He Sees Strong Growth Potential in Company’s Restaurant Brands
BRIX Holdings, an umbrella company of restaurant brands, has announced Rick Brown as chief financial officer. He’ll oversee the financial and accounting functions of all BRIX brands, including Friendly’s, Red Mango, Orange Leaf, Smoothie Factory & Kitchen, SouperSalad and Pizza Jukebox. Brown has three decades of experience in the retail and restaurant industries.
“I am incredibly excited to be joining the BRIX team. We have an exceptional group of brands, team members and franchisees that all contribute to our success. I see this as a great opportunity to guide this high-growth restaurant group to its next level of performance,” Brown said in a statement.
He enjoys being part of the franchisor team and building relationships with business owners to assist their growth. Brown has gained insights into BRIX operations through prior professional interactions with its board of directors, CEO Sherif Mityas and several others on the leadership team.
Mityas is “thrilled to welcome Rick to our robust leadership team as we continue to expand our portfolio of brands through both organic growth and strategic acquisitions. I am confident that Rick’s financial and industry expertise will be invaluable assets to our efforts and a key driver of our success moving forward.”
Achieving Business Success
Earlier Brown had served as CFO for TGI Fridays, as senior director of finance for Blockbuster and senior financial analyst for Dollar Rent A Car. The University of Oklahoma graduate has a bachelor’s degree in accounting.
He says franchisor success requires providing franchise owners with training, communication, collaboration and marketing support while driving unit economics. Looking for strategic opportunities for acquisition of new brands is also beneficial, Brown added.
On the franchisee side, Brown recommends being a sponge, learning from successful people, emulating their success and finding mentors to help steer them along their career path. “Understand where you need development and training and pursue that development to round out your skill set. Along the way, pay things you’ve learned forward to other aspiring professionals who see you as their mentor.”
