Executive Management

Ken Kuick serves as Co-CEO of FAT Brands Inc., a role he currently holds in addition to the Chief Financial Officer position that he was appointed to in 2021. Prior to joining FAT Brands Inc., Mr. Kuick served as Chief Financial Officer for Noodles & Company (NASDAQ: NDLS). Mr. Kuick also served as Chief Accounting Officer for VICI Properties (NYSE: VICI), a real estate investment trust, and as Chief Accounting Officer for Caesars Entertainment Operating Company, a subsidiary of Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR). Mr. Kuick received a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Computer Science from Taylor University.

Rob Rosen serves as Co-CEO of FAT Brands Inc., a role he currently holds in addition to the Head of Capital Markets position that he was appointed to in 2021. Mr. Rosen is a Wall Street veteran with over 30 years of experience in structured finance, banking, lending, and portfolio management. Mr. Rosen has worked on the banking side for Fleet Bank, Kidder Peabody, and Bank of Tokyo and has spent over 20 years working with Black Diamond Capital Management in a variety of management, board-level, and advisory capacities. Mr. Rosen received both a bachelor’s degree in Economics and an MBA from Union College.

Thayer D. Wiederhorn is the Chief Operating Officer of FAT Brands Inc., a role he has held since November 2021. Prior to that, Mr. Wiederhorn served as Chief Marketing Officer of FAT Brands Inc. Mr. Wiederhorn has also served as Vice President of Marketing of Fatburger North America Inc. and Buffalo's Franchise Concepts Inc., as well as Director of Marketing of Fatburger North America Inc. Mr. Wiederhorn graduated from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business with a major in Business Administration and a concentration in Finance Business Economics.

Taylor A. Wiederhorn is the Chief Development Officer of FAT Brands Inc., a role he has held since March 2017. Prior to his position as Chief Development Officer, Mr. Wiederhorn held the role of Vice President of Franchise Marketing and Development of Fatburger North America Inc. and Buffalo's Franchise Concepts Inc. Mr. Wiederhorn has also served as the Director of Marketing of Fatburger North America Inc. Mr. Wiederhorn graduated from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business with a major in Business Administration and a concentration in Corporate Finance.

Mason A. Wiederhorn is the Chief Brand Officer of FAT Brands Inc., a role he has held since December 2021. Prior to that, Mr. Wiederhorn served as Creative Director of FAT Brands Inc., preceded by his role as Creative Director of Fatburger North America Inc. and Buffalo's Franchise Concepts Inc., and Videographer for Fatburger North America Inc. Mr. Wiederhorn graduated from the Business of Cinematic Arts program at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business.

Allen Sussman has served as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of FAT Brands Inc. since March 2021. He joined FAT from Loeb & Loeb LLP in Los Angeles, where he was a partner in the Corporate Practice Group and served as FAT’s outside corporate and securities counsel. Prior to private practice, in the early 1990s Mr. Sussman served as a staff attorney with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, DC. Mr. Sussman holds a B.S. degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and a J.D. degree from Boston University School of Law

Jenn Johnston serves as Chief Marketing Officer at FAT Brands where she is focused on developing impactful campaigns that increase brand visibility and drive profitable sales across the 17-concept portfolio. Most recently, Jenn served as President of the Quick-Service Restaurant Division at FAT Brands, where she managed multiple strategic brand teams that oversaw marketing, operations, research and development, training, communications, and customer service activities for Great American Cookies®, Marble Slab Creamery®, Pretzelmaker®, Hot Dog on a Stick® and Round Table Pizza®. She played a key role in helping grow the quick-service brands into category standouts through her leadership, consumer-driven strategic insight, and franchisee-first mentality. Jenn holds a Bachelor's in English & Communications from Boston College and an MBA in Finance & Entrepreneurship from Georgetown University, where she was awarded the Phillips Entrepreneurship Prize.

Joe Hummel is the Chief Executive Officer of Twin Peaks, and brings to the concept his wide-ranging experience in all facets of the restaurant business over the past 30+ years. Joe began in distribution and purchasing, and worked his way to become the EVP of Operations and Purchasing at Hooters of America, before joining La Cima Restaurants, LLC as Chief Operating Officer. La Cima Restaurants, LLC is the largest franchisee of Twin Peaks Restaurants. Joe eventually took the reins as CEO of Twin Peaks in October 2016 and relocated to the Dallas headquarters in July 2017. Joe holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Clemson University.

Jacob A. Berchtold has served as Chief Operating Officer of the Fast Casual Division of FAT Brands Inc. since February 2020. Previously, he served as Director of Operations – Fast Casual Division following his relocating from Dubai, UAE in July 2019, where he held the position of Director of Operations MENA. From September 2012 through July 2019, Mr. Berchtold oversaw all aspects of international operations His scope of work included operations, training, new store development, and supply chain logistics across developing markets in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Asia. From September 2008 through September 2012, Mr. Berchtold was Operations Manager for Vetra Investments UAE, a franchisee of Fatburger/Buffalo’s Express. Vetra Investments developed and operated multiple restaurant brands throughout the UAE, Jordan, and Lebanon. From September 2006 through September 2008, Mr. Berchtold was Operations Manager for Fatburger China, overseeing company-owned locations in Hong Kong and Macau as well as franchise support across China and Southeast Asia. Mr. Berchtold first joined Fatburger in June 2005 as a restaurant manager and member of the Domestic New Store Opening Team. He attended Arizona State University.

