Richard Elson Email & Phone Number

Marquette High School

 Plans and directs the preparation and serving of all food in the cafeteria for over 2100 students and faculty. Determines the quantities of each food to be prepared daily.  Responsible for ensuring compliance to all federal and local nutrition guidelines. Supervise assigned staff to maintain standards for food safety and cleanliness according to local Health Department regulations.  Responsible for inventory management, payroll and profit & loss accountability.  Work directly with assigned vendors to ensure goods are received timely and as specified.

Indianapolis, Indiana Area

 Responsible for leading the corporate team to provide support to ensure operational compliance and maximize results for franchise units. Led franchise communication, marketing and operational initiatives. Company Operations Team Lead for equipment integrations and new product implementations. Responsible for facilitating franchise communication to address franchisee concerns. Designed and led the annual franchise conference; Integrated round table discussions with department leads to diagnose root cause issues and ensure resolution. Managed the franchise marketing fund, which included a 4% annual spend. Managed franchise monthly royalty and fee submission. Worked with franchise owners on annual budgets and developed quarterly evaluation metrics. Operations lead for the company wide roll outs which included product integration into 7 restaurant prototypes; Completed all of the operations process redesign and integration. Worked cross functionally with training to design and deliver the training material and rollout. Worked cross functionally to ensure successful POS upgrades and installations; Perform root cause analysis and facilitate the integration of the company food cost and labor management systems into franchise units.  Supervised Franchise Field Managers and the field audit process to ensure day to day delivery of company standards, operational compliance and system utilization. Responsible for annual franchise budget of over $125 million in annual sales with generated revenue of $5million Designed and implemented a franchise orientation process to ensure new franchise groups gained an understanding of the brand, culture and operational expectations; Lead all new franchise Management training.  Worked Directly with VP of Development in recruiting and selling the Steak n Shake brand for franchising.

Indianapolis, Indiana Area

 Independently responsible for operational compliance in all franchise units. Specifically worked with franchise owners to diagnose sales opportunities and operational issues to maximize sales and profit growth.  Held restaurants accountable to excellent operational standards; Managed the design and completion of unit audits and compliance Coached franchise owners on labor efficiencies and food cost control action plans. Coached franchise owners on human resource development and leadership competencies; Increased the expectations for Management hiring and promotion within the franchise community. Led the new store opening process and training for new franchise restaurants; Directly responsible for the opening of 30 new franchise units. Lead Management accountability prior to opening to ensure the brand expectations were delivered as designed. Documented drive thru best practices and created standardized processes for increasing speed of service and improving order accuracy.

Indianapolis, Indiana Area And St. Louis, Missouri

 Responsible for 8 restaurants with annual revenue of $14mil in sales. Certified class facilitator, delivered cost control and leadership development classes to support Management development across the market. Led the market for the most Certified Training Units; Responsible for the development of growth candidates to support company growth. Designed and managed market wide local store marketing initiatives including trade area analysis and building community relationships.  Recognized 6 times for outstanding District Manager performance for best in class results in sales growth, profitability and people development.

Greater St. Louis Area

Responsible for the highest volume unit in the Saint Louis market. Led a certified training unit, responsible for the training and development of Management across the market.