✦ BROADLY DIVERSE BACKGROUND IN BUILDING BRANDS AND DRIVING GROWTH ✦I am a Senior Marketing Executive with consistent success in leadership roles across iconic and high-growth brands, including Pizza Hut, Wendy’s, IHOP, and WaBa Grill. I excel at interpreting data and consumer insights to create new and course-corrected brand strategies, resulting in innovative communication, products, and initiatives that surpass business objectives and fuel growth.Throughout my career, I have been a hands-on, emotionally intelligent leader skilled in forming and nurturing teams that consistently exceed expectations. I prioritize collaborative, cross-functional solutions that activate the entire organization in pursuit of marketplace opportunities.I have extensive experience interacting with departments, agencies, boards, franchisees, and C-suite management teams. I also have an unimpeachable record of engaging with stakeholders at all levels to secure necessary resources and garner buy-in. I am respected for my expertise in brand stewardship, omnichannel marketing, CRM, general management, P&L, budgeting, technology, operations, and regulatory compliance. Specialties include: Driving Sustainable Solutions | Transformative Initiatives | Brand Performance | Crisis Response | Authenticity | Vision | Conflict Resolution | Empathy | Influence | Decision-Maker | Strategic Thinker | Marketing Operations | Strategic Partnerships | MarTech | SaaS | SEM | SEO | Promotions | Advertising | Data Analytics | Enterprise Solutions | Strategic Alliances | Mentoring | Coaching | Messaging | Positioning | P&L | Budgeting | Product Development | Critical Decision-Making | Consumer Insights | Branding Strategy | Brand Management | Creative Communications | Integrated Marketing | New Business Development | Market Entry | Talent Recruitment | Social Media Marketing | Public Relations
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President (Chief Marketing Officer)Brandrise Global Llc 2022 - PresentRossmoor, Ca, Us✔ At BrandRise Global LLC - a consultancy focusing on brand and marketing strategy - I leverage my experience in brand strategy and omnichannel marketing to help businesses thrive in today's digital landscape. We specialize in creating unique brand narratives and data-driven marketing strategies that resonate with audiences and drive measurable results. From startups to established enterprises, we deliver bespoke solutions to fuel growth and success.
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Chief Marketing | Information OfficerWaba Grill Franchise Corp. 2020 - 2022Led seven professionals in driving all branding strategies, marketing, product/menu design, IT operations, and product development for this 200+ location brand. ✔ Achieved another record-setting year in 2021 with 23.1% in SSS growth, 50% higher loyalty sales ($12M), and 27.5% in SSS growth over two years total. ✔ Worked with Nasoya Foods USA to create an innovative plant-based protein product, “Plantspired Steak,” that surpassed all mix and transaction targets and earned industry accolades for taste and realism.✔ Introduced two popular menu platforms, WaBa’s “Healthy Value Menu” and “Family Meals,” which generated a 12%+ mix within 45 days of launch, 230 higher basis points in operating margins, and simultaneous increases in check and transactions. -
Vice President – Marketing | TechnologyWaba Grill Franchise Corp. 2017 - 2020Led all aspects of brand positioning, menu/product development, technology deployment, a four-person team, and two agencies. ✔ Achieved the brand’s best year in total sales, AUV, SSS, and unit-level profitability in 2020, despite tough COVID-19 pandemic challenges, by developing and executing a comprehensive business strategy.✔ Conceived and led the company’s entry into online ordering, food delivery, and customer loyalty. Facilitated via a leading-edge digital platform, the initiative yielded a 10% sales mix and 150,000 loyal customers within the first year of operation.✔ Developed WaBa Grill’s first consumer products – WaBa’s Better for You Beverages and “Loose Leaves” by WaBa Grill – with availability in-store and select retail outlets. The new offerings raised consumer brand recall and improved drink incidence by nearly 20%. ✔ Boosted sales and improved unit-level economics with a brand-new line of products, including the popular dumpling offering, raising guest check by almost 14% and store-level profitability by 130 basis points.
