After the tragic, unexpected loss of its CEO, Phil Keiser, in October, Culver Franchising System Inc. naturally picked from one of its own in CFO Joe Koss to fill the job.
The Prairie du Sac, Wis.-based burger chain has a deep bench of long-tenured talent. Many of the company’s top executives worked for years alongside cofounder Craig Culver, and then Keiser, his successor as CEO. That group helped turn a small, regional chain into a $1.2 billion concept with nearly 600 locations.
Koss had been the CFO for more than 16 years and has been with the company for more than 20. Likewise, Jeff Bonner, who was named chief operating officer this week, has been with the chain for 17 years.
“The entire senior leadership team is very strong, and very long tenured,” Koss told NRN. “There’s over 100 years of experience on the senior leadership team, just at Culver’s.”
From that standpoint, picking up where Keiser left off is relatively straight-forward. Koss takes over a chain that is adding locations and generating sales. The plan for maintaining that growth is already in place.
Indeed, while Craig Culver, who was the chain’s only CEO until his 2015 retirement, remains interim CEO for the balance of the year, Koss has already taken over day-to-day oversight of the chain. Koss assumes the official CEO title on Jan. 1.
“Certainly, Culver’s is in a good place,” Koss said. “We’re a strong brand that is growing.”
The challenge, however, is to maintain the culture that enabled such a deep bench to develop in the first place. People who go to work at Culver’s have tended to stay there, and it will be up to Koss to ensure that continues.
“For us it’s about maintaining the culture,” Koss said. “We’ve grown over these 32 years. That started with the Culver family way back when. Phil carried that legacy on. The challenge for us is how do we continue to grow and strengthen that culture.”
Still, the sudden loss of Keiser less than 18 months after he took the job was stunning for the chain. Keiser worked for the chain for 19 years when he was tapped in 2015 to succeed Culver. And the company spent months on a succession plan to transition the chain from Culver to Keiser — with one goal being to maintain the company’s culture and continuity.
Keiser was well liked by his coworkers. The management team is a tight-knit group, and one of Keiser’s sons works with the chain.
“We have heavy hearts around here,” Koss said. “They don’t make an instruction manual for something like this.”
Koss said that the first priority has been to focus on Keiser’s family. “You do what’s right,” he said. “The first priority has been comforting Phil’s family and supporting Phil’s family. They’ve been part of the Culver’s family for 20 years. It’s a very tight relationship.”
He also said it was important to reach out to the franchise community as well as the support team to keep them informed. “We wanted to make sure we were out in front,” Koss said.
Koss has worked alongside Bonner for years, and will continue to do so as Bonner leads operations. “Jeff is certainly a strong, tenured leader within our organization,” Koss said.
The two do inherit some challenges affecting numerous chains. Restaurant sales have weakened this year, somewhat unexpectedly, as consumers pull back. Labor costs are rising.
Koss, for his part, considers these challenges part of doing business in the ultra-competitive restaurant industry. “These challenges will continue to go on,” he said. “For us, the support that we’ve got here at our support center and within the franchise community helps us meet those challenges.
“I have all the faith in the world that we will continue to stay strong as a brand.”
Contact Jonathan Maze at [email protected]
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Photos courtesy of Culver's