A Sizzling Success: Brand President Oversees Substantial Wingstop Growth

Name: Chad Given
Title: Brand President
Company: Sizzling Platter
No. of units: 361 Little Caesars, 107 Little Caesars Mexico, 185 Wingstop, 92 Jamba, 33 Jersey Mike’s Subs, 31 Dunkin’, 7 Sizzler, 5 Red Robin, 1 Cinnabon
Age: 49
Family: Wife Kristen and 2 sons, Spencer and Beau
Years in franchising: 25
Years in current position: 11

Chad Given is the Mega-Growth Leadership MVP (Most Valuable Performer) for achieving excellence in growth and expansion.

With more than 800 restaurants within his ownership portfolio, it would be easy for Chad Given to manage from afar and just look at the bottom-line performance of his units. However, Given says he is 100% involved in the daily operations with a constant eye on growing the business.

As brand president of Wingstop at Sizzling Platter, Given has overseen its growth from a single location eight years ago to its current total of 185 units. Just last year, he added 52 Wingstop franchises through 22 new locations and the purchase of 30 more. With such an ability to rapidly scale, it is easy to see why he won the 2025 Mega-Growth Leadership MVP.

Given’s path in the restaurant industry was not linear. His introduction to the business came 25 years ago as a server with Red Robin. He developed deep relationships and valuable contacts with management executives that proved beneficial down the road.

After working for two years with Red Robin, Given left to pursue a career in real estate. The housing market was struggling shortly after the turn of the century, causing him to reconsider his career path. He was also working two jobs to make ends meet, and his wife was pregnant with the couple’s first child. 

He called Mark Howe, a top executive with Sizzling Platter, to discuss his predicament. Howe said, “How soon can you be here?” The response was a tremendous relief for Given, and his return to the restaurant business jump-started his career. He has remained with the company ever since.

After first working on Sizzling Platter’s corporate side, Given became a franchise owner 11 years ago. He said some of the keys to scaling quickly come from being highly organized, being a great partner with the brand, and developing a strong foundation for the business.

“We tried to start small and build a good base to grow the business,” Given says. “Your base needs to be rock solid, or it will crumble. Having a national presence across multiple brands definitely helps when going into a new market. It is also important to have good relationships with others, be a good buyer, and build a strong culture.”

When operating such a large number of restaurant units, Given is quick to emphasize the importance of hiring and developing a talented team. He has played a pivotal role in the development of Sizzling Platter’s Blue Team Training program, which develops district managers, regional managers, and team members. The program has become a critical component of Wingstop’s rapid expansion, guiding new members with a structured curriculum that enhances leadership, operational knowledge, and guest service standards.

Despite the success he has achieved across hundreds of locations, Given isn’t satisfied with the status quo. He has ambitious plans for the future, hoping to double the restaurant count and size of his team over the next four years. 

MVP Questions

Why do you think you were recognized with this award? We have been fortunate to experience tremendous growth over the past seven years. Just last year in Wingstop alone, we added 22 new locations and acquired 30 more. We’ve gone from a single Wingstop restaurant to 185 in eight years. EBITDA fuels future growth for us.

How have you raised the bar in your own company? By continuously trying to be better each day with each process or system. When we build a location, we ask what we did well and what needs adaptation for the next build. When we hire, we analyze how we did. What was good? What would we change? We use a SWOT approach for all we do. I am also sincerely grateful for my team and tell them that as often as I can. I hope this adds value to our team.

What innovations have you created and used to build your company? We have incorporated business intelligence tools that gather and use data to help make decisions. It has allowed us to create teams large enough to open multiple stores in a single state in a single day.

What core values do you think helped you win this award? GRIT: growth, respect, integrity, and teamwork.

How important is community involvement to you and your company? Very important. We partner with Make-A-Wish Foundation, Wingstop Charities, Salt Lake City Mission, and the Hydrocephalus Association. Lend-A-Hand is a Sizzling Platter program to help its team members and the communities in which we serve.

What leadership qualities are important to you and your team? I want to provide an unparalleled experience for our team members. We start by training them correctly and thoroughly. We make sure to recognize them when they do something great or exceptional.  I always want to be approachable to my team at all times. 

Peronal

First job: Distinctive Detailing, a mobile detailing business when I was 14, washing and detailing cars. 

Formative influences/events: I was a server at Red Robin about 25 years ago, and I had some great management and staff leaders that I would watch and listen to closely. I found myself enjoying listening to them and respected what I saw in their actions. They quickly saw things in me that, at the time, I likely did not see in myself. They began training me and showing me things that were beyond the norm. The fact that they saw something in me made me feel like I could do more with my life and that, perhaps, they saw a path for me. My parents also instilled the importance of hard work at an early age.

Key accomplishments: Being a husband and father, building relationships with others, leading my team and their development, and helping to build the Wingstop brand within Sizzling Platter from one to 185 locations.

Biggest current challenge: Adapting to the speed of change.

Next big goal: Double the size of our team and restaurant count in the next four years.

First turning point in your career: After first leaving Sizzling Platter, I worked in real estate during the housing crisis of 2002. About a year and a half into it, I spoke with Mark Howe, one of Sizzling Platter’s leaders, and told him it was not working out. He immediately offered me the opportunity to return, and his simple response gave me so much comfort.

Best business decision: Hiring the right people, especially at the regional manager and district manager levels. Things can move so much faster when your people have integrity and can lead others.

Hardest lesson learned: Hiring the wrong person for a high-level position. That person often lacks passion and is not a leader to the people who work for them. It leads to lots of turnover and the loss of some of the company’s culture.

