Michigan-based Savvy Sliders is announcing that Bryon Stephens will be its chief development officer. Stephens brings 35 years of industry knowledge to the Savvy Sliders brand. The three-year-old brand has 35 stores open today and another 30 in development, and Stephens will guide the brand to a growth trajectory of more than 500 stores over the next 48 months. 

"We’ve created a concept that reimagines what a slider means to consumers by providing them with ['More 2 Love'] in our products and services, and by giving back in the communities we do business in through our ['More 2 Love'] foundation," said Happy Asker, founder-CEO of Savvy Sliders. "With Bryon’s leadership and knowledge, this unique partnership will lead us to explosive growth throughout the world."

While at A&W Restaurants, Bryon spearheaded the development efforts that saw the evolution of co-branding, putting two brands together under one roof. The initiative drove A&W’s acquisition of Long John Silvers and Tricon Global Restaurant’s subsequent purchase of Yorkshire Global Restaurants, forming Yum Brands — the world’s largest restaurant company with more than 32,000 restaurants worldwide. Stephens has opened more than 2,000 franchise outlets while at Yorkshire and Yum and is credited with developing more than 3,000 different franchise outlets over several brands throughout his career.

"What Happy and the team have created here at Savvy Sliders is unique and well positioned to attract consumers looking for a better QSR experience," said Stephens. "The branding, the service, the technology, and the incredible food all culminate in creating fans of Savvy Sliders ... This will drive the results of our units, and our Franchisees will benefit from all-of-this working together ... I look forward to bringing this opportunity to the Franchise market ... "

The announcement of Stephens as chief development officer follows Savvy Slider’s recent recognition as one of "The Top 150 New and Emerging Franchise Brands of 2023" by Entrepreneur Magazine and one of the "Fastest Growing Five Operators" by Technomic.

About Bryon Stephens

Hailing from Logansport, Ind., Bryon Stephens’ experience in franchising across multiple verticals has positioned him strongly in brand development.

Stephens believes the key to achieving strong growth results lies in a company’s culture. By operating within a set of self-determined cultural beliefs, the company establishes tangible guidelines that each of its constituents can follow, no matter how large the business grows.

With that wisdom, Stephens joined Marco’s Pizza in 2004. As vice president of development — and later, chief operating officer — his innovative approach to systemwide expansion led to the company’s rapid, award-winning growth.

After being named president of Marco’s Pizza in 2014, Stephens focused on the strategic alignment of operations, marketing, supply chain, finance, information technology and restaurant development to accomplish bold sales and growth goals, all while maintaining high benchmarks for product quality and guest satisfaction. 

Under his leadership, Marco’s grew from 115 units to over 800 by the end of 2018. Unit profitability increased significantly, and systemwide sales increased to over $500 million annually. While at Marco’s Pizza, Stephens was featured on the hit CBS series "Undercover Boss."

In 2018, Stephens served as CEO of the Extreme Leadership Institute, which follows the teachings of Extreme Leadership’s Chairman Steve Farber, and educated business leaders and teams on how to become extreme leaders and drive radical results.

In addition to his C-suite roles, Stephens has worked with a number of entrepreneurs to launch successful startup restaurant concepts, working as a business consultant and focusing on marketing, branding, growth, operational systems and execution.

Source: Savvy Sliders