OUR TEAM
MANAGEMENT TEAM
FELIPE ATHAYDE | CEO
Felipe has over 20 years of experience in building winning teams, growing global brands, and developing high-performance cultures. He spent almost a decade at Restaurant Brands International, having served in several capacities, including President of Popeyes Americas, where he spearheaded the launch of the Popeyes Chicken Sandwich, widely recognized as one of the most successful product launches in the history of quick-service restaurants. He also served as President of Burger King Latin America and as President of Tim Hortons USA. Felipe is a former CEO and Director of Regis Corporation, the world’s largest network of hair salon brands. He also worked as a Business Leader in the strategy department for Visa Inc. Latin America, and as a bond trader for multiple financial institutions in the United States and Singapore. He received a BA from Fundação Getulio Vargas, and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Felipe Athayde
CEO
DARIO SACOMANI | CFO
Dario has over 35 years of experience in operations and finance. Most recently he was the Managing Director at Sacomani & Associates, an interim CFO services firm focused primarily on PE-backed enterprises , which he started in January 2010. Prior to that, Dario had 25 years of experience in the Semiconductor industry leading the leveraged buyout and IPO of ON Semiconductor and serving as CFO of three large publicly traded technology companies.
Dario Sacomani
CFO
JORGE ZAIDAN | CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER
Jorge has over 18 years of experience in the restaurant industry and in management consulting. Jorge was the Founder and Managing Director of WeRide & Co., a management consulting company assisting clients in Canada and the US in Strategy, Marketing Analytics and Finance. Jorge is a former executive at Restaurant Brands International (“RBI”), where he last served as Head of Marketing Tim Hortons Canada, the largest restaurant company in the country. He also led the integration of Tim Hortons into the RBI portfolio and subsequently built the Marketing Analytics team to support data-driven decision making. Prior to Tim Hortons, Jorge was the Head of Innovation for Burger King North America and led its Analytics team. He also worked at Accenture for 9 years in its Strategy practice supporting clients in the US and Latin America. He received a B.Eng. from Escola de Engenharia Mauá in Brazil, and an MBA from INSEAD in France and Singapore.
JORGE ZAIDAN
CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER
KEVIN NEMETH | CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER
Kevin has over 18 years of experience in Digital roles across a variety of verticals. Kevin was most recently at Restaurant Brands International as Head of Digital for Popeyes. Kevin spearheaded growing the brand from 4% Digital Sales to ~20% Digital Sales in two years, created and launched the brand's first-ever loyalty program (Popeyes Rewards), and increased the size of the Digital team 7x to drive sales growth. Prior to that, Kevin held senior roles at major companies such as TD Bank, L'Oreal, and The Home Shopping Network ("HSN"). He received his B.S in Media Studies from Radford University in Virginia.
KEVIN NEMETH
CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER
SEAN GERATY | VP, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Sean has over 10 years of experience as an investment professional, all of which has been dedicated to covering the restaurant industry. Sean was the Director of Business Development for Hargett Hunter Capital, a lower-middle market private equity firm focused on investing in restaurant and restaurant-adjacent businesses. Sean is a former Director of Investment Banking at Geraty Investments, a boutique investment banking firm with an exclusive focus on the restaurant sector. During his time at Geraty, Sean advised founders, management teams and ownership groups on numerous sell-side and buy-side M&A transactions. He received a B.B.A. from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.
SEAN GERATY
VICE PRESIDENT, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
LIS SILVEIRA | VICE PRESIDENT, FINANCE
Lis has over 12 years of progressive experience overseeing all aspects of Finance, Accounting, Tax, and Insurance in the restaurant industry. Lis was most recently Chief Financial Officer at PJW Restaurant Group, one of ARB’s portfolio brands, where she led the acquisition diligence process on the Seller side. Additionally, during her 3-year tenure with PJW Restaurant Group, Lis revamped and established new financial reporting practices to support the brand’s future growth and to drive results through enhanced operational insights. Lis started her career with the Altamarea Group, a fine dining multi-concept operator, and she has since held several Finance leadership roles in the Franchising and QSR spaces including Paris Baguette America, Just Salad, and Dos Toros Taqueria. She received her BS in Accounting from Hunter College in New York City.
Lis Silveira
VICE PRESIDENT, FINANCE
SHARON LEE | DIRECTOR, STRATEGY
Sharon has over 12 years of experience in the restaurant industry and in Consumer Packaged Goods. Sharon was most recently the Director, Analytics & Insights at Subway, where she built and established the function in Canada to drive strategy grounded in data and consumer insights. Similarly, Sharon had played a critical role at the largest restaurant company in Canada, Tim Hortons, shortly following its integration into the Restaurant Brands International ("RBI") portfolio. Upon building the Canada Marketing Analytics team, she further developed the Tim Hortons US Marketing Analytics team. Prior to that, Sharon has held various roles at Hershey, Energizer and Playtex Products. She received a B.Sc. Chemical Engineering and B.A. Economics (minor) from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario in Canada.
SHARON LEE
DIRECTOR, STRATEGY
JACK THOMPSON | DIRECTOR, STRATEGY & ANALYTICS
Jack has held various industry experiences in Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) and Data & Analytics. He started his career as a Business Consulting Associate at Ernst & Young LLP in Philadelphia within their Enterprise Risk Management practice. He later joined CFGI as a Consulting Manager in their Business and Finance Transformation Practice, focusing on FP&A and Data & Analytics. Jack was more recently the FP&A Manager at PJW Restaurant Group, one of ARB’s portfolio brands, a newly created role where he helped lead the buildout of the Finance and Data & Analytics function. He received a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Business Intelligence & Analytics from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and an MBA from Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey.
Jack Thompson
DIRECTOR, STRATEGY & ANALYTICS
RACHEL SAVAGE | MANAGER, F&A
Rachel has 9 years of experience in corporate finance across the Manufacturing, Consumer Goods, and Human Resource Management industries working for several Fortune 500 companies. She was most recently a Senior FP&A Analyst at ADP, where she managed $650M+ in annual revenue forecasting and was selected to a financial leadership rotational program. Prior to ADP, Rachel was a Senior Analyst with Techtronic Industries and Project Controller for Magna International. She has a Master of Business Administration from Clemson University and a B.A. in Finance with a specialization in Entrepreneurship from Michigan State University.
Rachel Savage
Manager, F&A
RENAN PENELUPPI | MANAGER, STRATEGY & ANALYTICS
Renan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management and a Diploma of Data Science. With extensive experience in the luxury hospitality and sporting goods industries, he leverages analytical skills and tools to deliver data-driven insights. Before joining ARB, Renan was a key member of Canadian Tire Corporation’s data team, which developed the engine allowing product relationships to be formed based on product attributes, replacing a number of outsourced resources with in-house tools. Prior to that, he held Data Analytics and Account Management roles at Cervelo Cycles and Shimano Latin America.
Renan Peneluppi
MANAGER, STRATEGY & ANALYTICS