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Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Jimmy John’s”

Inspire Brands Completes Acquisition of Jimmy John’s

Atlanta, Ga. and Champaign, Ill.– October 18, 2019 – Inspire Brands, Inc. (“Inspire”) today announced the completion of its acquisition of Jimmy John’s Sandwiches (“Jimmy John’s”). With the addition of Jimmy John’s, Inspire now encompasses more than 11,200 restaurants across 16 countries generating more than $14 billion annual system sales, making it the fourth-largest restaurant company in the United States. …

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Shannan Siemens

Chief Communications Officer

Shannan Siemens serves as Chief Communications Officer of Inspire Brands, a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,400 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.

Paul Brown

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Paul Brown serves as Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Inspire Brands, a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,400 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.

Joel Blanchard

Chief Supply Officer

Joel Blanchard serves as Chief Supply Officer of Inspire Brands. Inspire is a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,400 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.

Scott Murphy

Dunkin’ Brand President and Inspire Chief Brand Officer

Scott Murphy serves as Dunkin’ Brand President and Inspire Brands Chief Brand Officer. Inspire is a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,400 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 Chief Brand Officer, Murphy leads Inspire’s U.S. franchise business across all brands, in addition to overseeing demand generation, digital guest experience, U.S. development, and the U.S. CPG business. He continues to serve as Dunkin’ Brand President, a role he has held since 2019, in which he sets the strategic direction for the brand and oversees marketing, franchisee operations, and culinary innovation. His dual role enables close coordination and the sharing of best practices across the portfolio.

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.

Michael Haley

President and Managing Director, International

Michael Haley serves as President and Managing Director of International for Inspire Brands, a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,400 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.

Kate Jaspon

Chief Financial Officer

Kate Jaspon serves as Chief Financial Officer of Inspire Brands, a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,400 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

Brand President, SONIC

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 33,400 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.

Erik Morris

Chief Investment Officer, Roark Capital Group

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.

H. Palmer Proctor Jr.

CEO, Ameris Bank and CEO, Ameris Bancorp

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

President and CEO, Hallmark Media

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

CEO, JCPenny

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

CEO, BioCircuit Technologies

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

Founder and Managing Partner, Roark Capital Group and Co-Founder, Inspire Brands

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

Senior Advisor, Roark Capital Group

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.

Jerid Grandinetti

Brand President, Baskin-Robbins

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 33,400 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. 

Yasir Anwar

Chief Technology and AI Acceleration Officer

Yasir Anwar serves as Chief Technology and AI Acceleration Officer of Inspire Brands, a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,400 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.

Anwar oversees product engineering, data engineering, technology operations, architecture, cybersecurity, enterprise applications, infrastructure and development operations, and the Office of the Chief Technology Officer. He is also a member of the Inspire Brands Management Committee.

Prior to Inspire, Anwar served as the Chief Technology and Digital Officer for Williams-Sonoma, where he led the cultural transformation of teams, shifting the mindset to outcomes over output, and developed an organizational structure that ultimately turned the company’s technology function into one of its biggest strengths across its nine brands.

Before Williams-Sonoma, Anwar was the Chief Technology Officer for Macy’s. His experience also includes senior engineering and architecture roles at Walmart, Wells Fargo, and several other companies.

Anwar holds a masters degree in Computers & Management from Barkatullah University (Bhopal University).

David Graves

Brand President, Arby's

David Graves serves as Brand President of Arby's, part of the Inspire family of restaurants. Inspire is a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,400 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.

Graves sets the strategic direction for Arby’s and is responsible for the growth and success of over 3,200 franchise and corporate restaurants.

Prior to joining Arby’s, Graves served as the President of Pizza Hut, where he expanded average unit volumes and four-wall economics by focusing on innovation, brand modernization, digital transformation, and operational excellence. Prior to joining Pizza Hut, Graves served the KFC brand for four years overseeing menu strategy, innovation, insights, and growth.

Prior to joining the restaurant industry, Graves held multiple roles at P&G over 13 years with the company. During that time, he worked on multiple iconic brands including Pampers and Pantene, and he implemented innovation and growth plans around the world.

