Gerald J. Wilkins is the executive vice president and chief financial officer for Atlanta-based AFC Enterprises, having served six years in the CFO position. Wilkins played a leadership role in seeing AFC through a successful IPO and managing the overall growth of the company. He is also head of the Management Service Corporation, a division of AFC, which provides many shared service functions for AFC and its operating companies. Prior to joining AFC, Wilkins served as vice president of international business planning at KFC International. His background includes several management positions at General Electric Company and GE Capital over an eight-year period. Wilkins was recently selected to the Executive Leadership Council, a leading African American business organization.
Carolyn Hogan Byrd is the chairman and chief executive officer of GlobalTech Financial, LLC, a financial services company headquartered in Atlanta. Prior to establishing GlobalTech, Byrd served as president of The Coca-Cola Financial Corporation, where her responsibilities included managing the company's operations and other special strategic assignments. She has served in a variety of domestic and international positions with The Coca-Cola Company since 1977. She is a founding member of the Board of Trustees of Fisk University and currently sits on the Board of Directors of Rare Hospitality International, Inc., St. Paul Companies, Inc. and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Advisory Board.
Victor Arias, Jr. is the executive vice president and regional managing director for the Dallas office of DHR International, Inc., a leading executive search firm. Arias has served DHR as a general search consultant since 1996 with emphasis in the telecom/technology, energy, and consumer products industries. At DHR, he manages global relationships for companies, such as PepsiCo, Inc. and is frequently sought by clients desiring value-added sourcing of diverse executive professionals. Arias is a member of the Board of Trustees of Stanford University and various corporate boards of advisors. He also co-founded the National Society of Hispanic MBAs.
"The level of experience these new board members bring will be instrumental in providing guidance and leadership for our board,'' said Frank Belatti, chairman and chief executive officer of AFC Enterprises.
AFC Enterprises is the operator and franchisor of more than 3600 restaurants, bakeries and cafes in 28 countries. AFC's primary objective is to be the Franchisor of Choice®, the recognized leader in offering quality investment opportunities in highly recognizable brands (Church's Chicken, Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits, Cinnabon, Seattle's Best Coffee and Torrefazione Italia) and exceptional franchisee support systems and services. AFC had system-wide sales of approximately $2.4 billion in 2000 and can be found on the World Wide Web at www.afce.com.
