GoTo Foods® parent company of the iconic Auntie Anne’s ®, Carvel®, Cinnabon®, Jamba®, McAlister’s Deli®, Moe’s Southwest Grill® and Schlotzsky’s® brands, today announced multiple GoTo Foods leaders have been appointed to new positions this year.
In 2024, Focus Brands announced a name change and new identity with the launch of GoTo Foods. This rebranding signaled an industry transformation into a platform company and a new era of growth. GoTo Foods is designed to leverage our scale to create enterprise engines which provide demand-generating advantages and operating leverage for our brands and franchise owners.
The following executive appointments will further propel the company’s platform vision and include:
- Shelley Harris; EVP & Chief Operating Officer
- Bobby Morena; Chief Development Officer
- Mike Freeman; President, Brands
- Urvi Patel; SVP, Brands & Chief Brand Officer, Cinnabon
- Danielle Parra; Chief Brand Officer, McAlister’s Deli
“It’s a privilege to announce leadership appointments for five colleagues that are industry veterans and also have significant tenure at GoTo Foods,” said Jim Holthouser, CEO, GoTo Foods. “Our platform company is dedicated to making transformational and strategic changes with the goal of driving profitability for franchisees and double-digit annual growth. The talent needed to accomplish these goals already existed in our organization, giving GoTo Foods yet another competitive advantage.”
Shelley Harris, Chief Operating Officer, GoTo Foods, leads the Operations & Brand Management organization, which includes all domestic brands within the GoTo Foods portfolio. She will oversee supply chain and operations to support franchises to accelerate business results. Shelley most recently served as the President of the Restaurant Category at GoTo Foods, where she led strategic growth and business planning for the company’s portfolio of restaurant brands including McAlister’s Deli, Moe’s Southwest Grill and Schlotzsky’s.
Bobby Morena, Chief Development Officer, GoTo Foods, is responsible for driving strategic, high-quality growth for our seven iconic brands domestically. In this role, he will oversee Sales, Real Estate, Design & Construction and Portfolio Management disciplines to maintain a premier development program in the industry. Bobby formerly served as the Senior Vice President of Franchise Development, where he oversaw continued brand growth and expansion.
Mike Freeman, President, Brands, GoTo Foods, oversees strategy, financial performance, operations and marketing for McAlister’s Deli, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Schlotzsky’s, Auntie Anne’s, Jamba, and the portfolio of company-owned stores at GoTo Foods. Most recently, Mike held the position of Chief Brand Officer at McAlister’s Deli. In this role, he was responsible for driving accelerated unit growth, operational excellence, financial management, and marketing. Under Mike’s leadership, McAlister’s Deli became the first GoTo Foods brand to achieve one billion dollars in systemwide sales.
Urvi Patel, SVP, Brands & Chief Brand Officer, Cinnabon, is responsible for driving brand growth, innovation and profitability for the Cinnabon brand and oversees the Carvel brand. Urvi formerly served as the Senior Vice President of Customer Experience & Engagement at GoTo Foods, where she led consumer engagement, loyalty, branded currency, revenue management, insights and digital customer experience.
Danielle Parra, Chief Brand Officer, McAlister’s Deli, is responsible for driving brand growth, innovation, profitability and operations for McAlister’s Deli. Danielle previously served as SVP, Marketing at GoTo Foods where she led integrated marketing strategy and execution, paid media, culinary, creative and catering across the portfolio of seven brands. In this role, Danielle grew new revenue channels and delivered differentiated culinary innovation.
About GoTo Foods
Atlanta-based platform company GoTo Foods (formerly known as Focus Brands) is a leading developer of global multi-channel foodservice brands. As of September 29, 2024, GoTo Foods, through its affiliate brands, is the franchisor and operator of over 6,800 restaurants, cafes, ice cream shoppes, and bakeries in all 50 states and over 65 countries and territories under the Auntie Anne’s®, Carvel®, Cinnabon®, Jamba®, Moe’s Southwest Grill®, McAlister’s Deli®, and Schlotzsky’s® brand names, as well as the Seattle’s Best Coffee® brand on certain military bases and in certain international markets. The seven iconic GoTo Foods brands benefit from strong enterprise growth engines, including marketing, digital, technology and franchise sales & development to propel growth and brand performance. Please visit www.gotofoods.com and connect with us on LinkedIn to learn more.
GoTo Foods is proud to be Certified™ by Great Place To Work®, the most definitive “employer-of-choice” recognition and the only recognition based entirely on what employees report about their workplace experience.
###
