Crunchtime Announces Finalists for 2nd Annual Ops Excellence Awards

Winner to be Selected by Attendees at Ops Summit Conference

BOSTON, September 23, 2024–Crunchtime announced the finalists for its 2024 Ops Excellence Awards: BBQ Holdings, Five Guys, Jersey Mike’s, SPB Hospitality, and Triple T Hospitality.

Representatives from each finalist company will present their stories at the Ops Summit, Nov. 14-15, 2024, in Boston. Following the presentations, Ops Summit attendees will vote on the winner, who will be announced at the conference.

The finalist presentations will be delivered by:

• Jeremy Beard, Manager of Operation Services for BBQ Holdings 
• MJ Worsham, Director, Restaurant Technology for Five Guys
• Amanda Vrabel, Manager, Business Management Systems for Jersey Mike’s
• Michael Matos, Senior Director of Ops Services for SPB Hospitality 
• Tom Tozzi, VP of Finance for Triple T Hospitality

Crunchtime customers were invited to participate in the awards program by submitting their success stories during a 10-week nomination period. Awards nomination requirements included explaining how their organization has harnessed the power of Crunchtime solutions to manage profitability, deliver great customer experiences, and successfully grow their multi-unit operations. 

“It’s really inspiring to see the range of ways our customers are making an impact through technology innovation but also vision, creativity, and a lot of hard work,” said David Karel, Chief Marketing Officer for Crunchtime. “The success stories crossed every segment of our customer base, from global brands with thousands of locations to multi-brand operations and smaller regional franchisees.”

This year’s Ops Summit conference includes sessions featuring speakers from over 25 brands and operators, Crunchtime leadership, and product strategy leads. Breakout tracks will cover topics of interest to specific attendees, including inventory management, labor and scheduling, operations execution, and learning and development. In addition, a new pre-conference day was added to this year’s agenda covering 10 in-depth product training sessions led by Crunchtime experts.

Understanding that the best learning opportunities for customers come from their peers, Ops Summit organizers prioritized customer speakers on its agenda. Twenty-seven confirmed customer presenters and panelists so far include:

• Aaron Alexinski, Manager of Operational Excellence for Global Partners
• Brenda Almengo, Director of Global Inventory for Royal Caribbean Group
• Heather Barnhart, Revenue Systems Manager for Herschend Family Entertainment
• Danyel Bischof-Forsyth, Chief Technology Officer for 7 Brew
• Marilu Cruz, Project & Crunchtime Manager for AREAS USA
• Bo Fairbank, Director of Business Intelligence for JRI Hospitality
• Taylor Francis, Retail Operations Manager for Pressed Juicery
• Devin Games, Vice President of Operations Services for Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
• Ken Guardino-Lucatero, Ops Services Director for Tacala Companies
• Shawn Harrs, Chief Information Officer for Red Lobster
• Christopher Hatt, Director of Learning & Development for Miguel’s Restaurants
• Regina Jerome, Chief Administrative Officer for Uno Pizzeria & Grill
• Rebecca Kahn, Franchise Business Leader Executive for Gong cha
• Kevin Karnes, Senior Director of Training for Fazoli’s
• John Krahn, Senior Manager of Training for Cousins Subs
• Jason Lechner, Director of Training & Development for Pizza Ranch
• Susan Lucas, Chief Information Officer for Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants
• Peter McDonough, Senior Product Manager - Back Office for Dunkin’
• Caitlin McMahon, SVP of Supply Chain for Tupelo Honey Cafe
• Diane Neville, Chief People Officer for Shake Shack
• Jill Newsome, Learning and Development Specialist for Cotton Patch Cafe 
• Anthony Pugliese, Manager of Food Safety from Shake Shack
• Greg Sheehan, Director of Learning & Development for Papa Gino’s
• Paula Throop, Director of Training for Miller’s Ale House
• Amanda Vrabel, Manager of Business Management Systems for Jersey Mike’s
• Christian Wehlte, Supply Chain Application Manager for Sea Chefs
• Jay Wilson, Vice President of Technology & Systems for Cypress Five Star
• Adam Yeager, Senior Cost Control Manager for Fox Restaurant Concepts

Registration for Ops Summit is open to all Crunchtime customers, and a discounted hotel rate at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf is available through Oct. 22, 2024. Interested customers can find more information on the conference website: https://opssummit.crunchtime.com/.

About Crunchtime:

Crunchtime is how the world’s top restaurant brands achieve ops excellence in every location. Our software is used in over 125,000 locations in 100+ countries to manage inventory, staff scheduling, learning and development, food safety, operational tasks, and audits. Crunchtime enables customers including Chipotle, Jersey Mike’s, Domino’s, Dunkin’, Five Guys, and P.F. Chang's to control food and labor costs, and deliver great experiences. For more information, visit crunchtime.com.

Media Contact:

Cindy Poulos
Vice President of Marketing Communications
cindypoulos@crunchtime.com