Multi-Unit Franchisees Appointed To IFA Board

Aziz Hashim, managing partner of NRD Capital Management, LLC, became chairman of the International Franchise Association (IFA) during the group's 56th Annual Convention last week in San Antonio. David Barr, chairman of PMTD Restaurants, which operates multiple KFC and Taco Bell locations, is now secretary. Other board members appointed include multi-unit franchisees Jeffrey Tews, who operates BrightStar Care and Mr. Handyman locations, John Draper, CEO, Viridian Group LLC, which operates Burger King, Pizza Hut, and Auntie Anne's among others, and Charles Stempler, who operates AlphaGraphics locations.

Hashim has been a long-standing IFA member and an advocate and mentor to the franchise industry at large. He has held numerous leadership positions in the association throughout his career. He has been a member of the IFA Board of Directors since 2011 and has been active in a variety of roles at the association, including serving on the board of directors, the Franchisee Forum, and chairing the Strategic Planning Committee and the Convention Committee.

His company, NRD Capital is focused on acquiring franchise concepts that offer compelling unit economics, and represent solid opportunities for franchisees. Prior to founding NRD Capital in 2014, Hashim founded NRD Holdings in 1996 with a single QSR location. He grew the company to more than 60 restaurants, including several high-profile brands: Popeyes, Domino's Pizza, and Checkers/Rally's Drive-In Restaurants.

Through expert risk identification and management, unique portfolio management strategies and superior execution, Hashim has become a leading multi-state, multi-brand, multi-national franchisee, growing to one of the top 200 franchise operators in the U.S. In 2013, he founded Impact Investments, LLC, for business ventures in Africa; and in 2010 founded international retail company, Dandle, Inc., as a franchisee of PetValu.

Hashim views the defense of the franchise business model as a top priority for this upcoming year, putting in place an "education policy to explain the true nature of the opportunity represented by franchising," he explained. He views leaders in franchising as ambassadors for the business model as well as their own brands, who have to explain "that most franchisees are local, family-owned businesses, owned and operated by individuals, who chose a less-risky path into entrepreneurship."

Joining Hashim in the IFA leadership chairs in 2016 are: Shelly Sun, co-founder & CEO of BrightStar Care Franchising as vice chair; Liam Brown, Marriott International Inc., vice president of lodging development select service and extended stay brands as treasurer; and David Barr, chairman of PMTD Restaurants as secretary.

Ten other leading franchise professionals also assumed their positions on the IFA board of directors during the convention.

The new IFA directors are:

John Draper, CEO, Viridian Group, LLC
Tariq Farid, founder & CEO, Edible Arrangements International
Sherri Fishman, president & co-founder, Fishman PR
Mike Hickey, EVP & president of Global Institutional for Ecolab, Inc.
Roy Jackson, SVP, business development & industry affairs, Coca-Cola North America, Foodservice and On Premise Division
David McKinnon, senior advisor at the Dwyer Group
John Rotche, CEO, TITLE Boxing International
Charles Stempler, AlphaGraphics multi-unit franchisee
Jeffrey Tews, BrightStar Care and Mr. Handyman multi-unit franchisee
Simone Wu, SVP, general counsel, corporate secretary & external affairs, Choice Hotels International