Corner Bakery Café has named industry veteran Salil Bapat chief financial officer, the company said this week.
Bapat served most recently as CFO for Yum! Brands Inc.’s Latin America and Caribbean region. He fills a position formerly held by Richard Peabody, who joined New Orleans-based Smoothie King Franchises Inc. last year as CFO.
“We were very deliberative and diligent in our six-month search for a new CFO, and Salil was, by far, the most impressive candidate we interviewed,” said Gary Price, president of Dallas-based Corner Bakery Café, a 180-unit fast-casual chain owned by Atlanta-based Roark Capital.
“It was important that we chose an executive that understood our company’s culture and had the experience needed to lead Corner Bakery Cafe’s financial strategy,” Price said in a statement. “Considering Salil’s extensive financial, franchise and restaurant industry background, we are thrilled to have him on board during this exciting time in our company’s history.”
Prior to his Latin American post, Bapat held financial positions with Yum in Thailand and South Korea. Before his international assignments, Salil worked with Yum’s financial planning and analysis, development, capital planning and business analysis groups.
“2015 is poised to be another record year for Corner Bakery Café, and I am happy to be a part of the team leading the growth strategy,” Bapat said.
Corner Bakery ranked No. 114 in Nation’s Restaurant News’ most recent census of the Top 200 foodservice companies, with U.S. systemwide foodservice sales of $322.9 million in fiscal 2013, an increase from $296.4 million in the prior year.
The chain, which Roark acquired in 2011, has restaurants in 19 states and the District of Columbia.
This story has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: Jan. 15, 2015: An earlier version of this article misstated Corner Bakery's current unit count. The correct number is 180.
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