GPS Hospitality, one of the nation’s fastest-growing franchisees of Burger King and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen restaurants, has hired industry veteran Chris Phillips to provide companywide oversight for strategy, analytics, and mergers and acquisitions.
In his newly created role as Vice President of Business Development and Strategic Planning, Phillips will partner closely with GPS’ executive team to achieve the company’s goal of reaching $1 billion in annual revenue by 2022. Chris will oversee the end-to-end M&A process for both new and existing GPS brands. He joins GPS Hospitality after two years with Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, where he served as Vice President of Finance Strategy and Analytics. While with Popeyes, Phillips helped coordinate its sale to Restaurant Brands International in February 2017.
“Chris Phillips’ diverse restaurant background and long-term strategic perspective will be a great asset to GPS Hospitality,” CEO Tom Garrett says. “We’re excited to have Chris on our leadership team and look forward to his sharp focus on driving GPS’ growth strategy.”
Phillips brings extensive knowledge of fine dining, casual dining, fast casual and quick service brands alike. Prior to his work with Popeyes, he served as Chief Financial Officer at Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza, after 13 years with Darden Restaurants in various senior leadership capacities.
“GPS’ impressive team and track record for growth makes this an exciting opportunity for me,” Chris Phillips says. “I look forward to working with a team that shares my values and aggressively pursues growth that aligns with our vision.”
Phillips currently serves on the Board of a Directors as Chairman for Atlanta-based No Longer Bound (NLB), a non-profit organization that offers a 12-month long, residential, regeneration process to rescue addicts, regenerate men, and reconcile families. He has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and an MBA from the University of Central Florida.
In less than five years, GPS Hospitality has quickly become one of the largest fast-food operators in the country due to its reputation as an ownership group who achieves results while investing in people and facilities. GPS’ rapid growth has been praised within the franchising community, and GPS has been recognized with recent awards by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Franchise Times and the Atlanta Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth.
