Sidney J. Feltenstein Honored as IFA™s Hall of Fame Winner

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Contact:

Matthew Haller, 202-662-0770

Jenna Weisbord, 202-662-0766

mhaller@franchise.org

jweisbord@franchise.org


SIDNEY J. FELTENSTEIN HONORED AS IFA’S HALL OF FAME WINNER


LAS VEGAS, Feb. 18, 2013–Sidney J. Feltenstein, past chairman of the board of Yorkshire Global Restaurants, received the IFA Hall of Fame Award during the 53rd IFA Annual Convention.


The Hall of Fame award is IFA’s oldest and most prestigious award and is presented to an IFA member, past or present, who exemplifies the optimum in franchising and has contributed significantly to the advancement of franchising and the franchise community.


“This is a well-deserved award as Sid has made extraordinary contributions to franchising and the communities it serves,” said IFA Chairman Jon Luther, chairman of Dunkin’ Brands and Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc. “Sid’s vision and leadership has promoted the IFA into the strong and vibrant organization it is today both at home and abroad and has helped to propel the industry on the growth trend we are experiencing today.”


Feltenstein has had a wide ranging career as a corporate executive, a successful entrepreneur and a supporter of non-profit entities. Feltenstein was IFA’s chairman in 2004 and chairman of the IFA Educational Foundation (2000-2002). As he took the reins of the foundation, Feltenstein quickly organized a capital campaign and over 15 months, raised more than $2.5 million in donations, pledges and special grants for the foundation’s work. He was named IFA’s 2000 Entrepreneur of the Year. As a staunch supporter of IFA‘s political action committee, FranPAC, and a key reason why the PAC is so successful today, Feltenstein is known as the “Father of FranPAC” and the first Sid Feltenstein FranPAC MVP Award was established in 2012.


With a great track record for rejuvenating brands, Feltenstein led an investment group that bought A&W Restaurants from Detroit real estate magnate Alfred Taubman in 1995. Under his leadership, the chain grew from 450 to nearly 1,000 units in just five years. In 1999, Feltenstein and his investment group purchased Long John Silver’s and formed Yorkshire Global Restaurants, the holding company for A&W Restaurants and Long John Silver’s. Company sales grew five times and its operating profits grew 40 times led by a stunning turnaround in Long John Silver’s sales and profits. He sold this company to YUM! Brands, Inc. in 2002.


After leaving YUM Brands, Feltenstein founded a new company called Sagittarius Brands and acquired Captain D’s Restaurants and Del Taco Restaurants. Both totaled approximately 1,100 locations and over a billion dollars in revenue. After combining the two companies and installing a management team, Feltenstein pursued other projects.


Feltenstein began his career at the Procter and Gamble Company where he held several brand management positions. He has also spent time with what is now Bozell as an account executive and account supervisor. He then became director of marketing for the Speidel Division of Textron and then vice president of marketing for Candy Corporation of America. Feltenstein joined Dunkin’ Donuts in 1972 and spent 19 years in both operations and marketing, the past 12 as chief marketing officer. In his tenure as head of marketing for Dunkin’ Donuts, the company was a consistent industry leader in same-store sales growth. In 1992 he left Dunkin’ Donuts to become executive vice president of worldwide marketing for the Burger King Corporation and is widely credited for reversing an eight-year decline in customer traffic.


Feltenstein is a graduate and trustee of Boston University and chairman of its Audit Committee. He is a member of the Board of Advisors for Boston University’s School of Hospitality Administration, and was chairman of its board from 1988 to 1991. He is also a trustee of the Performing Arts Foundation of South Florida, a trustee of The Shul of Bal Harbor, and a member of the Board of Directors of The HealthStore Foundation, which uses the business format franchise model to open clinics in Sub-Saharan African villages. Feltenstein also sits on the board of directors of a number of for-profit companies.


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About the International Franchise Association

The International Franchise Association is the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. Celebrating over 50 years of excellence, education and advocacy, IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising. Through its media awareness campaign highlighting the theme, Franchising: Building Local Businesses, One Opportunity at a Time, IFA promotes the economic impact of the more than 825,000 franchise establishments, which support nearly 18 million jobs and $2.1 trillion of economic output for the U.S. economy. IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees and companies that support the industry in marketing, law and business development.

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