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Owner | OperatorPapa Murphy'S International 2013 - 2017UsDue to a family medical crisis, started and operated a local franchise with this national pizza chain with 1,300+ locations and $800M in yearly revenue. Supervised all business operations, food service, promotions, IT, HR, quality assurance, and 20 employees. ✔ Led the SoCal market in variance to theoretical food cost, total OAR metrics, and guest service ratings for seven straight months. ✔ To address the starkly different need states of the LA Metro Area consumer, envisioned using the SoCal market as a product development test hub to enhance sales. Through leadership and influence, convinced the corporate team and fellow franchisees to adopt this approach. This resulted in 14 months of sustained same-store sales growth, fueled by four new product introductions. ✔ Identified and received permission to test a new text marketing channel to capitalize on hyper-local opportunities within each trade area. The new platform helped increase SSS by over 200 basis points in the SoCal market. -
Executive Director – Menu | Product MarketingIhop 2012 - 2013Los Angeles, UsOversaw four brand managers and three external agencies coordinating all aspects of brand strategy and product development, from visioning, concepting, testing, and final market launch. ✔ Initiated and led a full review and redesign of the corporate product development process with a “stage-gate” approach that shaved several months off the new product development and testing process while increasing product pipeline capacity by 30%+. ✔ Reimagined the brand’s core menu process, onboarded a new production vendor, and leveraged the new product development process to create a pool of ready-to-go products, resulting in 1.3% higher guest checks and 70 higher basis points in margin performance. -
Executive Director – Operations ServicesIhop 2007 - 2012Los Angeles, UsManaged a seven-person team in evaluating, diagnosing, designing, testing, and executing core and emerging business initiatives. ✔ Conceived and implemented a plan to restructure the corporate field operations unit with new roles and cost controls in 2009, improving efficiencies and reducing overhead by $1M+. ✔ Led the design and prototyping of a new, leaner version of the brand's traditional concept. The "IHOP Express" concept, which opened in 2009, remains a crucial element of IHOP's nontraditional growth strategy. ✔ To resolve an impending PCI compliance crisis, spearheaded an emergency project to upgrade all POS hardware/software across the 1,500+ restaurant system to a standard OS within a year; also retrained 45,000+ employees.✔ Conducted a market opportunity and feasibility study for developing IHOP packaged goods, identifying a significant opportunity but insufficient internal resources. Recommended a brand licensing approach, which ultimately led to the successful launch of the IHOP at HOME product line.
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Marketing DirectorWendy'S International 2002 - 2007Dublin, Ohio, UsSupervised a 10-person team and seven external agencies/partners in leading 1/3 of all Wendy's domestic locations. Also played a crucial role in national brand initiatives, creative promotions, and new product development. ✔ Accelerated restaurant sales growth rate and dramatically improved ranking in all KPI categories after setting and maintaining a comprehensive business planning process in 2003.✔ Identified a marketplace opportunity for a non-traditional product. Led the development of the “Carolina Classic Hamburger” and the accompanying launch and marketing activation strategy. The quarter-long product promotion added a sales increase of 360 basis points across nearly 600 restaurants. ✔ Selected by senior management to design and execute the marketing communication strategy for the company’s critical new breakfast test; this work was later utilized in the actual rollout phase. ✔ Developed and stewarded a co-branded promotional partnership between three world-class brands to address a competitive market gap, generating an incremental 200 basis points in new sales and enhancing profitability via significant increases in drink/combo incidence.
Mark Finnegan Education Details
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Depaul UniversityManagement/Telecommunications -
Depauw UniversityBusiness & Communication
Frequently Asked Questions about Mark Finnegan
What company does Mark Finnegan work for?
Mark Finnegan works for Brandrise Global Llc
What is Mark Finnegan's role at the current company?
Mark Finnegan's current role is President (Chief Marketing Officer).
What schools did Mark Finnegan attend?
Mark Finnegan attended Depaul University, Depauw University.
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