MEET THE 2 2 2 NFA LEAD CONFERENCE LEADing People Tomorrow COMMITTEE MEMBERS

The National Franchisee Association (NFA) Leadership, Exploration and Development (LEAD) Conference was established in 2019 and has quickly become the NFA’s largest and most anticipated yearly event.

The NFA LEAD Conference is geared toward educating, training and rewarding outstanding above restaurant leaders as well as offering valuable networking opportunities for franchisees with like-minded business owners and system suppliers. The conference takes a great deal of planning, and each year the NFA appoints members of the association to sit on the NFA LEAD Conference Committee. These committee members are the heart and brains of the conference and are tasked with ensuring that the conference is beneficial to members and provides attendees with insightful information that is important to their businesses. This year the NFA has welcomed back Andrew Schory as committee chair, with Matt Bars, Lindsey Bond, James Cammilleri, Andrew Geiger and Russ Lo Bello as committee members.

Andrew Schory JPL Management NFA LEAD Committee Chair

Tell us about yourself: I have been a franchisee for 15 years and have been in the BURGER KING® system for 30 years. In that time, the central most important resource in the business has been people and our investment in them.

What does the NFA LEAD Conference mean to you? I am super excited about this year’s NFA LEAD Conference and what we have in store for the above restaurant leaders across the country. The NFA LEAD Conference is an investment in them and that’s a priority for me.

Matt Bars

Ampler Burgers LLC

NFA LEAD Committee Member

Tell us about yourself: I am the president of Ampler Burgers LLC, operating over 70 locations in Texas with 10 years of experience with BURGER KING and 29 years in food and hospitality.

What does the NFA LEAD Conference mean to you? The NFA LEAD Conference offers a unique opportunity for operators to bring their deserving teams to an event for inspiration, ideas and knowledge. It offers individuals networking avenues where they can share best practices, build lifelong relationships and have fun outside of the four walls of our restaurants. I envision the NFA LEAD Conference giving those with a fiery desire a clearer path to personal and professional successes.

Lindsey Bond

Bennett Management Corp.

NFA LEAD Committee Member

Tell us about yourself: I am the senior director of talent acquisition and marketing for the Bennett Management Corp. organization since 2013. I am bringing over 25 years of talent acquisition, operations and training experience to the 2022 NFA LEAD Committee.

What does the NFA LEAD Conference mean to you? The NFA LEAD Conference is an excellent way for franchisees and above restaurant leaders to share best practices and learn new tips and how recruiting and retention ties to profitability. I am personally excited for my team to connect, grow and share ideas with others to make our organization the best it can be.

James Cammilleri

JSC Management Group

NFA LEAD Committee Member

Tell us about yourself: I’ve been a franchisee since 1989, operating 64 BURGER KINGs in the Northeast. I’m a proud husband to Sarah Cammilleri and father of two children, Nicoletta and Gabriel. I am most proud of our philanthropy work in Haiti, where we feed 36,000 children every day. We have developed over 50 Haitian leaders that employ over 200 Haitians to operate five businesses, provide nutritious bread to children and operate at a high level in a country that is in constant turmoil. They lead the way, we just come alongside them to mentor and train them to be better leaders tomorrow than they were today.

What does the NFA LEAD Conference mean to you? I believe in leadership over management. Management is finite and task oriented while leadership is infinite. Leadership requires you to be people centric and relationship driven. You are challenged to utilize your own set of values and purpose to inspire and change the world of others surrounding you. “Everything Rises and Falls on Leadership” –

John C. Maxwell

Tell us about yourself: I am a second-generation franchisee operating 20 locations across California, Washington and Idaho.

What does the NFA LEAD Conference mean to you? The NFA LEAD Conference presents an excellent opportunity to network with other franchisees and their teams as well as our vendor partners. Additionally, it provides a venue to expand my team’s knowledge, help them grow professionally, and exchange ideas and best practices as well as helping to learn beyond our field.

Russ Lo Bello

Organization NFA LEAD Committee Member

Tell us about yourself: I’ve been a BK® employee since I was 12 years old, starting in Long Island, New York. I learned how to mop and clean broilers and fryers and, even during six years in the military, never really stepped away from it. It never gets away from you once it gets in your blood. I love doing this. I am now the president of the Florida/Caribbean Franchisee Association and chair of the NFA IT Council.

What does the NFA LEAD Conference mean to you? I am humbled to continue to serve on the board to help shape our future LEADers as I continue to teach courses that not only inspire them but also give them the tools needed to operate our restaurants to their fullest potential. n

Nominate someone for a Doing the Extraordinary Award at the NFA LEAD Conference

If you’d like to recognize someone at the conference for outstanding performance in 2021, contact communications@nfabk.org. Nominating team members for a Doing the Extraordinary Award is a perfect way to express your gratitude! We will highlight these leaders during the conference.