Mike Watson

Mike has 35 years of experience in hospitality and multi-unit foodservice, with brands such as Westin, Tim Horton’s, Baja Fresh and Wendy's. His real-world, operator experiences have shaped a results-driven professional, with a long track record of improving margins, increasing sales, and implementing innovation.

Mike understands how to manage multiple stakeholder objectives while executing changes throughout a system—even franchised systems. His experiences working with franchisees taught him the value of speed, and the importance of return on investment for any proposed operational change.

At WD, Mike leads a team of operations consultants and engineers who provide an operations support network for foodservice operators, as well as grocery retailers. He worked his way up through the Wendy’s organization, from store management to the Senior Vice President, Operations Innovation. In addition to being the gate-keeper of the company’s operating systems, Mike was also in charge of Wendy’s food innovation group. He was twice honored with prestigious awards for his exceptional service to the company.