Inspire Brands, parent company of Arby’s, Dunkin’, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic, and Jimmy John’s, has made several key leadership changes to accelerate growth across its portfolio.
John Dawson has been named president of U.S. development, bringing more than 35 years of experience, including with McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Brands, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and El Pollo Loco. In his new role, he will oversee domestic development, including new restaurant openings, market planning, architecture and design, franchise sales, real estate, and construction.
Several of Inspire’s brands also have new presidents:
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Buffalo Wild Wings has named Tristan Meline as president following his tenure as chief marketing officer of the brand. He has been with Inspire for more than four years and succeeds John Bowie, who is retiring after 12 years with the company. Meline’s previous experience includes marketing roles at Biofreeze, Performance Health, and Coors Light. BWW ended 2024 with more than 1,300 locations, according to Technomic data.
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Buffalo Wild Wings Go has named Leandro Gasparin as president, a newly created position designed to support the concept’s growth. BWW Go first opened in 2020 as a smaller-format concept focused on takeout and delivery. BWW Go recently surpassed its 200th location. Gasparin’s previous experience includes operations roles at Oakberry and Restaurant Brands International.
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Sonic has appointed John Kelly as president, with nearly 25 years of leadership experience at Inspire and its Arby’s brand. Kelly began his career over 30 years ago as an operations consultant at McDonald’s. Sonic ended 2024 with nearly 3,500 domestic locations.
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Additionally, Jon Gill has been promoted to president of Inspire’s Company Restaurants division, overseeing company-owned restaurants across the portfolio. Gill previously served in various roles at Arby’s for 16 years. Inspire Brands is majority franchised, with about 7% of the system under company ownership.
Dawson and Kelly will report to chief brand officer Scott Murphy, while Meline, Gasparin, and Gill will report to chief commercial and restaurant officer Dan Lynn.
“At Inspire we have an unwavering commitment to invest in talent and resources to continue accelerating our momentum. By placing proven leaders in key roles, we are fortifying our foundation for success, ensuring we remain well-positioned to deliver exceptional experiences for our team members, franchisees, and guests,” Inspire co-founder and chief executive officer Paul Brown said in a statement.
Inspire Brands also recently named Scott Catlett as chief legal and administrative officer. Catlett spent nearly 20 years at Yum Brands. The company also recently named Kelly McCulloch as chief people officer. She most recently served at Walmart and also has experience at Yum Brands.
Inspire Brands includes more than 33,000 restaurants across about 60 global markets. The company, which is privately held by Roark Capital, was rumored last year to be considering an IPO, according to a report from Bloomberg, but the public market has been quiet this year amid challenging conditions.
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