Graves is an alumnus of Purdue University where he received a bachelor’s degree.

Scott Catlett

Chief Legal and Administrative Officer

Scott Catlett serves as Chief Legal and Administrative Officer of Inspire Brands, a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,400 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.

Catlett oversees the global Legal, Human Resources, Risk, Government Affairs, and Supply Chain teams, as well as other administrative functions. He also oversees Inspire’s rapidly growing international business.

Prior to Inspire, Catlett served as the Chief Legal & Franchise Officer & Corporate Secretary for Yum! Brands, where he spent nearly 20 years. He led more than 200 team members across the legal, franchising, government affairs, and compliance functions around the world.

Prior to Yum! Brands, Catlett held notable positions at Frost Brown Todd and Milbank Tweed, where he honed his legal expertise.

Catlett serves on the Board of Advisors of the Yum! Center for Global Franchise Excellence at the University of Louisville College of Business. Recognized for his leadership and contributions, he has received multiple accolades, including Louisville Business First’s Power 50 and Forty Under 40 awards.

Kelly McCulloch

Chief People Officer

Kelly McCulloch serves as Chief People Officer of Inspire Brands, a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,400 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.

McCulloch oversees the strategy, development, and execution of human resources, organizational effectiveness programs, and talent management programs for Inspire and its brands.

Prior to joining Inspire, McCulloch served as Senior Vice President, People, at Walmart U.S. where she supported the company’s End-to-End business including Supply Chain, Stores, Delivery, and Realty. She focused on helping associates thrive today, build for tomorrow, and have a world-class experience.

Prior to Walmart, McCulloch served as Global Chief People Officer for Taco Bell where she led the company’s global people strategy supporting more than 260,000 team members worldwide. During her tenure, she advanced key initiatives in organizational effectiveness, leadership development, talent acquisition, employee engagement, and total rewards.

McCulloch is an alumnus of Abilene Christian University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in English. She also received a Master’s degree in Human Relations and Business from Amberton University.

Darin Dugan

Brand President, Jimmy John's

Darin Dugan serves as Brand President of Jimmy John’s, part of the Inspire Brands family of restaurants. Inspire is a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,400 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.

Dugan sets the strategic direction for Jimmy John’s and is responsible for overseeing the brand’s marketing, operations, and restaurant experience teams. He is also responsible for the growth and success of Jimmy John’s company-owned restaurants as well as the brand’s relationship with its franchise community.

Before becoming Brand President, Dugan served as Chief Marketing Officer of Jimmy John’s. As CMO, he oversaw all brand strategy, menu and culinary innovation, advertising, and integrated marketing communications.

Prior to joining Jimmy John’s, Dugan led national marketing for SONIC in Oklahoma City, preceding the acquisition by Inspire Brands in 2018.

Before Inspire, Dugan was head of marketing for Applebee’s. Dugan began his career with Kraft Foods leading brands within the Oscar Mayer, Walmart Sales, and Kraft Grocery business units for over 15 years.

Dugan is an alumnus of University of Wisconsin where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in economics and a Master’s degree in business administration and marketing management.

John Dawson

President, U.S. Development

John Dawson serves as President, U.S. Development at Inspire Brands, a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,400 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, U.S. Development, Dawson is responsible for all aspects of driving domestic development including new restaurant openings, market development planning, architecture & design, franchise sales, real estate, and construction.

Prior to joining Inspire, Dawson provided consulting and advisory services to private equity firms and executive management teams focused on accelerating growth in units and market share.

Before consulting, Dawson held a variety of leadership roles across the QSR industry, including President and CEO of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Global Development Officer at Dunkin’ Brands, and Vice President of Worldwide Development at McDonald’s Corporation.

Dawson is an alumnus of Claremont McKenna College, where he received a bachelor’s degree in economics. He also received a Master of Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California.

John Bowie

President, Inspire Company Restaurants

John Bowie serves as President, Inspire Company Restaurants of Inspire Brands, a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,400 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, Inspire Company Restaurants, Bowie is responsible for operations excellence across company-owned Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, BWW GO, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s, and SONIC locations.