Work week: Five full days a week and some days on the weekend. It is usually about 50 to 58 hours per week. 

Exercise/workout: Four to five workouts a week. 

Best advice you ever got: Be the kind of man your kids want to be like.

What’s your passion in business? Helping people grow and become better than me. Empowering others to do things in a different way than I would have with the same or better result. 

How do you balance life and work? There is constant retooling. I have had to work on putting down guilt of not being with my family when at work and not being at work when I am with my family. It is not an easy lesson to learn, and it takes time.

Guilty pleasure: German chocolate cake.

Favorite book: Anything by J.R.R .Tolkien. For business, I love two Simon Senik books, Start with Why and Leaders Eat Last.

Favorite movie: “Ready Player One.”

What do most people not know about you? At home, I am generally quiet.

Pet peeve: Brake lights, progression being stopped in any way

What did you want to be when you grew up? An oceanographer.

Last vacation: Xcaret in Mexico in March 2024.

Person you’d most like to have lunch with: My entire team and my family.

Management 

Business philosophy: “Treat a person as they are, and they will stay as they are. Treat them as they ought to be, and they become what they ought to be.”

Management method or style: Putting people first. 

Greatest challenge: People who won’t get out of their own way.

How do others describe you? Personable and genuine.

Have you ever been in a mentor-mentee relationship? What did you learn? Yes, on both sides. I am who I am in large part due to my many mentors. I find great joy in mentoring others. Learning comes in both roles. 

One thing you’re looking to do better: When a bad situation happens, I want to seek to understand before seeking to be understood. 

How do you give your team room to innovate and experiment: We often counsel in a safe place rather than direct or dictate. We often ask, “What do you think?” in a genuine way to seek others’ perspectives. I think this helps people innovate in the moment and on their own.

How close are you to operations? I’m involved 100%. The bigger your organization gets, the greater the distractions become. I make an effort to stay very closely involved.

What are the two most important things you rely on from your franchisor? Communication and partnership.

What you need from vendors: To treat our teams as their guests. Build relationships of trust and great, speedy communication.

Have you changed your marketing strategy in response to the economy? How? We are running some value-based meals currently. We have a heavy emphasis on sports, both playing and watching.

How is social media affecting your business? Largely. Wingstop is very edgy, and our customers are generally youthful. 

How are you using technology, like AI, to manage your business? We currently have AI phones that will take orders and payments. Wingstop did a great job with its app before Covid-19, and that helped our business greatly during the pandemic. I appreciate the brand very much for that forward thinking.

How do you hire and fire? We hire carefully with multiple interviews and often multiple interviewers. We really are using our soft skills to see if the person will be a good cultural fit. For firing, we use a “Do they know? Do they care?” approach. We assume they don’t know what they may be doing incorrectly and reteach them and explain our expectations moving forward. After we know they have been properly taught and there is still a problem, it is probably an issue that they may not care. But we first try to give them the support and training they need.

How do you train and retain? We train for seven different shifts at varying lengths based on position, ranging from three to eight weeks.

How do you deal with problem employees? Professionally, respectfully, and as often as possible.

Fastest way into your doghouse: If you hurt the team, lie, cheat, steal, or cover up. 

Bottom Line

Annual revenue: $350 million.

2025 goals: Stay ahead of current growth plan. Retain all store leadership and reduce in-store turnover. Increase sales and profitability per store operating week.

Growth meter: How do you measure your growth? By our number of units, sales, profitability in store operating weeks, and EBITDA per average.

Vision meter: Where do you want to be in five years? 10 years? In five years, I want to be with Sizzling Platter, stay very challenged, and provide my team with greater opportunities. In 10 years, I will probably be in the process of exiting the business.

Do you have brands in different segments? Why/why not? Yes. Sizzling Platter is diversified with multiple food brands.

How is the economy in your region(s) affecting you, your employees, your customers? We are currently seeing guests be careful with spending. It is currently an employers’ market.

Are you experiencing economic growth in your market? In some areas, yes, and in some we see the community tightening up.

How do changes in the economy affect the way you do business? We partnered with the brand. We try to stay on top of these issues and pull levers that help our guests/team members and company as a whole.

How do you forecast for your business? General historical data mixed with what the economy is doing. We use some of our other concepts’ numbers as data points. We look at the cost of commodities and potential minimum wage increases.

What are the best sources for capital expansion? A successful current business leads to resources for additional business. We have also worked with two capital partners, and they have helped fund growth. 

Experience with private equity, local banks, national banks, other institutions? Why/why not? Mostly private equity, and the experiences have been good.

What are you doing to take care of your employees? We offer competitive base pay, health insurance, 13 bonuses per year based on performance, bonuses for new store openings and acquisitions, and a free employee meal every shift.

How are you handling rising employee costs (payroll, minimum wage, healthcare, etc.)? We look to optimize labor. We have a strategic labor planning day in which our regional and district managers assist the general manager with schedules. We make sure we are staffed enough to provide a great guest experience without sacrificing our profitability. 

What laws and regulations are affecting your business, and how are you dealing with them? Our locations in Southern California have had to adapt to the $20 minimum wage rule. We increased menu prices slightly to pay members what they deserved. We also paid nonhourly employees more and didn’t cut hours for our staff.

How do you reward/recognize top-performing employees? Through several bonuses, award programs, and contests. Our Presidents Club provides a best-in-class trip to our conference and a vacation in Mexico for top performers. We also gave away nine big-screen TVs following the Super Bowl.

What kind of exit strategy do you have in place? I plan to retire from Sizzling Plater when I am 60 to 65.