, Aronson was a Principal and General Partner at Acadia Partners, L.P. (now Oak Hill Partners) and subsequently a Managing Director of a successor company, Rosecliff Inc. Aronson began his career in the corporate finance department at Drexel, Burnham, Lambert Incorporated. Aronson received a B.A. from Lehigh University.

Steve Romaniello is Senior Advisor of Roark Capital Group and is also a member of the Board of Directors of FOCUS Brands. A native of Stamford, CT, and a Tufts University graduate, Romaniello is also a member of the Board of Directors and sits on the Executive Committee of Share our Strength, the nation’s leading charity focused on food security in the United States. Romaniello is a member of the International Franchise Association’s Hall of Fame, is the recipient of the IFA’s Ronald E. Harrison Award for his work in the area of Diversity, Nation’s Restaurant News Golden Chain Award, and IFMA’s Silver Plate Award. Romaniello and his wife Tina reside in Saint Petersburg, FL.

Paul Brown serves as Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Inspire Brands, a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,300 Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s, and SONIC restaurants. In 2025, its brands achieved $33.4 billion in global system sales. Inspire is supported by about 650,000 company and franchise team members.

Inspire is a global restaurant company with a combination of strong, differentiated brands tightly integrated around a shared data and technology-enabled platform which drives enhanced value for franchisees and other stakeholders. 

At Inspire, Brown led the transformation of the Arby’s brand as well as the acquisitions and integrations of Buffalo Wild Wings and Sonic in 2018, Jimmy John’s in 2019, and the $11.3 billion acquisition of Dunkin’ Brands in 2020.

Before Inspire, Brown served as President of Brands and Commercial Services of Hilton Worldwide. Brown was the company’s global leader in brand management, product standards, marketing, sales, pricing, e-commerce, loyalty programs, franchise relations, and information technology.

Brown also served with Expedia, Inc., the world’s leading online travel company, as President of Expedia.com and Expedia’s Partner Services Group. Before Expedia, Brown was a partner at McKinsey & Company. Based in London, he led the firm’s global travel and hospitality practice and served clients across the travel, hospitality, and retail sectors.

Brown is active in the community, serving as chairman of the board of directors of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. He also serves on the boards of the Georgia Tech Foundation, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee, and several other community organizations.

Brown is an alumnus of Georgia Tech, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in management. He also received an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and a Master of Engineering Management from the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. He is a Fellow of the Culinary Institute of America and has served as an executive-in-residence at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration.

Shannan Siemens serves as Chief Communications Officer of Inspire Brands, a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,300 Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s, and SONIC restaurants worldwide. Inspire is supported by about 650,000 company and franchise team members.

As CCO, Siemens leads communications for Inspire and its six brands, including corporate communications, internal and external engagement, media relations, brand reputation management, meetings and events, and oversees the Inspire Foundation and the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation.

Siemens joined Inspire in 2022 as Vice President of Corporate Communications with more than 20 years of experience in communications and media. Prior to Inspire, she served as Managing Director at Mercury, a global high-stakes public strategy firm in New York City.

Before joining Mercury, Siemens built a career as a broadcast journalist specializing in business news. She spent more than seven years at CNBC, where she shaped editorial strategy and content for the network’s leading programs, including Squawk on the Street, Halftime Report, and Closing Bell. In that role, she collaborated closely with Fortune 500 CEOs, anchors, and reporters, and business executives on breaking news, corporate and political coverage, IPO reporting, and in-depth executive interviews while also contributing written pieces to CNBC.com. Earlier in her career, she served as a producer at The Fox Business Network, where she covered the 2008 financial crisis and ensuing fallout.

Siemens is a member of the Inspire Foundation Board of Directors, serves on the Metro Atlanta Chamber's CMO Advisory Board, and is a member of the Women in Restaurant Leadership’s Legacy Advisory Board.

Siemens is an alumnus of the University of Mississippi where she earned a broadcast journalism degree with an emphasis in public relations.

Michael Haley serves as President and Managing Director of International for Inspire Brands, a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,300 Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s, and SONIC restaurants worldwide. Inspire is supported by about 650,000 company and franchise team members.

As President of International, Haley is responsible for growing the company’s restaurant footprint beyond the United States. This includes expanding in international markets where Inspire can secure large, multi-unit agreements with high-performing operators. Today, Inspire’s international presence includes over 10,000 restaurants across nearly 60 global markets.

Prior to Inspire, Haley was based in London as the Chief Partnership Officer at Pret A Manger, where he held global responsibility for Pret’s Partnership shops. Prior to Pret A Manger, he spent more than 14 years with Starbucks Coffee Company in Seattle, Amsterdam, and London. While at the company, Haley led the development for Starbucks licensed and franchised stores across Europe, Middle East, and Africa.

Haley is an alumnus of Villanova University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil and environmental engineering. He also received an MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.

