News

Tropical Smoothie Cafe adds 5 industry vets to leadership team

October 9, 2017

Tropical Smoothie Cafe has added five industry veterans to its corporate leadership team. According to a company press release, they include:

• Rob Collins, CMO: Collins is responsible for all marketing functions and product development for Tropical Smoothie Cafe. He previously served in senior level roles contributing to the success of brands such as Nickelodeon, Paramount, Universal Studios, and Turner Entertainment Networks. He was most recently CMO for Carmike Cinemas.
• Pete Ward, general counsel: Ward will advise Tropical Smoothie Cafe on all legal and business matters, including franchising, real estate, labor and employment, litigation, intellectual property, licensing and other commercial matters. Most recently, Ward served as the deputy general counsel and chief compliance/risk officer at Popeyes for over 10 years and has extensive experience handling corporate transactions, both in-house and in private practice.
•  Paul Marsden, CFO: Marsden will oversee development and execution of financial strategies to support the company's business plans. With extensive experience in the foodservice industry, Marsden comes from Popeyes, where he served as the chief accounting officer and spent nearly two decades working in the brand's financial and accounting departments.
• Jaime Denney, SVP of operations: Denney most recently served as the vice president of retail at Aramark for three years, where she led a cross-functional team in developing the vision, mission and strategy to provide food service offers for malls and retailers, as well as assisted with the creation and launch of the company's integrated mobile app. An industry veteran, she also spent 15 years at Starbucks in various operational positions and was responsible for building, growing and retaining talent for the brand.
• Cheryl Fletcher, VP of franchise development strategy: Fletcher will be responsible for driving the brand's franchise development efforts through real estate analytics and strategic marketing planning. Previously, Fletcher held a 17-year tenure with Popeyes, during which she served as vice president of franchise development, vice president of development strategic planning and director of investor relations and finance.

"Our talented staff is the backbone of Tropical Smoothie Cafe and a huge component of our ongoing success," CEO Mike Rotondo said in the release. "We know that an investment in our leadership is an investment in our future, and have no doubt that the expertise and knowledge these exceptional industry veterans bring will be tremendous assets as we continue taking the brand to new heights.. Our consistent sales and record-high average unit volume have established Tropical Smoothie Cafe as one of the strongest concepts in the fast casual segment today and with our new additions, we've cultivated a best-in-class leadership team to carry out our projected future success."

Tropical Smoothie Cafe has reported comp sales exceeding 26 percent over the last three years and has signed 140 franchise development agreements and opened more than 50 locations to-date in 2017. By 2020, the chain plans to have 1,000 stores open across the U.S.