Making Tasti D-Lite the number one good-for-you frozen dessert in the world.
A phenomenal concept. With a New York attitude and the flavor of fun.
Our new management team is committed to making Tasti D-Lite a celebration of life and health. We plan to grow Tasti D-Lite to 500 retail centers in just five years. Our executive team’s extraordinary breadth and depth of experience, both in franchising and the frozen dessert sector, will take us there.
The visionary at the top
Our Chief Executive Officer, James Amos, Jr. is the former CEO of Mail Boxes Etc.—the world’s largest non-food franchise (now The UPS Store). He grew MBE from 2500 to over 4000 locations in 80 countries, making it the world’s largest and fastest-growing franchisor of retail business, communication and postal service centers. A past Chairman of the International Franchise Association, he also has experience in the frozen dessert category, building a 2500 store network for “I Can’t Believe it’s Yogurt!” His stated goal: To make Tasti D-Lite the number one good-for-you frozen dessert in the world. We trust him to do it.
A few more tasti notes about Jim:
Chairman Emeritus, Mail Boxes Etc.
Highly decorated Vietnam veteran
Who’s Who of Writers International
Wrote three bestsellers
Recently published The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Franchising (Penguin)
Favorite Tasti flavor: Peanut Butter
The guy who keeps us all in line
Our Chief Operating Officer, Peter Holt, brings over 20 years of international franchising experience to Tasti D-Lite. He has a sharp eye for business growth opportunities, most recently working with Great Hill Partners, a Boston-based private equity fund with more than $1.5 billion of capital under management, on the creation of a winning franchise portfolio. Peter has seen the franchise business from all sides, starting with the International Franchise Association, the oldest and largest trade association in the world serving the interests of businesses that franchise.
Then, working alongside Jim, he headed up franchise sales and development for Mail Boxes Etc., and as vice president for "I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt!", led the company’s international expansion.
Some tasti details about Peter:
Writes and lectures extensively on franchising
Former chairman, IFA International Affairs Network
Former chairman, IFA Global Marketing Group
Favorite Tasti flavor: Cake Batter
Meet the Rest of the Tasti D-Lite Executive Team
Tasti D-Lite’s team of franchising experts has a combined 246 years of industry experience … and all that expertise is dedicated to making New York’s favorite great-tasting, good-for-you dessert better than ever and available worldwide.
Chief Marketing Officer – Bill Zinke
Bill has spent six years in marketing roles at two franchised frozen treat businesses and has 21 years of overall experience building and growing consumer brands, mostly in the food industry. From 2006 to 2008 he consulted with Dippin’ Dots, working within marketing and new products to expand the company’s franchised operation, and also served on the company’s Board of Directors. Prior to that Bill was Chief Operating Officer of Plumgood Food, a Nashville, Tennessee-based start-up online grocery delivery business. From 1999 to 2005 he was Vice President of Marketing for Ready Pac Produce of Irwindale, California, a pioneer in the packaged produce industry.
Bill also served as Director of Marketing for Baskin-Robbins USA, now part of Dunkin’ Brands, Inc., from 1996 – 1999 during a period of renaissance for the brand. Bill received an MBA from Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management with a concentration in marketing. He currently serves as a director on the board of the Nashville Children’s Theatre, a 75-year old non-profit institution that enriches the lives of children through the performing arts.
Chief Financial Officer - Pat Fox
Upon earning a degree in accounting from Duke University in 1965, he joined General Electric Company’s Financial Management Program, progressing through a series of increasingly responsible positions in the power generation and AC motor divisions during a twenty-year GE career. In 1985 he was named Vice President, Finance and Group Controller for Schrader Automotive, Inc., a subsidiary of Arvin Industries, with full financial responsibility for a US-based automotive parts company and six international subsidiaries.
