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 Management 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 Financial Officer – Mary Cross
From 1983 to 1996, Mary held various management and executive positions with Nortel Networks, Inc., including the positions of Vice President of Financial Services and Controller. Mary holds the distinction of Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and has a Masters in Business Administration from Vanderbilt University.
Chief Marketing Officer – Rick Cornish
For the past 17 years, Rick has served as President and Chief Creative Officer of marketing communications and media production firm, Flying Colors Incorporated, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has created communications for more than a dozen national and global franchised brands including Mail Boxes Etc., “I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt!”, Sona MedSpa, FastSigns, AlphaGraphics, HomeVestors, and Big O Tires as well as for the International Franchise Association.
Rick has been the recipient of over 70 national and international awards for his creative work. He has twice been named one of America's Top 100 Producers by A/V Video Multimedia Producer magazine. He's a voting member of the National Association of Recording Arts & Sciences (The Grammys), a member of the Twin Cities’ CEO Roundtable, and serves on the Board of Young Audiences of Minnesota; a non-profit organization that brings quality arts experiences to Minnesota schools.
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.
Director of Operations - Mark Liebel
Mark has over 30 years of experience in franchise operations and management including significant experience in the restaurant/food sectors. He was Vice President of Operations for WenDover (a large Regional Developer for Wendy’s Restaurants) where he worked from 1995 to 2004. For 6 of these years, Mark was the senior executive in charge of operations for Wendy’s Restaurants in Canada. From 1990 to 1995, he was Executive Vice President of Brice Foods and President of Domestic Retailing for “I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt!”.
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 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.
Manager of Learning - Susan Martinez
Susan has over 25 years of franchising experience relating to operations, learning and development in foodservice and non-foodservice operations. Susan has extensive experience in the creation and application of learning programs and operational systems in the 24-hour family restaurant arena. Susan spent 13 years with Mail Boxes Etc. / The UPS Store where she was involved in retail operations and learning. During the past 6 years at MBE she managed a team of 16 individuals providing technical operations support to a network of over 4,500 franchisees. Susan is currently involved in the creation and implementation of the learning processes and systems for the Tasti D-Lite network.
Director of Information Technology – BJ Emerson
BJ served in the U.S. Navy for seven years supervising the maintenance and operation of various weapons systems platforms and supporting infrastructure during the first Gulf War. His corporate experience began in 1997 in Systems Administration for a $50 million dollar building supply company focusing on web and business process development. In other organizations, BJ has overseen the rapid expansion of corporate technologies to include providing hosted systems and applications for entire franchise networks. In 2005, BJ led the development and deployment of a $2M Corporate and Franchise Enterprise technology platform which won a Microsoft Pinnacle award for Excellence in 2006. His extensive experience in technology and franchise systems provides Tasti D-Lite solid IT leadership and a competitive advantage in the market place.
Operations Supervisor - Steve Rothenstein
Steve has 14 years experience in restaurant and food franchise operations. From 2004 to 2007 he worked for Cold Stone Creamery as a Field Consultant responsible for operations in the northeast U.S. From 1994 to 2004, Steve was a Training Manager for Taco Bell.
Senior Manufacturing Advisor – 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.
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.
