Agenda
Thursday, October 15, 2020
Friday, October 16, 2020
LYLE TICK
PRESIDENT, BUFFALO WILD WINGS
Lyle Tick serves as President of Buffalo Wild Wings, the largest sports bar brand in the United States with more than 1,200 locations. Buffalo Wild Wings is part of the Inspire Brands family of restaurants.
Prior to joining Buffalo Wild Wings, Tick was Managing Director for Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) beauty brands business in the Americas. At WBA, Tick led the re-organization of the America’s business and established a capabilities program around end to end brand management and commercial management.
Prior to WBA, Tick served as Senior Global Category Director at Bacardi based in London and Vice President of Marketing for North America based in Miami. As Senior Global Category Director, he was responsible for the global Vodka category, the development of a 5-year global strategic plan for the category, and the renovation of the Grey Goose Brand. As Vice President of Marketing for North America, Tick drove the Grey Goose business back into growth reversing a multi-year year negative trend.
Prior to Bacardi, Tick served in a variety of positions within marketing and advertising agencies, including J. Walter Thompson, Gotham, McGarryBowen, and DDB. In 2005, Tick was named one of the 20 visionaries in advertising and marketing under the age of 30 by Ad Age.
Tick is an alumnus of the University of Wisconsin.
PAUL BROWN
CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, INSPIRE BRANDS
Paul Brown serves as Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Inspire Brands, a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 11,000 Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, SONIC Drive-In, Rusty Taco, and Jimmy John’s locations worldwide. Inspire is supported by more than 325,000 company team members and franchise employees. In 2019, Inspire achieved $14.6 billion in system sales, making it one of the top 5 largest restaurant companies in the United States.
Prior to founding Inspire, Brown was Chief Executive Officer of Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc.
RITA PATEL
CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, BUFFALO WILD WINGS
Rita Patel serves as Chief Marketing Officer of Buffalo Wild Wings. Patel recently joined Buffalo Wild Wings in September 2020 and is responsible for advertising, digital innovation, menu development, and the overall brand experience for Buffalo Wild Wings.
Prior to joining Buffalo Wild Wings, Patel served as Vice President at Target, leading brand management.
JOHN BOWIE
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, BUFFALO WILD WINGS
John Bowie serves as Chief Operating Officer of Buffalo Wild Wings. As COO, Bowie is responsible for overseeing North American operations for more than 600 company-owned sports bars and more than 500 franchise restaurants. He leads all operations services, including training, systems, equipment, quality assurance, and performance management.
Prior to joining Buffalo Wild Wings, Bowie served as Chief Operating Officer of Arby’s.
RAGHU SAGI
CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER, INSPIRE BRANDS
Raghu Sagi serves as Chief Information Officer of Inspire Brands. In his role, Sagi is responsible for leading technology initiatives across the Inspire enterprise, including enhancing technologies for company and franchise restaurants as well as the overall digital experience for guests.
Prior to Inspire, Sagi served as Chief Engineering Officer for Sephora Americas (an LVMH brand), where he was responsible for Omni-Channel Digital, Retail, Personalization & CRM including Loyalty and Data Insights technology capabilities and platforms.
CHRIS HELD
CHIEF SUPPLY OFFICER, INSPIRE BRANDS
Christopher Held serves as Chief Supply Officer of Inspire Brands. Held is responsible for leading the supply chain functions of Buffalo Wild Wings, SONIC Drive-In, and Rusty Taco, as well as Arby’s supply chain outside the United States.
Prior to Inspire, Held was with Restaurant Supply Chain Solutions (RSCS), the supply chain management organization for Yum! Brands. At RSCS, Held served as Senior Vice President for Kentucky Fried Chicken, where he was responsible for leading the supply chain for 4,500 KFC locations. Held is an alumnus of the Georgia Institute of Technology where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering, a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering, and a Ph.D. in Operations Management. He also received a Master of Engineering in Chemical Engineering from the University of Houston.
Kevin O’Bryan
VP of Global Supply Chain, Buffalo Wild Wings
Kevin O’Bryan serves as Vice President of Global Supply Chain for Buffalo Wild Wings. O’Bryan is responsible for leading supply chain execution for Buffalo Wild Wings, which includes overseeing the brand’s purchasing and demand planning requirements for food, beverage, paper, equipment, and facilities, as well as cost optimization which contributes to the growth and success of Buffalo Wild Wings.
Prior to Inspire, O’Bryan was with Restaurant Supply Chain Solutions (RSCS), the supply chain management organization for Yum! Brands. O’Bryan is an alumnus of Western Kentucky University where he received a Bachelor of Arts
Jim Cannon
SVP of Design and Construction, Inspire Brands
Jim Cannon serves as SVP of Design and Construction for Inspire Brands and Buffalo Wild Wings. In this role, Cannon leads the Design and Architecture teams, developing new formats and prototypes for Buffalo Wild Wings sports bars. Cannon also leads the construction teams that build company restaurants and supports franchise new restaurants and remodels.
Prior to Inspire, Cannon served as the design, construction, and development lead for a variety of growing brands chains including Arby’s, Popeyes, Jack In The Box, and Boston Market.
Wray Hutchinson
President of World Wide Wings
Wray Hutchinson serves as the President of World Wide Wings. Hutchinson has been a franchisee of Buffalo Wild Wings since 2005, and is currently the Chairman of FBS and a Franchise Advisory Council member.