Board of Directors
Carl Berquist
Carl T. Berquist, age 72, first became one of our directors in January 2019. From 2009 to 2015, Mr. Berquist served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Marriott International, Inc. (“Marriott”) Prior to serving as Chief Financial Officer of Marriott, Mr. Berquist was Marriott’s Executive Vice President, Financial Information and Enterprise Risk Management from 2003 until 2009. Mr. Berquist joined Marriott after a 28 year career with Arthur Andersen & Co. (“Arthur Andersen”), for which he served in a variety of leadership roles, including the firm’s Global Real Estate and Hospitality Industry Head. Mr. Berquist’s last position at Arthur Andersen was managing partner of the mid-Atlantic region, which included five offices from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Richmond, Virginia. Mr. Berquist previously served for 10 years on the Board of Directors of Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) (“Hertz”) and previously served on the board of directors of Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (Nasdaq: BECN) until February 2023.
Tom Barr
Thomas H. Barr, age 55, first became one of our directors in May 2012. Mr. Barr is CEO of Sono Bello,a leader in elective cosmetic surgery, with over 90 locations nationwide. Mr. Barr has served at Sono Bello since 2016, holding the position of President before being promoted to CEO. From January 2013 to July 2015, Mr. Barr served as an executive of Hailo Network Ltd., a privately owned London-based company that developed mobile applications for acquiring taxicab services. Mr. Barr’s roles with Hailo Network included serving as CEO and Global President, Co-CEO and Global President, Global Chief Operating Officer, Chief Operating Officer of Hailo Network USA and board member of Hailo Network. From 2005 to 2013, Mr. Barr served as Vice President at Starbucks Corporation (Nasdaq: SBUX) (“Starbucks”) and was a member of the Starbucks marketing and products team since 2000 with responsibility for Starbucks’ U.S. retail coffee business. During his approximately 12-year career with Starbucks, Mr. Barr led North American Marketing, U.S. Product Management and U.S. Food categories in senior executive roles, most recently as Vice President, Global Coffee. Since May 2015, Mr. Barr has served as a board member of Sheetz, Inc., a privately owned company that operates over 600 convenience store locations throughout the mid-Atlantic region of the United States.
Jody L. Bilney
Jody L. Bilney, age 61, first became one of our directors in September 2022. Ms. Bilney served as a senior executive for a number of public companies, including Humana, Inc. (NYSE: HUM), Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ: BLMN), Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW) and Verizon Communications, Inc. (NYSE: VZ) . At Humana, Inc., she served as the Chief Consumer Officer from 2013 until her retirement in March 2020, where she focused on consumer-driven initiatives for this health insurance provider, including marketing, data analytics, digital and consumer experience across the enterprise. Prior to Humana, from 2008 to 2013, Ms. Bilney served as Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer for Bloomin’ Brands, Inc., one of the largest casual dining restaurant companies in the world, where she headed various departments including brand and business strategy, marketing, corporate communications, business development and food and beverage R&D across the enterprise. Prior to Bloomin’ Brands, she held senior executive positions at Charles Schwab and Verizon, including General Management roles leading large lines of business as well as roles at the enterprise level where she led consumer-focused brand-transformation initiatives. Ms. Bilney is currently a member of the boards of directors of Chuy’s Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHUY), an operator of value -driven, full-service restaurants (since May 2021); Masonite International Corporation (NYSE: DOOR), a supplier to the residential construction industry (since January 2014); and Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALHC), a provider of customized health care in the US (since January 2022), and several private companies.
Meg G. Crofton
Meg G. Crofton, age 69, first became one of our directors in July 2017. Ms. Crofton retired from The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) (“Disney”) in 2015, after a 35-year career with that company. From 2006 until 2013, she was President of Walt Disney World, the largest site in Disney’s Parks and Resorts division, and from 2011 until her retirement in 2015, she served as President of Disney’s Parks and Resorts Operations, U.S. and France. From 2016-2023, Ms. Crofton served on the Board of Directors of Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE: TUP) (“Tupperware”) and served as the chair of Tupperware’s nominating and corporate governance committee and on its compensation committee. Since March 2019, Ms. Crofton has served as a director of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (“HCA”) where she serves on HCA’s compensation committee as well as HCA’s patient safety and quality of care committee.
Gilbert Dávila
Gilbert R. Dávila, age 60, first became one of our directors in July 2020. Since 2010, Mr. Dávila has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of DMI Consulting — a leading multicultural marketing, diversity & inclusion and strategy firm in the United States. Additionally, since 2018 he has served as a founding partner for Oppside, LLC, a research and analytics company. From 2003 until he founded DMI Consulting in 2010, Mr. Dávila served as the Vice President of Global Diversity and Multicultural Market Development at The Walt Disney Company. From 2003 until he founded DMI Consulting in 2010, Mr. Dávila served as the Vice President of Global Diversity and Multicultural Market Development at The Walt Disney Company. Prior to serving in his role at The Walt Disney Company, Mr. Dávila served as Vice President of Multicultural Management for Sears & Roebuck Company and Marketing Director Northeast Region for Coca-Cola USA. Mr. Dávila is also a member of the Association of National Advertisers (“ANA”), where he co-founded ANA’s Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing (“AIMM”) and currently serves as a director.
