THE TEAM
Sanjiv (Sam) Chand
Chief Executive Officer
Sam has been in the fast food industry for all of his adult life (over 36 years). Currently he owns and operates 32 Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Taco Bell and LJS restaurants in the tristate and Michigan area. These stores which currently employ over 1,000 employees are situated in prime locations throughout Nassau county and Suffolk county in Long Island, New York State, Connecticut and Michigan. He has long believed that “customer-focused” operations will prevail provided that the staff believes that customer satisfaction is one of the most important keys to success. Operationally, all of the stores have passed (green level marks) on all of the CFF and Food Safety, commissioned by Yum! Brands.
Sam has a keen ability to identify, nurture, coach and promote talented people into great managers which is a key factor to his overall success. Sam sets the organization’s strategic goals and objectives and establishes the organizational culture to keep the entire staff focused on the people side of the business.
Miles Staley
Chief Operating Officer
Miles, a retired US Navy Captain, has over 45 years of management experience with over 19 years in the KFCC/YUM organization. He has direct operational experience in high volume, metropolitan KFC areas and multi-branded restaurant locations. He excels in both new store development and existing store upgrades and remodels. Currently, Miles is the Chief Operating Officer who oversees the Director of Operations, 5 Area Managers/Coaches (each of whom had responsibilities of between 5 and 9 restaurants), and 2 Training Restaurant/RGMs. He has mentored the VP of Operations to the point where he is free to concentrate on new acquisitions with minimal assistance from the rest of the Team.
Miles provides steady operational leadership, vision and focus to the organization.
Clinton Lewis
Vice President of Operations
Clinton has been in the KFCC system since 1994. Currently, he is responsible for 32 KFC/Taco Bell/LJS restaurants with over $45MM annual sales. He personally drove focus on Operational Standards to place evaluations of his organization in the top tire of the entire KFCC system. He achieved a 5% margin increase in his initial year and has maintained margin due to his infectious leadership. He has won various awards throughout his career: the KFC “PETE” Award 2012 (the highest level of recognition in the KFC Franchise community, this award recognized his positive achievements focused on people development and organizational leadership), the Regional Franchise Operational Award 2011 (recognized for leading organization in the initial two-quarters of operation to 100% Green CFF’s as well as an exceptionally smooth transition from company operations to a franchise organization), and the Area Coach of the Year Award (twice recognized within the 50 stores Panzarella Organization).
Jessie Gupta
Chief Financial Officer
Jessie has over 10 years experience as an operator. During her early career, she was operating delis in New York City where was she able to bring up revenues consistently by 10% year over year. She developed and implemented her own training programs to onboard new hires more effectively and efficiently. Her ability to handle and manage her employees is emphasized by her reduction in turnover rate throughout all the various positions in the business.
Jessie brought her expertise to our company in 2011 where she sets the organization’s strategic goals and objectives; she establishes the organizational culture to keep the entire staff focused on achieving all financial and operational targets set, as to ensure the prestige and image of the brand. She ensures that the company has the capital structure and working capital to ensure its growth and financial stability.
Atul Gupta
Part Owner and Operator
Atul (49) is a highly experienced operator in the fast-food business with over 18 years of experience. He has owned businesses like Taco Bell, Checkers Drive-through Restaurants, and several delicatessens and cafés in and around New York City since 2003.
Atul, an engineer by trade, started his career in India where he started a successful auto parts manufacturing company. After immigrating to the U.S, his passion for QSR (Quick Service Restaurants) culminated into franchising several businesses. He currently operates 5 highly successful Checkers in Nassau County, Long Island and has won various awards as a Checkers franchisee.