Tasti D-lite Adds To Home Office Team To Support Rapid Expansion

Planet Smoothie
Published: May 19th, 2010

May 19, 2010 // Franchising.com // Tasti D-Lite, the great-tasting, lower-calorie frozen dessert chain with a cult following among health-conscious consumers as well as celebrities, has recently brought on five top industry professionals with varied backgrounds to build and strengthen its core leadership team. Tasti D-Lite is excited to announce the following new hires:

• Dwayne Greer has been hired as franchise development director to assist in the company's U.S. expansion plans. With 20 years in franchise development, Dwayne spent the past five years with Dunkin' Brands as part of the Baskin-Robbins sales team.
• Phil Trello will serve as the senior manager of real estate, design & construction. He brings over 20 years of related experience with franchise concepts such as Applebee's, Darden Restaurants and Dunkin' Brands. In his new role, he will manage and enhance the company's ability to meet its growing real estate, design and construction demands across the nation.
• Gianni Zedan was chosen as operations supervisor and will draw on his background in operations, production and warehouse management at companies like The Krystal Company and Quiznos Subs. In this position, he will be responsible for providing operational assistance and support to the U.S. franchised network in areas including day-day-store management, customer service and new product introductions.
• Judy Goodman has taken on the role of new product marketing manager – a newly created position. Judy brings her extensive experience with franchising, product management, marketing and retail sales. Most recently, Judy owned and managed a Super Suppers franchise for over two years in Spring Hill, Tenn. At Tasti D-Lite, she will focus her energies on managing the brand's core product offering, as well as developing, introducing and supporting the creation of new products.
• Kent Campbell was selected as graphic designer – another newly created position. He brings with him several years of experience in graphic design, photography and print production, including over two years in the franchising sector at RE/MAX of Texas. In his new role, Kent will enhance the company's ability to meet its growing graphic needs across a wide spectrum of national, local and individual franchisee initiatives.

The company also announced two promotions. Kurt Ullman, formerly director of international development, was recently promoted to vice president of international development. Kurt oversees the company's international growth and was responsible for the brand's expansion into South Korea and Mexico, along with the upcoming introduction into the United Arab Emirates. Alex Bernard, who held the position of logistics coordinator, has been promoted to design & construction supervisor. Alex will continue to manage the company's process for designing, building and opening new Tasti D-Lite locations.

Tasti D-Lite's new and promoted executives are part of a world-class operating team that has more than 300 combined years of franchising experience and is pursuing the vision of building a 500-center global franchised network. "We're excited to add these outstanding new people to our already strong management team," said Jim Amos, CEO of Tasti D-Lite. "We've built an exceptional team with deep franchising experience at Tasti D-Lite in order to scale our business rapidly and become the world's leader in great-tasting, healthier treats. With Tasti D-Lite now in seven states and three countries, soon to be four, we believe we're well on our way toward achieving this vision."

Since its inception in 1987, Tasti D-Lite's popularity has grown largely by word of mouth and has resulted in a huge base of raving fans who line up day and night to get their favorite guilt-free treat, available in more than 100 flavors. The company has grown to 50 locations and has secured commitments to open over 300 locations in the coming years. During the past year, Tasti D-Lite has opened new stores in Texas, Florida, Tennessee, Arizona, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey and expects additional expansion into Missouri, Illinois and California by the end of 2010. The company also continues its international expansion, with plans to build on its presence in South Korea and Mexico and expand into the United Arab Emirates as well as new countries this year. Tasti D-Lite has embarked on its ambitious expansion goals with a focus on product innovation, customer engagement and service excellence.