Paul Brown

Co-Founder and CEO, Inspire

Paul Brown serves as Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Inspire Brands, a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 11,000 Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, SONIC Drive- In, Rusty Taco, and Jimmy John’s locations worldwide. Inspire is supported by more than 325,000 company team members and franchise employees. In 2019, Inspire achieved $14.6 billion in system sales, making it one of the top 5 largest restaurant companies in the United States.

Prior to founding Inspire, Brown was Chief Executive Officer of Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc.

Jim Taylor

President, Arby’s

Jim Taylor serves as President of Arby’s. In this role, Taylor sets the strategic direction for Arby’s and is responsible for the growth and success of the brand’s company-owned restaurants as well as its relationship with the Arby’s franchise community.

Taylor previously served as Chief Marketing Officer of Arby’s, where he led all research and development, new product innovation, brand marketing and positioning, advertising creation, and media planning. He also served as Senior Vice President of Brand Advertising and Activation as well as Senior Vice President of Product Development and Innovation.

JOHN KELLY

COO, Arby’s

John Kelly serves as Chief Operating Officer of Arby’s. As COO, Kelly is responsible for overseeing North American operations for more than 1,000 company-owned restaurants and more than 2,200 franchised restaurants. He is charged with the operations excellence of all Arby’s restaurants in the United States and Canada and leads a team of more than 200 operations professionals.

Prior to becoming COO, Kelly served as Senior Vice President of Operations for the East Region, where he led operations management for 1,400 corporate and franchise restaurants. He also previously served as Senior Vice President of Operations for the West Region, where he led operations management for 1,800 corporate and franchise restaurants.

Patrick Schwing

CMO, Arby’s

Patrick Schwing serves as Chief Marketing Officer of Arby’s. As CMO, Schwing oversees advertising, digital innovation, menu development and the overall brand experience for Arby’s.

Prior to joining Arby’s, Schwing held a number of domestic and international marketing roles at Procter & Gamble during his 16-year tenure. Most recently, he led Oral-B’s Global Power Brush Interactivity & Innovation division. There, he launched the ground-breaking Oral-B Connect product portfolio, which reimagined the brushing experience by leveraging a host of new AI and digital technologies.

Raghu Sagi

Chief Information Officer, Inspire

Raghu Sagi serves as Chief Information Officer of Inspire Brands. In his role, Sagi is responsible for leading technology initiatives across the Inspire enterprise, including enhancing technologies for company and franchise restaurants as well as the overall digital experience for guests.

Prior to Inspire, Sagi served as Chief Engineering Officer for Sephora Americas (an LVMH brand), where he was responsible for Omni-Channel Digital, Retail, Personalization & CRM including Loyalty and Data Insights technology capabilities and platforms.

Neville Craw

Vice President of Culinary Innovation and Brand Executive Chef, Arby’s

Neville Craw serves as the Vice President of Culinary Innovation and as Brand Executive Chef at Arby’s. Craw is responsible for leading the brand’s culinary innovation team. During his 16-year tenure at Arby’s, Neville has introduced dozens of new menu items, including Brisket, Deep Fried Turkey, Brown Sugar Bacon, and Traditional Greek Gyros as well as unique, limited-time proteins such as Venison, Elk, Duck, Pork Belly, and Porchetta.

John Wade

Chairman, AFA Board

John Wade serves as the Chairman of the AFA Board. As Chairman, Wade oversees all aspects of the AFA, which helps to fuel innovation and growth across the brand. Wade is also the owner of AES Restaurant Group. Since 2004, AES Restaurant Group has been a proud franchisee of Arby’s. With more than 70 restaurants in five states, AES Restaurant Group is one of Arby’s largest franchises.

Meg Bender

VP of Digital and Strategic Planning, Arby’s

Meg Bender serves as Vice President of Digital and Strategic Planning at Arby’s. Bender is responsible for the corporate strategy for the brand, in partnership with the President, and also its owned digital strategy and execution, and third-party delivery.

Previously, Bender served as VP of Strategy at Inspire Brands, where she led acquisition integration initiatives and oversaw corporate strategy across all brands. Bender’s experience ranges across hospitality, retail, and restaurants. Prior to Inspire, Bender served as the Director of Strategy at David’s Bridal. In this role, she led cross-functional initiatives, new business development and served as the Chief of Staff to the CEO.

Ben Halliwell

VP of Customer Personalization, Inspire Brands

Ben serves as VP of Customer Personalization for Inspire Brands. Halliwell’s team leads the development, implementation, and ongoing optimization of digital platforms, 1:1 marketing, loyalty programs, gift card/payment programs, CRM, and customer analytics in support of the Inspire brands.

Erin Everhart

Director of Owned Digital, Arby’s

Erin serves as Director of Owned Digital at Inspire Brands where she oversees Arby’s digital strategy and personalized marketing for its website, app and email. Prior to this role, she worked at The Home Depot, leading cross-functional initiatives in a variety of functions, including ecommerce, retail monetization, media strategy and content marketing.