Sagittarius Brands Names Nick Shepherd Chairman and CEO

By: Sagittarius Brands | 1 Shares 375 Reads

Former Blockbuster COO & Grand Met Veteran to Take Position March 1st

LAKE FOREST, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nicholas Paul Shepherd has been named Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Sagittarius Brands, parent company of the Captain D's Seafood Kitchen and Del Taco restaurant chains, effective March 1. Shepherd will succeed Ron Powell as CEO who stepped down from this position due to a family illness and Sid Feltenstein, who had been functioning as interim CEO and Chairman.

An experienced international executive, Shepherd spent the past 12 years in the home entertainment industry with Blockbuster Inc. He most recently served as Blockbuster's Chief Operating Officer. He began there in 1995 as Vice President and Managing Director of the United Kingdom market and advanced to Senior Vice President, International; President North America; Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing and Merchandising Officer and President Worldwide Stores.

Shepherd spent the first half of his career in restaurant management. He started with UK-based Whitbread PLC where he ultimately was promoted to operations and brand development manager. He later joined Allied Lyons PLC, a UK-based retail, food and drink manufacturing company, where he had responsibility for the development and operations of multiple brands. In 1986, he joined Grand Metropolitan PLC where he held a variety of positions overseeing operations, franchising, marketing, brand development, procurement and real estate management for full-service restaurants across Europe. He also established his own management consulting business, servicing medium and large restaurant, hospitality and retail clients.

"Nick's demonstrated ability to effectively develop, grow and operate a broad variety of retail and restaurant businesses, including company-owned, franchised and joint-venture models, makes him uniquely qualified to lead our company," said Sid Feltenstein. "Strategic and results-oriented, he is a versatile executive with an extraordinary passion for customer service, brand building and execution. We are thrilled to welcome Nick to Sagittarius Brands."

"I believe this is a time of great opportunity for Sagittarius Brands. The quality concepts under the Sagittarius umbrella, Captain D's and Del Taco, have a reputation for outstanding food service and are well positioned for expansion," Nick Shepherd said. "I look forward to working with the Board, the management team, the employees and franchisees to grow our sales, profits and restaurant locations."

Reporting directly to Shepherd will be Shirlene Lopez, President/COO of Del Taco;David Head, President/COO of Captain D's; Ron Petty, President, Development; Mike Payne, SVP and Chief Financial Officer; Mike Folks, SVP and General Counsel; Jim Lynde, SVP, People; and Carmine Martone, VP, Retail Design.

Ron Powell will continue to serve on the Sagittarius Board of Directors while Sid Feltenstein will step down from the Board in order to spend more time on his not-for-profit commitments.

In 2007, Sagittarius signed franchise deals for 91 new restaurants including 15 Captain D's and 65 Del Taco's. Sagittarius Brands is a privately held company.