Jay Sachetti joined Jeff O’Brien, partner at Husch Blackwell and Dyanne Ross-Hanson, president of Exit Planning Strategies talked about the market for mergers and acquisitions, exit planning opportunities for companies that don’t end up for sale and how companies can maximize their eventual sale price during an early October panel at the first Upsize on Tap event at Summit Brewing Co. in St. Paul.
When the state Legislature passed a law requiring employers to provide paid leave and safe time for employees, Justin Bieganek started hearing differing details from friends, colleagues and peers.
Allan Hickok was president and chief operating officer at Let’s Dish Inc. in Burnsville for only six months in 2005, then he was gone.
“Allan was instrumental in raising our capital,” says Ruth Lundquist, co-founder with Darcy Olson. “And then in July he came on board to jumpstart our franchise system.” With several agreements in hand with area developers, he left near the end of last year.
“It wasn’t a specific amount of time, but rather specific tasks,” that Hickok was charged to do, Lundquist says.
Now the co-founders have hired Kerry Kramp as CEO, and they’re giving up their co-CEO titles to go back to being co-founders. “We will still be involved hands on, and setting the strategic vision, setting the tone of the brand, and being spokespeople,” Lundquist says.
Kramp is a 30-year veteran of the restaurant industry. He was CEO of Buffets Inc., named to that post in 2000, the year the company topped $1 billion in sales. In 2004 he founded Level 5 Ventures, a restaurant development and franchise company.
Hickok calls Kramp the perfect person to expand the company. “I feel a lot better about my own equity position” now that he’s there, Hickok says. “He’s what the company needs right now. From this point forward it’s all about execution. You need a killer COO, and that’s Kerry.”
What about his short tenure? “It wasn’t like I set out to set a land speed record there or anything,” Hickok says. “I’m a deal guy. I love this company, and maybe that’s why I got seduced to do day-to-day operations. I missed my life. The day-to-day stuff is not my cup of tea.”
He’s been raising money to back restaurant and retail food companies for 30 years. “I kept getting shown fun things that I wanted to work on, and there I’d be in my little office in Burnsville writing out checks,” he says.Allan Hickok: 612.868.8809; ah*****@****************gy.com.Ruth Lundquist, Let’s Dish Inc.: 952.767.3410; ru**@******sh.com; www.letsdish.com
