Minneapolis — International Dairy Queen, Inc. (IDQ) has hired Art D’Elia as chief operating officer, U.S. and Canada, reporting to the president and CEO. He will lead a team of nearly 275 DQ® employees in operations, training and marketing to achieve the company’s financial objectives, grow franchisee sales and profits, and maintain and grow the strength and reputation of the DQ system.
“Art’s strategic vision for the DQ business and strong leadership in brand strategy, marketing, operations and system sales growth position him well to lead our business in the U.S. and Canada,” says Troy Bader, president and CEO at International Dairy Queen. “His proven record of success in the quick-service restaurant industry paired with compelling marketing leadership in consumer-packaged goods will elevate our franchise business to the next level and deliver on our vision to become the world’s favorite quick-service restaurant.”
Prior to joining IDQ, D’Elia spent 7 years at Domino’s Pizza where he led the international business and served as chief marketing officer. He also was chief marketing officer at Danone Dairy UBN (United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) and held several marketing, corporate strategy, and development roles at PepsiCo.
D’Elia will be based from IDQ world headquarters in Minneapolis.
International Dairy Queen, Inc. is the parent company of American Dairy Queen Corporation and Dairy Queen Canada, Inc. Through its subsidiaries, IDQ develops, licenses and services a system of more than 7,700 DQ restaurants in more than 20 countries. IDQ is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. For more information, visit www.DairyQueen.com.
SOURCE: International Dairy Queen, Inc.