Prior to becoming President of ICR, Bowie served as the Brand President of Buffalo Wild Wings. As Brand President, Bowie led the Buffalo Wild Wings master brand, marketing and advertising, and all aspects of the sports bar and BWW GO businesses, including operations and training. Before becoming Brand President, Bowie served as Chief Operating Officer of BWW and oversaw North American operations for more than 600 company-owned restaurants and more than 500 franchise restaurants.

Prior to joining Buffalo Wild Wings, Bowie served as Chief Operating Officer of Arby’s. As COO, Bowie was responsible for overseeing global operations for more than 1,000 company-owned restaurants and more than 2,400 franchised restaurants across seven countries. He led all operations services, including training, restaurant services, and quality assurance. Bowie previously served as Arby’s Senior Vice President of Operations for the Northeast Region. During his tenure at Arby’s, the brand’s global system sales surged 20% to $3.7 billion, its restaurants’ average annual sales increased 22%, and restaurant margins increased 300+ BPS.

Prior to Arby’s, Bowie was President of U.S. Operations for Church’s Chicken where he was responsible for all aspects of Church’s domestic business. Reporting to the CEO (Private Equity Operating Partner), Bowie served as the number two enterprise officer with responsibility for $1.2B in revenue, $50M in EBITDA and 1,300 restaurants. He led a team of 125+ restaurant professionals in several business functions including: operations, training, finance, marketing, human resources, franchising, development, and quality assurance.

Prior to Church’s Chicken, Bowie served as Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer of Friendly’s Ice Cream Corporation. In this role, he was responsible for all aspects of restaurant operations for 500+ restaurants. In addition, Bowie has held senior operations and marketing roles, both domestically and internationally, with Wendy’s International, Inc.

Bowie sits on the Board of Trustees for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

Bowie is an alumnus of the University of Notre Dame where he received a bachelor’s degree. He also received an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

Leandro Gasparin

Brand President, Buffalo Wild Wings GO

Leandro Gasparin serves as Brand President of Buffalo Wild Wings GO, part of the Inspire Brands family of restaurants. Inspire is a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,400 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.

Gasparin sets the strategic direction for Buffalo Wild Wings GO and is responsible for shaping and expanding the GO concept and accelerating the brand’s global expansion.

Prior to joining Inspire, Gasparin served as Global Chief Operations Officer at Oakberry where he led growth and franchising for the brand’s locations in 45 countries.

Prior to Oakberry, Gasparin spent nearly a decade at Restaurant Brands International in progressive global leadership roles for Burger King and more than four years leading franchise operations at Popeyes.

Before joining the restaurant industry, Gasparin held operations roles at Terminal de Contêineres de Paranaguá and América Latina Logística in Brazil.

Gasparin is an alumnus of Universidade Federal do Paraná where he received a degree in civil engineering. He also received Executive MBAs from Fundação Getulio Vargas and the University of Pittsburgh.

Tristan Meline

Brand President, Buffalo Wild Wings Sports Bars

Tristan Meline serves as Brand President of Buffalo Wild Wings Sports Bars, part of the Inspire Brands family of restaurants. Inspire is a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,400 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.

Meline sets the strategic direction for Buffalo Wild Wings Sports Bars and is responsible for the Buffalo Wild Wings master brand, brand marketing and advertising, and all aspects of the sports bar business, including operations and training.

Before becoming Brand President, Meline served as Chief Marketing Officer of Buffalo Wild Wings. As CMO, he oversaw all advertising, brand marketing, strategic planning, menu development, and overall brand experience for Buffalo Wild Wings.

Prior to that role, Meline served as Vice President of Brand Management at Buffalo Wild Wings, where he developed the brand’s innovation strategy and pipeline, oversaw calendar planning, and directed advertising initiatives. Prior to joining Inspire, Meline held marketing leadership roles in CPG and the alcoholic beverage industry.

Meline is an alumnus of Northwestern University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in communications.