Captain D’s today named Jeff Wilson as its chief financial officer. In this role, he is tasked with developing and executing financial strategies to support the company’s business plans, and with leading the finance department.
Wilson has spent the past 15 years at Cracker Barrel, most recently as the company’s vice president of finance and CFO of the Emerging Brands group. He also served as corporate controller and vice president of operations analysis for the company. Prior to his time with Cracker Barrel, Wilson joined Metromedia Restaurant Group in Dallas directly after college and worked his way up to CFO. He earned a master’s in business from the University of Texas at Dallas and a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Idaho.
“We are pleased to have Jeff join the Captain D’s executive team, bringing with him a wealth of finance, operations, and profitability enhancement skills in both public and private companies,” CEO and president Phil Greifeld said in a statement. “Our impressive AUVs and strong sales comps system-wide have contributed to accelerated growth with new and existing franchisees over the past several years, and we have no doubt that Jeff’s extensive leadership experience will help the brand continue to reach new heights.”
Captain D’s, which was acquired by private-equity firm Centre Partners in 2022, includes more than 530 restaurants in 23 states. According to Datassential, the company grew sales by 11.5% from 2021 to 2022, to $633.5 million. AUVs also grew by more than 11% during that time, to $1.1 million. The company is recruiting franchisees to grow throughout the South, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states and has developed several restaurant prototypes to support that growth, including a new Express model that is less than 1,000 square feet.
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]
