Company / Executive Profiles

Jim Hyatt has more than thirty-five years of experience at all levels of restaurant operations. Prior to joining Church's, Hyatt served as President and CEO of Cosi, Inc., a fast casual dining company where he achieved significant improvements in same store sales and profitability in a difficult economy. Previously, Hyatt spent sixteen years as an executive and franchise owner at Burger King Holdings. He served as Executive Vice President and Global Chief Operations Officer where he was instrumental in an organization-wide turnaround in sales and profitability. Hyatt was recruited to Burger King corporate after having been an award-winning Burger King franchisee in the Atlanta market for eleven years. During his time as a Burger King franchisee, Jim represented more than 11,000 restaurants and over 1,200 franchisees in 65 countries while serving on various committees in leadership roles with the National Franchisee Association.

Mr. Profumo has more than 25 years of varied and progressive growth in financial management positions and extensive experience in the restaurant and hospitality industries. As CFO and EVP of Church's he has responsibility for business planning, accounting, tax, investor and lender relations, risk management and supply chain.

Prior to joining Church's in January 2005, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Avado Brands, Inc. a casual dining restaurant company with two brands: Don Pablo's Mexican Kitchens and Hops Restaurant Bar and Microbrewery. Mr. Profumo was responsible for all financial functions as well as information technology and human resources. He was also responsible for leading the company's successful divestiture of its 279 Applebee's franchise restaurants, generating in excess of $500 million of proceeds.

Mr. Profumo was also Chief Financial Officer of Randstad North America (RNA), the North American subsidiary of one of the largest publicly traded employment solutions and staffing companies in the world. At the time RNA employed over 50,000 workers and had revenues exceeding $1.2 billion.

Mr. Profumo began his professional career with KPMG Peat Marwick in 1974 where, prior to his departure in 1997, he served as an audit partner in the firm's manufacturing, retailing, and distribution practice, specializing in restaurant industry clients.

Mr. Profumo received both a B.S. in Hotel Administration and a M.B.A. from Cornell University. He is a certified public accountant and a member of the American Institute of CPA's, Georgia Society of CPA's and Financial Executives International.

Rob Crews is responsible for marketing, advertising and new product development. Crews plays an integral role in the strategic growth and positioning of the brand. He joins Church’s from The Wendy’s Company where he led the international marketing team and product development around the globe.

Previously, Rob was the Chief Marketing Officer for RARE Hospitality, Inc. that included LongHorn Steakhouse and Capital Grille where he repositioned the brand, implemented advertising and pricing changes and new products resulting in growth in guest transactions and same-store sales. Crews was also the Chief Marketing Officer at Sonny’s Franchise Company, a mid-scale BBQ concept and held the same position at Grill Concepts, Inc. marketing Daily Grill, a casual-dining brand and The Grill on the Alley, a fine-dining brand. Before joining Wendy’s, Rob founded C Results Marketing where he did extensive work with well-known restaurant clients including Arby’s and California Pizza Kitchen to improve profitability by building results-driven pricing strategies.

Rob Crews holds a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in Economics and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Iowa.

As the Executive Vice president of International, Mr. Kollias spearheads the global expansion and international operations for Church's/Texas Chicken. His worldwide responsibilities encompass franchise marketing and recruiting, venue development, restaurant operations, business support, product research and development and cooperative purchasing programs.

Mr. Kollias has more than 12 years of varied and progressive growth in financial management positions and extensive experience in the restaurant industry. Most recently he served as Vice President of Finance for Planet Hollywood International, Inc. Planet Hollywood operates approximately 25 company and franchise restaurants worldwide. Mr. Kollias was responsible for business planning, financial reporting, general accounting, human resources, risk management and information technology.

Prior to joining Planet Hollywood, Mr. Kollias was Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration for Hops Restaurant Bar & Brewery. At the time, Hops had 72 restaurants throughout the United States with sales in excess of $200 million. In addition, Mr. Kollias has worked with the Applebee's, Hard Rock Café and Dairy Queen brands in the areas of Operations, M&A, Planning and Purchasing.

Mr. Kollias received his bachelor's degree from Cornell University and his master's degree in business administration from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. Currently residing in Marietta, GA, he is a member of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association and a coach for Northlake Volleyball Club.

Ed Brett joins Church's after having served as a consultant for the brand in 2011. Prior to joining Church's, Mr. Brett was the Executive Vice President of Human Resources and Community Affairs for Macy's, Inc. Central Division in Atlanta. He also served in senior positions in Human Resources at Gaylan's Trading Company and Circuit City. As Chief People Officer, Mr. Brett's responsibilities include HR operations, improving talent acquisitions and development and employee relations.

Kirk Waisner is Senior Vice President of Research & Development and Quality Assurance for Church's Chicken in Atlanta. Kirk is responsible for developing and launching new and improved products to drive sales growth at Church's. He also oversees the Quality Assurance department, which ensures that Church's suppliers provide safe, high quality, consistent products for our operators and customers.

Kirk brings over 20 years of experience in foodservice and R&D. He has held senior R&D and QA positions at Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits, Cinnabon, Kraft Foods, and Nabisco. Kirk graduated from the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering, and also holds an Associate of Science degree from Culinary Institute of America.

In this newly created position, Mike Mader has global accountability for strategy development, midrange and long-term planning facilitation and execution and management of key strategic alliances and partnerships. Mike works closely with both the domestic and international teams in the development of growth strategies. Prior to joining Church’s Mike was Vice President of sales at The Coca-Cola Company responsible for the Burger King Corporation account worldwide.

Barry is responsible for all global supply chain initiatives and supporting Church's growth worldwide. Most recently, Barnett was Vice President, Global Supply Chain at Burger King Corporation where he was responsible for establishing and executing the strategic supply chain vision, strategy and oversight of food, packaging, distribution, equipment and facilities. Earlier Barry was Vice president of Purchasing for Restaurant Services Incorporated (RSI) responsible for integrated supply chain management.

Craig Prusher is responsible for all legal matters for the brand’s global business interests including franchise law, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property and litigation management. Prusher joined Church’s from Burger King Corporation where he was responsible for legal issues relating to franchising, real estate and government and industry relations in North America and Latin America.

Previously, Craig was an associate in the corporate department of two Boston law firms, Warner & Stackpole and Nutter, McClennen & Fish. He graduated from Boston University’s College of Liberal Arts and received his B.A. magna cum laude with distinction. Prusher attended the Boston University School of Law and graduated with his juris doctor and served as an editor of the Boston University Law Review.

Craig is a member of the board of Directors for the National Council of Chain restaurants. He is also a member of the American Bar Association’s Forum on Franchising, the International Franchise Association and the Association of Corporate Counsel.