From 1990 to 1995, he held the position of Vice President, Finance and Administration for Berol USA, an office products manufacturer, later becoming Chief Financial Officer for golf products distributor Datrek Miller International until 2005. Following two years as Vice President, Finance at Sona International Corporation, he joined Tasti D-Lite as Controller in October, 2007, and was appointed Chief Financial Officer in October, 2009.
Vice President of Franchise Development – Nikki Sells
Nikki has over 25 years of experience in franchising as a franchise owner, Regional Developer, and franchise company executive. From 2004 to 2008 she was Vice President of Franchising for Express Services, Inc., a multi-billion dollar franchisor of staffing services and employment solutions. From 1994 to 2004 she was the Express Regional Developer for Missouri, Kansas, and Northern Arkansas. From 1990 to 2004 she was the franchise owner of the Express Personnel Services franchise in Springfield, Missouri.
In addition, Nikki served on the Board of Directors of the International Franchise Association from 1999 to 2008. She is the Chairman of IFA’s Marketing/PR Committee and was Chairman of the Franchisee Forum in 1997. Nikki has also earned the professional designation of Certified Franchise Executive by the International Franchise Association.
Senior Franchise Development Director – Fred Bartliff
Fred has been in franchising for more than 25 years, with such companies as Arby’s, Grandy’s, and a check cashing franchise. He also worked as a consultant to the franchise industry.
His most recent experience is Vice President of Franchising for both Snelling Personnel and Express Employment Professionals.
Director of International Development – Kurt Ullman
Kurt has 15 years experience in international franchise development and management. As a management consultant with Edwards Global Services, Kurt provided internationally-focused advisory, business development and project management services to franchise companies in the restaurant, transportation, business services, retail, consumer services, automotive and energy sectors. Kurt was Executive Director of International Development at Mail Boxes Etc./The UPS Store where served in international roles from 1993 to 2004.
Kurt played a significant role in MBE’s growth to 1,200 units in over 40 countries. He has also been involved in the inbound and early stage development of two foreign franchise businesses entering the U.S. Kurt has been awarded the professional designation of Certified Franchise Executive by the International Franchise Association.
Director of Learning - Carlos Martinez
Carlos has over 30 years of restaurant and franchising experience in the U.S. and internationally. He was Executive Director of International Operations for Mail Boxes Etc./The UPS Store where, from 1996 to 2004, he led MBE’s international operations team in providing training and support to the company’s Master Franchisees. Prior to that Carlos spent over 20 years in operations and training management with Carrow’s Restaurants, Denny’s Restaurants, and Sheraton Hotels.
Director of Manufacturing – David Neely
David Neely has almost 20 years of experience. From 1989–1998 he worked with Brice Foods where he served as Vice President of Manufacturing. He produced a wide variety of frozen yogurt and ice cream products for Brice Foods-owned ‘I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt’. He reduced both product losses and manufacturing costs for the company increased productivity by 100% in his first two years with the company.
Director of Information and Social Technologies – BJ Emerson
BJ Emerson brings a strong blend of technical and creative abilities to his role as Director of Information and Social Technologies for Tasti D-Lite. In his 12 years of experience, BJ has overseen the rapid expansion of technologies to include providing hosted applications for entire franchise networks. In 2005, BJ led the deployment of a $2M Corporate and Franchise Enterprise technology platform which won a Microsoft Pinnacle award for Excellence in 2006.
Recently featured in Twitter’s Business 101 Case Studies, BJ has spearheaded the integration of the Tasti D-Lite
brand experience with online communities by engaging customers and working with franchisees to expand the brand through social media. His extensive experience in technology and franchise systems provides Tasti D-Lite solid IT leadership and a competitive advantage in the market place.
Corporate Counsel – Grayson Brown, Esq.
Grayson is a versatile licensed attorney with a Master’s in business administration. He received his JD and MBA from Regent University in Virginia Beach and is founder of his own law firm. Prior to joining the Tasti D-Lite team, Grayson served as corporate counsel for Sona MedSpa
