Steven Romaniello

Steven Romaniello is a career franchising and multi-unit consumer executive who has spent more than a decade at Atlanta-based private equity firm Roark Capital Group. A native of Stamford, Connecticut, he earned a B.A. from Tufts University. He began his operating career in hospitality, holding positions at Days Inn of America (1988–1991) and then serving as a Vice President at Holiday Inn Worldwide, where he oversaw franchise services, support, and training for roughly 1,700 Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza hotels across the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean and grew franchise sales from 60 in 1991 to about 300 by 1995.

He then became President and Chief Operating Officer of US Franchise Systems (USFS), helping grow the company from one brand with roughly 22–27 hotels in nine states into a three-brand platform with more than 500 hotels across up to 50 states and five countries. In 2002 he joined Carvel Ice Cream as president of its franchise and foodservice division, leading a turnaround of the brand. Carvel Corp. was subsequently renamed Focus Brands, where Romaniello became President and CEO (from 2003). Under his leadership the platform acquired Cinnabon (2004), Schlotzsky's (2006), and Moe's Southwest Grill (2007), with later additions including Auntie Anne's (2010) and McAlister's Deli (2013).

Romaniello joined Roark Capital as a Managing Director in 2008 and transitioned to Senior Advisor in November 2019. He has served as Chairman of the Board of Focus Brands — renamed GoTo Foods in 2024 — and sits on the board of Inspire Brands (the Roark-backed parent of Dunkin', Arby's, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Jimmy John's, and Sonic). Over his career he has also served on or chaired numerous franchise-brand boards associated with Roark's portfolio, including Anytime Fitness, Arby's, Corner Bakery, Jimmy John's, and Orangetheory.

He is a former Chairman of the International Franchise Association and a member of the IFA Hall of Fame, and a recipient of the IFA's Ronald E. Harrison Award (for diversity work), the Nation's Restaurant News Golden Chain Award, and IFMA's Silver Plate Award. He is active in food-security philanthropy, serving on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Share Our Strength (No Kid Hungry).

• Invests through Roark Capital, a private-equity firm that targets established, cash-generative franchised and multi-unit businesses in restaurants, food & beverage, and consumer/business services — not seed or venture-stage startups.
• Emphasis on franchise systems and multi-brand platform building: acquire a core brand, professionalize operations, then grow through add-on acquisitions (the Carvel → Focus Brands → GoTo Foods playbook of rolling up Cinnabon, Schlotzsky's, Moe's, Auntie Anne's, and McAlister's).
• Looks for brands with scalable unit economics, strong franchisee relationships, and turnaround or consolidation upside — Romaniello's operating track record centers on stabilizing and expanding franchise networks.
• Roark's scale reflects the strategy: system-wide sales of roughly $52.2 billion in 2024, with 10+ portfolio brands each exceeding $1 billion in annual system-wide sales.