Delivering personal, professional, and financial opportunity for our people guides every decision we make.
– Mike Kulp, CEOCultivating a culture of excellence.
Executive Leadership
Mike Kulp
President & CEOMike's vision for creating life-changing opportunities has transformed KBP into one of the nation's largest and fastest-growing franchise organizations. Under his leadership, the company has grown from a five-unit KFC franchisee with $5 million in annual revenue to more than 1,000 restaurants earning nearly $1.5 billion annually. He has led over 95 multi-unit acquisitions and, in 2015, founded KBP Cares, a nonprofit supporting employees facing hardship.
Adam Wright
Chief Financial OfficerAdam leads Finance, Accounting and IT with a focus on enabling sustainable growth. Adam has spent more than 20 years in the quick-service restaurant industry with broad experience spanning strategic planning, Financial Planning & Analysis, capital markets, and treasury. Prior to KBP, he held various leadership roles with Yum! Brands.
Kristi Macaluso
Chief People OfficerKristi leads our people strategy to attract, retain, and nurture talent in an inclusive, collaborative environment. She is broadly transforming our technology, recruitment, and processes to increase efficiency and employee satisfaction. Her team hires and onboards thousands of new hires each year. Prior to KBP, Kristi led field HR for H&R Block's global tax business.
Matthew Hansen
Chief Operating OfficerMatt leads our Yum! Brands partnership and Sonic integration which includes operations of more than 85% of KBP's restaurants. Since joining KBP in 2009, he has led the integration of more than 900 new restaurants into the KBP system streamlining operations for profitability. Matt has more than 35 years' QSR experience which includes operational leadership with Boston Market and Arby's.
Heather Stege
President of KBP InspiredHeather has been critical to KBP's growth and diversification as the strategic and operations lead for all KBP-owned Arby's locations. She is Board Chair for ARCOP, Arby’s national supply chain group and leads KBP's corporate giving initiatives. Prior to KBP, she was President of Lou Malnati's Pizzeria, CMO of Paper Source, and a consultant with McKinsey & Company.
Ben Johnson
Chief Administrative Officer & General CounselBen leads risk management, franchisor relations, real estate, licensing, new store development, and facilities. He has deep expertise in franchising, distribution, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, and advertising. Prior to KBP, he was a managing partner of a legal firm in Louisville, Ky. and served as general counsel for a national franchise advisory council.
Extended Leadership Team
Tony Buford
Executive Vice President of OperationsTony leads operations for all KBP-owned KFC locations, overseeing our largest restaurant group and longest franchisee partnership. Tony is a culture champion whose authentic approach to leadership is built on nurture, trust, respect and collaboration to create an environment where team members thrive. Before joining KBP, Tony spent more than 20 years building operational leadership expertise at Boston Market, where he developed a reputation for driving performance while fostering motivated teams.
Joe Schmidt
Senior Vice President of OperationsJoe Schmidt is a KFC veteran who got his start as a store manager. When KBP expanded to Tampa, he joined the company and quickly expanded his role to lead acquisition integration in a dozen markets and regional KFC operations as KBP expanded its KFC footprint. He served as a regional vice president in Chicago leading our KFC restaurants in Illinois and all surrounding states. He now runs all KBP-owned Taco Bell locations.
Mark Everett
Executive Vice President & General ManagerMark leads operations for all KBP-owned SONIC locations, bringing over 25 years of experience in operations, retail, and sales. Prior to our SONIC acquisition, Mark led half of our Yum! Brands portfolio with oversight of approximately 400 KFC restaurants. Prior to joining KBP, he was Group Vice President at Target, where he managed the company's largest geography and was responsible for more than $4 billion in annual sales.
Anthony Gianino
Senior Vice President of MarketingAnthony leads marketing for all KBP restaurants to drive growth and enhance customer engagement. He works closely with our franchisors to align local advertising with national campaigns and leverages his data analysis expertise to help KBP innovate and personalize local store marketing. In this 30 years in the quick-service restaurant industry, he’s held multiple leadership roles, including with a Yum!-certified advertising agency and Domino’s Pizza International.
Kristin Mana
Senior Vice President of Finance & AccountingKristin leads our Corporate and Operational Accounting and Tax functions focusing on system optimization and efficiency. Since joining KBP in 2014, she has navigated the team through more than 80 acquisitions, two change-in-control transactions, and the implementation of a Finance Enterprise Resource Planning platform. Kristin began her career in Deloitte’s audit practice focused on financial operations and strategic growth.
Tim Buening
Senior Vice President of Strategy, Mergers & AcquisitionsTim leads mergers and acquisitions – our primary growth driver – as well as strategy and capital partnerships. He brings 25 years of experience in private equity, investment banking, consulting, marketing, lending and capital markets from Merrill Lynch, Anheuser-Busch InBev, and others. Prior to KBP, he held six board seats and led multiple acquisitions for a lower middle-market private equity fund.