In 1988 Aziz Hashim was a freshly minted electrical engineer with a degree from the University of California, Irvine, when he landed a job working on modems for Rockwell International in the swanky Southern California town of Newport Beach.
It was a good-paying job at a time when the computer industry was growing. But after 90 days of working in an 8-by-8-foot cubicle, Hashim made a decision that shocked his bosses. He resigned to pursue what he had recognized as his calling: operating quick-service restaurants.
Rockwell’s offer to raise his pay on the spot could not dissuade him. Instead, Hashim departed to begin building his own business. Today, Hashim, 44, is chief executive of NRD Holdings LLC, an Atlanta-based franchise company with 10 Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen units in the Atlanta market, 21 Checkers Drive In units in Atlanta and Los Angeles and 23 Domino’s Pizza units in the Florida markets of Orlando and Jacksonville. NRD also owns four Pet Valu stores in Toronto. He would not divulge the company’s annual sales.
Hashim acquired the Domino’s outlets from Kosta Enterprises Inc. of St. Augustine, Fla., in June for an undisclosed amount. In mid-July he spent four days visiting all 23 locations to chat with workers and see the pizza operations.
“We’re thrilled to have Aziz as part of the Domino’s franchise system,” Scott Hinshaw, Domino’s Pizza executive vice president of franchise operations and development, said in a statement. “His incredible track record of success, outstanding leadership and commitment to his diverse portfolio of brands make him the best of the best in the franchising industry.”
Title: chief executive
Company: NRD Holdings LLC
Headquarters: Atlanta
Unit count: 10 Popeyes Louisiana Kitchens, 21 Checkers Drive Ins, 23 Domino’s Pizzas
Age: 44
Education: engineering degree from University of California, Irvine
Key accomplishments: received Popeyes’ Emerging Leader award in March and Checkers’ Brand Ambassador award in 2010
Personal: married; two children, 16-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son
Hobbies: reading, traveling, spending time with his kids
Other franchisors share the high opinion of Hashim. Popeyes presented him with its Emerging Leader award in March, and Checkers honored him with its inaugural Brand Ambassador award in 2010.
Hashim said each brand has its draw. For Checkers, he loved the price points and the bold flavors of its burgers. At Popeyes, he loved the fresh chicken that was hand-breaded at each restaurant. As for Domino’s, he loved that the pizza chain rebuilt its product in response to consumer feedback.
“They took a great leap of faith and a great risk and said our product is not as good as it could be,” Hashim said. “So they upgraded all the ingredients. From a consumer’s point of view, the Domino’s pizza we eat today is much better than what there was a year or two ago.”
But Hashim will not cut a deal to acquire a brand unless it scores high in metrics other than product quality. Brand management and unit economics are major factors, too. Hashim also noted that he prefers to consider buying groups of QSR stores that generate at least $10 million in annual sales.
Hashim may have left engineering, but his method of evaluating quick-service brands reflects the analysis and precision born of his earlier training.
“Precision is a great way to describe it,” said Wendy Harkness, chief talent officer and chief legal officer for NRD Holdings.
“His engineer’s mind and my lawyer’s mind are a good combination,” she said. “We look at the business very holistically. He’s very interested in structuring, and he invests in infrastructure before it’s necessary. He invests in a position before he needs it. When the need for that position surfaces, we already have that in place.”
Hashim, whose calm demeanor complements his focus and ambition, added, “I believe in planning for growth and staffing for that growth. We have a deep infrastructure.”
That infrastructure includes having in-house staffers who can handle real estate, information technology, human resources, finance and legal issues, Hashim said. That’s why, he noted, he was able to consummate the Domino’s deal in only three to four months.
Hashim’s introduction to quick-service restaurants occurred during high school and college when he worked at a Burger King restaurant in Los Angeles. His first job assignments were mopping floors and wiping tables. Eventually, he became a manager. Hashim liked the people-oriented aspect of the restaurant business.
By the time Hashim graduated with a degree in electrical engineering, he was, as he put it, “an old hack at QSR.”
The transition from electrical engineer to multibrand QSR owner began his first day on the job at Rockwell when he watched the engineer who worked next to his cubicle retire after 35 years.
“At the end of the day, he was in an 8-by-8 cubicle, and he was a very good engineer and gave a lot of service to that company,” Hashim recalled. “I asked myself, ‘Is this the life I want, or do I want to be back in the QSR environment?’”
Three months later, he knew the answer.
“When I told my manager I was going to leave, there was shock all around,” he said. “A senior executive came down because this just doesn’t happen. Their thought was that I was poached by a competitor. Then they thought I was mistreated and asked, ‘Did you have a problem?’”
He explained to the executives: “I spent all this time in the fast-food environment, and I think I’ll be happier. They were wondering, ‘Why does someone with an engineering degree from a prestigious college working at a prestigious employer want to leave and flip burgers?’”
After leaving Rockwell, Hashim, a Pakistan native who grew up in London and moved to Los Angeles with his family at age 13, bought and sold other small businesses to develop real-world, in-the-trenches experience. Among them, he purchased a rundown car-repair shop and a convenience store, which he sold at a profit before moving to Atlanta in 1995.
His first QSR purchase was a KFC in downtown Atlanta. His parents, who still lived in Los Angeles, helped him pay the $350,000 start-up costs by refinancing their home and giving their son their life savings.
Although Hashim’s parents were surprised by his career change, they were nonetheless supportive.
“They knew how much I worked to get that degree,” Hashim said. “It was a five-year program, and I did it in four years in 1988. They were surprised after I quit after 90 days, but they were supportive. So when the time came, they loaned me the money for KFC.”
Hashim, who was 28 years old when he bought his first KFC, recognized that the Atlanta market had potential. He owned 13 KFC restaurants in the area by the time he divested them and switched gears by buying a group of Checkers/Rally’s drive-thru restaurants. At his peak, he owned 34 Checkers/Rally’s units. He said he liked the Checkers concept because the brand’s buildings needed only 700 square feet and had no interior dining room.
In 2009 Hashim bought into Popeyes. He plans to open three more in Atlanta in 2011 and five more thereafter.
Through the years, Hashim found that the QSR bug had bitten several members of his family. His mother, once a career banker, operates eight Subway restaurants in Atlanta, while his sister manages 15 Subways and four Moe’s Southwest Grill units.
Hashim said he stays in touch with some of his engineer pals, who envy his freedom.
“It’s the control of destiny that’s the piece that is missing,” Hashim said of his former career.
Contact Alan Snel at alan.snel@penton.com.