John Garratt
Mr. Garratt, age 55, first became one of our directors in December 2023. Mr. Garratt is the former President and Chief Financial Officer of Dollar General Corporation, a leading national retail chain operating over 19,000 stores in 48 states. Mr. Garratt began his tenure with Dollar General, as Senior Vice President, Finance and Strategy and later served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 2015 to 2022 and ultimately President, CFO from 2022 to 2023. Mr. Garratt retired from Dollar General as President in 2023. Prior to joining Dollar General, Mr. Garratt served as Vice President, Finance and Division Controller for Yum! Brands, the world's largest restaurant company. Mr. Garratt also serves on the Board of Directors of Humana, Inc. and Papa John's International, Inc.
Cheryl Henry
Ms. Henry, age 50, became one of our directors in 2024. Ms. Henry is the former President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairwoman of Ruth's Hospitality Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: RUTH), a fine-dining restaurant company operating over 150 Ruth's Chris Steak House restaurants worldwide. A seasoned restaurant and public company executive with extensive operational leadership experience, Ms. Henry served in numerous senior leadership roles at Ruth's Chris, including Chief Operating Officer, Senior Vice President and Chief Branding Officer, and Chief Business Development Officer, before she assumed the role of CEO in 2018. Prior to joining Ruth's Chris in June of 2007, Ms. Henry served as Chief of Staff for the Mayor of Orlando.
Julie Felss Masino
Julie Felss Masino was named President and Chief Executive Officer for Cracker Barrel in July 2023 and assumed the position, along with an appointment to the Company’s Board of Directors, November 1, 2023.
A seasoned executive with a track record of success, Ms. Masino has more than 30 years of experience driving innovation and growth for globally loved and recognized restaurant and retail brands.
Ms. Masino previously served as the President, International of Taco Bell, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) from January 2020 to June 2023. From January 2018 to December 2019, she served as President, North America of Taco Bell. Ms. Masino served as the President, SVP and GM Fisher-Price at Mattel, Inc. (Nasdaq: MAT) from April 2017 to January 2018. Prior to her service at Mattel, Ms. Masino served as the President and then the Chief Executive Officer of Sprinkles Cupcakes from 2014 to 2017. From 2002 to 2014, Ms. Masino served in various leadership roles at Starbucks Corporation (Nasdaq: SBUX). She began her professional career in corporate positions at a variety of retail companies, including Godiva Chocolatier, Coach, J. Crew, and Macy's.
She currently serves on the board of directors of Vivid Seats Inc. (Nasdaq: SEAT).
Ms. Masino has a Bachelor of Arts in communications from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Gisel Ruiz
Gisel Ruiz, age 53, first became one of our directors in September 2020. Ms. Ruiz retired as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Sam’s Club, a national chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs, a role which she held from February 2017 to June 2019. Previously, Ms. Ruiz held a number of senior executive positions within the Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) organization during a career with the company that spanned over 26 years. From 2015 to 2017, Ms. Ruiz was the Executive Vice President of International People for Walmart International. From 2012 until 2015, Ms. Ruiz served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Walmart US. Ms. Ruiz served as Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer of Walmart US from 2010 until 2012.Since May 2020, Ms. Ruiz has served as a director of Vital Farms, Inc. (Nasdaq: VITL), a Certified B Corporation that offers a range of ethically produced pasture-raised foods nationwide. In February 2022, she was elected to the board of directors of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (Nasdaq: ULTA), the largest beauty retailer in the United States.
Darryl “Chip” Wade
Darryl L. (“Chip”) Wade, age 60, became one of our directors in April 2021. Having served previously as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Union Square Hospitality Group, LLC (USHG) since 2019, Mr. Wade became USHG’s Chief Executive Officer on September 6, 2022. USHG is the parent company of numerous award-winning and acclaimed restaurants such as Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, and The Modern, as well as a multifaceted catering and events and restaurant consulting business. Mr. Wade joined USHG in 2019 after having served as the EVP of Operations for Red Lobster Seafood Company, a position he held from 2012 to 2018, both while it was owned by Darden Restaurants, Inc. and after its divestiture to Golden Gate Capital. Mr. Wade also served as the Chief Operations Officer for Legal Sea Foods Restaurant Group from 2004 to 2006 and held several senior executive positions at Darden, including Senior Vice President of Smokey Bones BBQ and the Director of Revitalization for Olive Garden Restaurants. Mr. Wade began his career in 1985, as a manager for TGI Friday’s. In 1989, Mr. Wade was promoted as a general manager for TGIF in Boston and spent the first 14 years of his career with TGIF and its parent, Carlson Restaurants Worldwide, including as Executive Director of Human Resources and Executive Director of Non-Traditional Development and Domestic Franchise Sales.