Meet the Team

Wienerschnitzel is led by a visionary executive team with decades of experience helping franchisees thrive

JR Galardi – President / CEO, Galardi Group

JR Galardi is the President & CEO of the Galardi Group, parent company of restaurant brands, Wienerschnitzel, Tastee Freez, and Hamburger Stand. Son of Wienerschnitzel founder, John N. Galardi, JR started in the business when he was 13. Working the fry station, cashier and janitorial duties during summers throughout high school, JR interned as a Wienerschnitzel Franchise Business Consultant during college to gain valuable experience in field-support of our franchisees. After graduating from the University of Colorado, while working as a Marketing Manager, a key topic in looking towards the future of Wienerschnitzel: How do we attract the next generation of customers? Being a millennial and growing up in action sports himself, he understood what would get this demographic attention and conceived the Visionary Marketing team. This advance new concept was created to hit the streets and meet the younger generation face-to-face. The Visionary ‘activation’ team over the years has served millions of free hot dogs and developed new Wienerschnitzel guests through unique channels of public service, social media, concerts and other special events, plus strategic integration with extreme athlete sponsorships. Since his role in marketing, JR has held positions as Director of Administration, Executive Vice President, and is now President and CEO of Galardi Group, Inc. JR is the face and leadership of the future; active in developing new partnerships, and bringing innovative and profitable solutions to our franchise community.

Cindy Galardi Culpepper – Executive Chairperson, Galardi Group

Cindy Galardi Culpepper, Executive Chairperson and advisor to the Galardi Group, stepped into the leadership role in 2013 when founder John Galardi passed away. Galardi Culpepper since grew the business into what it is today; driving new initiatives, company structure, culture, values and sense of purpose that successfully operates under its roof. In February 2022, son JR Galardi was promoted into the CEO role, while allowing Cindy to continue focusing on numerous charity and community outreach programs. With the mission of “serving food to serve others,” Galardi Culpepper implemented a plan for Wienerschnitzel to contribute a portion of its annual revenue, and dedicate company time to multiple charities in need. Always outgoing and personable, Cindy is a key figure and advisor to the Galardi Group.

Doug Koegeboehn – Chief Marketing Officer

Doug Koegeboehn (Keg-a-bean) is the Chief Marketing Officer for Wienerschnitzel, the World’s Largest Hot Dog Chain. Doug absolutely loves the enjoyment of food and knows pretty much everybody else does, too. That’s why he has relished spending much of his entire career working on food-related business. It started out when he was 15 and landed a job at Burger King. Then when Doug graduated college, he joined an advertising agency working on the El Pollo Loco account. For the next 20 years, Doug led agency teams on great food accounts, including Dole, Marie Callenders, California Avocado Commission, Yogurtland and his favorite, Wienerschnitzel. In 2015, an opportunity arose, and he joined the Wienerschnitzel family as CMO and is loving it. On the personal side, Doug feels extremely lucky to be married to his beautiful wife for the past 25+ years and has two great kids. His marriage and his children are his greatest accomplishments in life.

Ted Milburn – Director of Franchise Development

Ted Milburn joined the Galardi Group in January 2015 to help spearhead new franchisee growth. Previously, Milburn worked with internationally-recognized companies: including Nestle Toll House Café, where he led North American franchise efforts to record new growth, and directed franchise development for brands under the Kahala Corp. umbrella, including Blimpie, Cold Stone Creamery and Taco Time. Milburn brings passion and innovation to strategic franchise initiatives, while developing new franchisee relationships. An avid outdoorsman and a huge fan of college sports, Milburn also serves in numerous charitable causes in the Seattle area with his wife and son.
Wienerschnitzel favorite: “A ‘Supercross Dog’ is hard to beat.”

Laurie New – Director of Real Estate

Laurie New joined Galardi Group as Director of Real Estate in May 2022. Previously, she worked for Inspire Brands supporting Dunkin’, Baskin Robbins, and Jimmy John’s franchisees with their restaurant development in CA and NV. Prior to that, Laurie worked for 7-Eleven Inc. for over 12 years in both Operations and Real Estate, contributing to a significant growth in profit, net income, and store count for both the company and its franchisees. Laurie is excited to work with our franchise partners to help secure successful new locations for continued growth of the Galardi Group brands. Laurie and her family live in Riverside, CA. She enjoys spending time with family at the beach and in the mountains, and is looking forward to future RV camping adventures.

David Kreitlow – Director of Training

David Kreitlow joined the Wienerschnitzel family and has been with the company since 1981. In this time, he has had several roles within the Operations and Training Departments. David has been the Director of Training since 2012. He believes in the importance of providing exceptional tools for the franchisee’s success. David’s passion for and understanding of the brand is unmatched.

Matthew Steele – Training Manager

Matthew Steele has been an instrumental member of our training team since 2015. He has been in the industry since 2007, previously working for Disney and Baja Fresh, among others. Matthew currently supports all levels of the training process, from team member to franchisee, and both instructor-led and computer-guided training.

Rusty Bills – Vice President of Operations

Rusty Bills is the enthusiastic leader of the Operations Department. Rusty’s 12-year tenure with GGI started as a Franchise Area Director. He soon moved on to Manager of Tastee Freez, then Director of Operations, then Senior Director of Operations, and now in his current role of Vice President since September 2017. Rusty has a passion for our food, our franchisees, and crew members. Within his role and oversight of all operations, he is dedicated to elevating the brand’s service, image and cleanliness. Starting in the restaurant business when he was 15, Rusty later took a bus-boy job at California Pizza Kitchen to help pay his way through college. Rusty joined CPK corporate after college, developing strong operational skills in all phases of the restaurant. Prior to GGI, Rusty was Director of Operations for Taco Del Mar. He lives in Laguna Niguel with his wife of 21 years and two beautiful daughters.
Favorite Hot Dog: Angus Beef Chili Cheese dog with Mustard – also loves Raider Nation!

Doug Spell – Manager of Restaurant Standards & Construction

Douglas Spell joined the Galardi Group in December of 2014 to oversee the construction of new Wienerschnitzel restaurants and remodels of existing locations. Previously, Spell worked at other restaurant firms as Director of Construction, including BJ’s Brewhouse, Mimi’s Café and Boudin Bakery, to name a few. Doug brings years of architectural and hands-on experience in building restaurants. His understanding and know-how in the restaurant construction process is exceptional. In addition to construction roles, he also worked at a highly reputable architectural firm overseeing the design of multiple restaurant concepts. Spell is an avid deep-sea fisherman and loves the outdoors! On weekends, he can be seen cruising in his classic muscle car when not landing a trophy fish in the Pacific.

Learn more about the Wienerschnitzel franchise opportunity

For in-depth details about the Wienerschnitzel franchise opportunity, download our Free Franchise Opportunity Report. You can also learn more by visiting our research pages!

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