Gregg Nettleton has served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Buffalo’s Franchise Concepts, Inc. since October 2016. Prior to joining our company, Mr. Nettleton served as President and Chief Executive Officer of GBS Enterprises, an international management consulting firm, since 2011. From 2014 to 2016, Mr. Nettleton also concurrently served as the Executive Vice President of Development of TransX Systems, Inc., an mBaSS mobile platform company, which he developed, positioned and marketed to secure two successful rounds of funding. From 2004 to 2006, Mr. Nettleton served as a consultant and Board member Black Angus Steakhouses, LLC. From 2002 to 2004, he served as Chief Marketing officer of International House of Pancakes Inc. and received the award for Turnaround Chain of the Year in 2003, and from 2000 to 2001, he served as Interim Chief Marketing Officer of Applebee’s International, Inc. Mr. Nettleton received his B.S. in Management Science from the State University of New York at Geneseo in Geneseo, New York and his M.B.A. in Marketing and Sales from Nova University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Allison Lauenstein serves as Brand President, Quick-Service Division at FAT Brands, where she oversees Great American Cookies, Marble Slab Creamery, and Pretzelmaker. Allison brings over a decade of experience working with the respective brands, having previously served as Executive Vice President of Brand Operations and Marketing at Global Franchise Group. Allison successfully launched several initiatives during this tenure, including the unlimited mix-ins platform at Marble Slab Creamery, the co-branded model of Great American Cookies and Marble Slab Creamery, and the Fresh Twist menu concept for Pretzelmaker. Prior to joining Global Franchise Group, Allison spent 13 years at Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins Brands in various leadership positions. Allison received her Bachelor’s from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and later attended Northeastern University where she pursued an MBA.

Doug Bostick is the President of Fazoli’s and oversees all corporate departments for the brand’s franchise system with the goal of continuing to build on Fazoli’s recent record-breaking growth from both a same-store sales and franchise development perspective. Having been with the brand for nearly two decades, Bostick adds extensive experience in multi-unit franchise operations and development. Prior to joining Fazoli’s, he served as Chief Operations Officer and Partner for an 81-unit Rally’s Hamburger franchise, operating in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida. He also held leadership positions with Wendy’s International and Jerry’s Restaurants and owned a Dairy Queen franchise.

David Pear is Brand President at Round Table Pizza. David most recently served as Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Desert De Oro Foods, a multi-unit franchise organization with 360 restaurants, including Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, Whataburger, Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, and Dave’s Hot Chicken. Prior to that, David served as Senior Vice President of Operations at Del Taco, where he played a key role in consistently increasing same-store sales and driving overall unit growth. David brings experience to Round Table Pizza from his time at Yum! Brands’ Taco Bell and Domino’s Pizza, where he led operational transformation through a combination of key initiatives focused on culture, continuous improvement of operational elements, and elevation of the guest experience. David earned his degree in Business Administration at Eastern Michigan University.

Ron Roe is the Senior Vice President of Finance. Prior to this role, he served as our Chief Financial Officer from 2009 to 2018, and served as our Vice-President of Finance from 2007 to 2009. Prior to 2007, Mr. Roe was an acquisitions associate for FCCG. He began his career as an investment banking analyst with Piper Jaffray. Mr. Roe attended UC Berkeley, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.

Donald J. Berchtold serves as Chief Concept Officer of FAT Brands Inc., a role he has held since February 2018. Mr. Berchtold previously held the position of President and Chief Operating Officer of Fatburger North America Inc. and President and Chief Operating Officer of Fog Cutter Capital Group Inc. Mr. Berchtold also served as Senior Vice President of Wilshire Financial Services Group Inc. and its sister company, Wilshire Credit Corporation. Mr. Berchtold was the owner-operator of his own business that included a dinner house, catering company and other food service concepts and was an active member in the Restaurants of Oregon Association. Mr. Berchtold holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and Marketing from Santa Clara University.

Michael Chachula is the Chief Information Officer of FAT Brands and is responsible for delivering scalable, sustainable, and efficient technology platforms across the portfolio and franchise system. He has over 25 years of senior management experience, including numerous strategic senior leadership roles in business and technology within the financial services, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, and hospitality industries. Prior to FAT Brands, Chachula was the Head of Digital and Revenue Growth for The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® where he focused on delivering an enterprise POS solution, CRM, marketing automation, and cross-channel Omni-Channel growth solutions for the brand and its franchise system. Chachula also served as the Head of Technology and Executive Director for IHOP® Restaurants within the Dine Brands Global Inc. portfolio. Chachula holds a bachelor’s degree from DePaul University and an MBA from Northwestern University– Kellogg School of Management.