TAMPA Fla. Checkers Drive-In Restaurants Inc., the 800-unit double-drive thru burger chain based here, named Enrique "Rick" Silva as president and chief executive, succeeding Keith Sirois, who is retiring but will continue to serve as the chairman emeritus.
Silva most recently was senior vice president of franchise operations for Burger King Corp. He was with Burger King for more than 13 years.
Checkers, which also includes the Rally's brand, was acquired in June 2006 by Wellspring Capital Management LLC, a New York-based equity firm.
Carl Stanton, partner of Wellspring, said: "We are grateful to Keith for his strong leadership at Checkers. Keith has assembled a world-class management team, and under his watch, the company's operations improved tremendously across a number of measures. We appreciate his cooperation and support during the transition of ownership of the company to Wellspring."
Stanton added: "We are confident that Rick, together with the other highly qualified members of the management team, will be successful in bringing the Checkers and the Rally's brands to the next level of growth and profitability for both the franchisee community and company stores."
Silva said he was honored to work with Checkers. "I have watched the growth of Checkers and Rally's for years and have a lot of respect for what the management team and the Checkers and Rally's franchisees have accomplished," he said. "My goal will be to build on Keith's efforts to maximize the potential of these two powerful brands by focusing on delivering a world-class guest experience and driving operator profitability and restaurant unit growth. I'm looking forward to working with the franchisees and the management team."
