TGI Fridays CEO and leadership

Ray Blanchette is a Chief Executive Officer at TGI Fridays.

Ian Saunders is a President, Chief Operating Officer at TGI Fridays.

John Neitzel is a President & Chief Operating Officer Franchise TGI Fridays at TGI Fridays.

Robert B. Cook is a Chief Executive Officer at TGI Fridays and is based in London, Greater London, United Kingdom. He attended Peterhead Academy between 1977 and 1983 and RGU between 1983 and 1986.

Transformational leader, strategist and marketing executive for Fortune 1000 companies with track record of driving revenue growth across multiple industries, utilizing innovation, data analytics and customer-centricity.Significant contributions in digital transformation, consumer engagement, demand generation and strategic brand building. Unique ability to synthesize large amounts of information and data to identify and prioritize strategies that will move the brand, the business and the consumer.Proud to have built and developed world-class executive leaders, teams and entrepreneurs. Experience working closely with CEOs and Boards to drive shareholder and enterprise value.Key Strengths• Brand and Marketing Expertise - creating deep emotional brand engagement and sustainable competitive advantage via consumer insights and differentiated brand architecture • Strategy Innovation - identifying new revenue streams and profitable go-to-market strategies• Digital Media - leveraging opportunities at the intersection of marketing and technology• Leadership - building high performing teams and coaching them to success in environments requiring agility and ambiguitySelect Accomplishments:• Driving Growth Broad experience leading multiple transformation initiatives for brands such as Diageo, Burger King, Bloomin’ Brands, Boston Market and Carnival Cruise Lines. Projects for Bloomin’ Brands and Boston Market resulted in double-digit comparable sales improvement after 7+ years of declines.• Digital TransformationRelaunched Bob Evans digital ordering technology to optimize the online consumer experience, including rebuilding technology stack to support a leading mobile experience. Effort led to triple digit YOY increases in online and delivery sales and category-leading market share of off-premise revenue.• Change ManagementPartnered with CEO and Board to develop and lead complex change programs; led Project Management Offices for Dallas Morning News/Belo Media Group, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, and Bob Evans Restaurants. Implementation of agile management at Bob Evans led to 30% reduction in time to market.• Revenue OptimizationWorked with CEOs to identify and develop alternative/adjacent revenue opportunities. At Boston Market, led cross-functional team to capture incremental off-premise sales resulting in double-digit growth on two-year basis.• PR and Crisis ManagementExperience generating earned media/PR exposure, including handling crisis communications and media relations associated with food-borne illness outbreaks and other issues.

Bill Alexander is a SVP, Chief Development Officer at TGI Fridays and is based in Dallas, Texas. He has worked as VP Development at BRINKER INTERNATIONAL INC, Executive Director of Development at TGI Fridays, and Sr. Director of Development Strategy at BRINKER INTERNATIONAL INC. Bill attended TTU between 1981 and 1985 and The University of Texas at Dallas between 1988 and 1990.

Giovanna Koning is a Chief Financial Officer at TGI Fridays.