Smoothie King Franchises Inc. has named Gavin Felder its chief financial officer, starting May 28, the Dallas-based chain said Wednesday.
He replaces Thomas Kim, who left the company in Sept. of 2023, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Felder spent 16 years at Yum Brands, most recently as its chief strategy officer, overseeing corporate strategy, investor relations, mergers & acquisitions and store innovations. He also worked as commercial director for KFC U.K., CFO of KFC Africa, and CFO for Yum’s Global KFC Division.
Smoothie King CEO Wan Kim said in a press release announcing the appointment that Felder was a welcome addition to the 1,200-unit chain’s leadership team.
“I take great pride in the teams we’ve built and the culture we’ve created at Smoothie King and we’re happy to welcome Gavin Felder to our distinguished leadership team,” Wan said. “Gavin is a visionary leader with a keen eye for innovation and I believe he’s the perfect partner to lead us into the next phase of Smoothie King’s growth story as we look to provide even greater value to our guests and franchise partners.”
Felder, left, said he was honored to join the team that is “poised for extraordinary growth.”
“Smoothie King is truly a category-defining brand fueled by an inspiring mission and I couldn't be more excited to partner with our franchisees, suppliers and store teams to take the business to new heights together,” he said.
Smoothie King is privately held, but it said its third quarter of 2023 was the highest sales period in its 50-year history and the fourth quarter saw the most new store development in seven years. It said the first quarter of 2024 was the fifth consecutive quarter of same-store sales increases.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected]