6 minute read
Meet SANJIV RAZDAN
The Joint Corp.’s New President and CEO
HIS PATH TO CHIROPRACTIC, FRANCHISING AND THE JOINT
Sanjiv Razdan admits he was uncertain, and even slightly skeptical, about chiropractic. Then, he injured his back while lifting weights at the gym and his primary care physician instructed him to use medication to manage the pain. When he couldn’t find relief, he turned to a chiropractor and completely recovered within a matter of weeks, becoming a true convert in the process.
Sanjiv was appointed president and CEO of The Joint Corp. on October 14 and is ready to call on his personal experience and respect for the profession to serve patients.
“I believe in putting the consumers – the patients – at the heart of everything we do. We are all here to serve them,” he says.
Sanjiv is eagerly jumping into his new role and acknowledges the groundwork that was laid before his arrival has resulted in a brand with immense potential, a solid business model and significant differentiation as compared to any other competitors.
“As I did my due diligence about the brand, I was pleasantly surprised by the scale of the business and how The Joint is significantly larger than any other competitor. Plus, the core of the business model was compelling,” Sanjiv says. “The number of franchisees that we have and, therefore, people willing to invest their own money is impressive. It is a great vote of confidence that people are willing to put their investment behind the brand.”
In his first 100 days, Sanjiv will completely immerse himself in the business with visits to market regions and clinics across the system that will help inform and establish both immediate priorities and a longerterm roadmap.
“I always find that some of the answers are out there with the front line,” he says. “What can we do differently, what can make us go further faster, what is getting in the way and learning what is at the heart of the business.”
Growing Up and Getting His Start
Sanjiv grew up in Mumbai, India where his mother was a schoolteacher, and his father was an architect in the military. His father’s position required their family to transfer every three years, resulting in Sanjiv attending six different schools before completing high school.
He received his Bachelor of Science degree in physics and computer science from St. Xavier’s college, but quickly pivoted once he realized how the science of “how things work” all turned to math! Instead, he completed a postgraduate program in Hotel Administration with ITC Hotels and began working for Sheraton.
An opportunity with a new casual dining concept called Pizza Hut, however, is what would send him on a lifelong career path.
The Franchising Journey
Pizza Hut was making its introduction into India, so Sanjiv saw the chance to be part of the movement from the beginning and took a job as a restaurant manager. He steadily advanced, eventually relocating to Dallas in 2002 as global operations director. In 2005, Yum! Brands offered him a leadership position with Pizza Hut UK and Ireland, which was grossing over $1 billion in sales.
Sanjiv’s efforts to refresh the brand in the UK and Ireland led to his appointment as president of Pizza Hut India, so he and his family returned to New Delhi in 2011. Sanjiv led additional restaurant growth in the country and was also responsible for starting home delivery throughout India.
By then, however, he had invested 20 years into Yum! Brands and his family was eager to return to the United States. He began exploring U.S.-based opportunities which led him to Kansas City, KS and Applebee’s.
“Returning to the U.S. and the heartland of America was a very fortunate experience,” said Sanjiv.
As Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer for Applebee’s, Sanjiv led the turnaround of the brand portfolio in the U.S. which included over 1,800 restaurants in all 50 states and had experienced declining traffic for multiple years. Working with the franchisees and the corporate team, Sanjiv was instrumental in transforming sales, improving franchisee profitability and guest metrics by simplifying and streamlining operations and rebuilding basic retail disciplines from the ground up.
Then, a market disruptor caught Sanjiv’s attention. Sweetgreen was an innovative, mission driven, farm-to-bowl fast-casual concept that the co-founders envisioned as the
“Netflix of food.” Sanjiv arrived at Sweetgreen in 2018 as chief operating officer and helped grow the business from 55 units to 110 locations. While at Sweetgreen, Sanjiv led several disciplines, including field operations, IT, automation and operations services.
In 2021, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf offered Sanjiv the opportunity to lead the U.S. and India markets as president. Similar to The Joint, the brand was part company-owned and part franchiseowned locations with a comparable number of franchisees, including many smaller multiunit operators. He transformed the business completely by developing strong franchise relationships, repairing unit level margins and reshaping the company’s culture.
As with Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Sanjiv sees opportunity to strengthen and elevate The Joint’s clinic economics and seek out sources of sustainable revenue growth. His prior experience coupled with a strong brand foundation makes him confident that The Joint is poised for a prosperous future.
“I am very grateful for the work that Peter [Holt] has done in leading this brand over the last eight years. It has come a really long way, and those things don’t happen by accident,” Sanjiv says. “Businesses go through phases of growth. Now it’s about coming together to imagine, test and validate some levers that we can pull to really create the next decade of growth for The Joint.”
Away From the Office
Sanjiv and his wife Nisha met through Yum! Brands and have been married for 27 years. Together, they have two daughters, Meha (26) and Diya (24). Diya is currently pursuing her law degree at Pepperdine. Meha works in advertising as a copywriter and has a cat, Billie, that the family loves to visit. In his spare time, Sanjiv enjoys travel, live music, eating out and spending time with friends and family.
