Multi-Brand Leadership Award
2016 MVP AWARDS
BY HELEN BOND
Power Pumper ! Creativity fuels Sunny Ghai ’ s multi-brand empire
NAME : Sunny Ghai
TITLE : President / CEO , Ghai Management Services
NO . OF UNITS : Burger King ( 60 ), Taco Bell ( 9 ), Corner Bakery Cafe ( 2 ), Blaze Fast-Fire ’ d Pizza ( 1 ), Chevron ( 3 ), Conoco-Phillips 76 ( 2 ), Arco ampm ( 2 )
AGE : 59
FAMILY : Wife Tina ; daughter Ritu , and son-in-law Harsha ; son , Harsh and daughter-in-law Gurbir
YEARS IN FRANCHISING : 22 YEARS IN CURRENT POSITION : 20
For Sunny Ghai , the key to multibrand franchisee success is creativity . The founder of family-owned Ghai Management Services operates 7 brands , including 60 Burger Kings in 4 states . His ability to leverage the power of strong brands to make smart development decisions earned him the 2016 Multi-Brand Leadership MVP Award .
“ The biggest fear most franchisors have regarding their multi-branded operators is that they will lose focus on a single path to grow that brand ,” Ghai says . “ We have solidified their faith in our loyalty and we wear our logos with pride . We ’ ve shown our faith in our concepts by developing aggressively for them , sometimes opening three to four units per year for the same brand .”
Ghai worked for Burger King as a restaurant general manager before becoming a franchisee in 1999 , just four years after immigrating from India with his family . He built the base of his company by successfully reimaging the Burger King brand , and later by constructing and acquiring high-quality Taco Bell sites and expanding into the convenience and gas business . Along the way he has weathered economic , franchise , and industry changes with innovative branding ideas .
“ Logistically , having such strong brands works extremely well for growth ,” he says . “ In projects like our development in Winters , Calif ., we were able to put
2016 MVP AWARDS
Multi-Brand Leadership Award
Why do you think you were recognized with this award ? I believe I was chosen because of the success we have achieved through the four franchise brands we are currently operating . It is an achievement to be recognized by such great brands . We are thankful to Burger King , Taco Bell , Corner Bakery Cafe , and Blaze Fast Fire ’ d Pizza for being the best concepts in their segments .
How have you raised the bar in your own company ? Creating a fun and competitive environment is key in raising the bar . In order to push people to their limits it ’ s important to make them feel they truly enjoy what they do . And creating a competitive environment is much easier when you have such diversity in concepts .
What core values do you think helped you win this award ? Keeping an open mind . It would be impossible to have reached this level without being creative and being open to anything and everything possible . Too often people in our industry find it hard to think outside the box and stay enclosed in their comfort zone . Becoming a Burger King franchisee was completely out of my comfort zone , as was diversifying into convenience and gas , Taco Bell , and fast casual concepts .
How important is community involvement to you and your company ? We feel it ’ s important for every concept to rally behind a unified cause . Luckily , both Burger King and Taco Bell through their charitable arms — the Burger King McLamore Foundation and the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens — focus on educational needs of kids in the U . S . I feel that everyone is entitled to an education , and the two foundations do an excellent job of providing scholarships to kids who cannot afford higher education . Both foundations provide scholarships to our employees , which is extremely valuable in recruiting students to work for us . No Kid Hungry is another really important cause we participate in . Childhood hunger is another world issue that should not exist , and this organization has done an excellent job of rallying restaurant concepts like Corner Bakery Cafe to their cause .
What leadership qualities are important to you and your team ? Creativity and coaching . We want our leaders to be coaches rather than bosses . It ’ s important for leaders to get down and dirty and show their subordinates that they can work side-by-side with them .
30 MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEE ISSUE III , 2016