Joel Blanchard serves as Chief Supply Officer of Inspire Brands. Inspire is a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,300 Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s, and SONIC restaurants worldwide. Inspire is supported by about 650,000 company and franchise team members.

Blanchard is responsible for leading the supply chain functions of Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Jimmy John’s, and SONIC, as well as the international supply chain for all brands. He is also responsible for procurement, quality assurance, commodity trading, and distribution and logistics.

Prior to becoming Chief Supply Officer, Blanchard served as Senior Vice President of Inspire’s Group Purchasing Organization and Brand Supply Chain, where he led joint procurement projects between Inspire and external supply chain co-operatives.

Prior to joining Inspire, Blanchard was with the Boston Consulting Group. He also held leadership roles at Georgia-Pacific in their pricing strategy, supply chain and strategic sourcing teams.

Blanchard is active in the community serving on the boards of the Chattahoochee Nature Center, West Point Society of Atlanta, and National DCP (NDCP). 

Blanchard is an honor graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a proud veteran of the U.S. Army, where he was awarded a Bronze Star for his service in Afghanistan. He received his MBA from Harvard Business School.

Kate Jaspon serves as Chief Financial Officer of Inspire Brands, a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,300 Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s, and SONIC restaurants worldwide. Inspire is supported by about 650,000 company and franchise team members.

Jaspon oversees all accounting and reporting, tax, financial planning and analysis, treasury, and internal audit functions for Inspire and its brands, as well as corporate communications. She is also responsible for managing Inspire’s relationship with lending institutions, investors, and the financial community.

Prior to joining Inspire in December 2020, Jaspon served as the Chief Financial Officer of Dunkin’ Brands, the former parent company to Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins, where she led all finance related functions, as well as investor relations since 2017. In this role, she oversaw global financial planning and analysis, accounting, financial reporting, tax, treasury, enterprise risk management, payments, insurance, and demand planning functions.

During her 15-year tenure with Dunkin’ Brands, Jaspon led several transactions including the company’s IPO and follow-on equity offerings, securitizations and numerous debt transactions, the divestiture of a brand, and the sale to Inspire.

Previously, Jaspon spent eight years at KPMG LLP as an auditor. She has previously served as the Women’s Foodservice Forum Chair and is currently a member of the CNBC CFO Council, as well as a member of the Board of Directors for W.W. Grainger, Inc., a Fortune 500 B2B business.

Jaspon is an alumnus of Babson College and is a CPA.

John Kelly serves as Brand President of SONIC, part of the Inspire Brands family of restaurants. Inspire is a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,300 Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s, and SONIC restaurants worldwide. Inspire is supported by about 650,000 company and franchise team members.

Kelly sets the strategic direction for SONIC and is responsible for overseeing the brand’s marketing and franchise operations teams as well as the brand’s relationship with its franchise community.

Before this role, Kelly served as President of Inspire Company Restaurants and was responsible for the largest collection of multi-brand company restaurants in the United States representing Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s, and SONIC.

Kelly also served as Chief Operating Officer of Arby’s and was responsible for overseeing North American operations for more than 3,400 restaurants. He oversaw the operations excellence of all Arby’s restaurants in the United States and Canada and led a team of more than 200 operations professionals.

Prior to becoming COO, Kelly served as Senior Vice President of Operations for the East Region, where he led operations management for 1,400 corporate and franchise restaurants. He also previously served as Senior Vice President of Operations for the West Region, where he led operations management for 1,800 corporate and franchise restaurants.

Prior to Arby’s, Kelly worked in Operations for McDonald’s, where he served as an Operations Consultant and assisted as a liaison for menu management, product development, and restaurant innovation in Chicago.

Kelly is an alumnus of Northern Illinois University where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications.

Scott Murphy serves as Chief Brand Officer of Inspire Brands, a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,300 Arby's, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin', Jimmy John's, and SONIC restaurants worldwide. Inspire is supported by about 650,000 company and franchise team members.

Murphy leads the entire U.S. franchise business with each of the brands, as well as the demand generation, digital guest experience, and U.S. development functions. His role enables tight coordination, standardization of operating procedures where applicable, and best practice sharing across the portfolio.

Before becoming the Chief Brand Officer, Murphy served as Brand President of Dunkin', setting the strategic direction for Dunkin' and overseeing the brand's marketing, franchise operations, and culinary teams, as well as the brand's relationship with its franchise community.

Prior to Inspire, Murphy served as President of Dunkin' Americas at Dunkin' Brands. He previously served in a variety of leadership positions with the company, including Chief Operating Officer of Dunkin' and Chief Supply Officer & SVP of International Operations for Dunkin' Brands.

Previously, Murphy served in leadership roles with A.T. Kearney, Inc., a management consulting firm, where he worked to identify and implement operational opportunities within the supply chain for the firm's largest clients.

Murphy is an alumnus of Georgetown University. He also received an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.