Tropical Smoothie Cafe®️ Expands C-Suite With Two New Hires

Fast-casual system welcomes two senior leaders, Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Information and Digital Officer

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Oct 17, 2019, 08:35 ET

ATLANTA, Oct. 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Tropical Smoothie Cafe, LLC, the franchisor of the rapidly expanding national fast-casual cafe concept inspiring healthier lifestyles, announced it has welcomed two new C-suite members to its team: Chief Marketing Officer, Mark Montini, and Chief Information and Digital Officer, Michael Lapid.

"Mark and Michael both bring immense brand and leadership experience, sophisticated technical expertise and a tremendous passion for the Tropical Smoothie Cafe mission. While their career paths are very different, they both have a similar style of solving problems, relying heavily on their ability to make data-driven decisions, which is ultimately in line with how we lead," said Charles Watson, CEO, Tropical Smoothie Cafe, LLC. "Like our franchisees, Mark brings strong entrepreneurial experience to our organization and will lead brand, marketing, product and digital innovations, all core functions of delivering a remarkable guest experience. As our Chief Information and Digital Officer, Michael brings 20 years of foundational IT skills and core functions of digital knowledge critical to shaping our journey to reach guests via innovative technologies."

"I'm confident Mark and Michael are the right people to support us as we continue our rapid growth," said Watson. "I am thrilled to be strengthening our leadership team with two outstanding, talented new members who understand that we are in the business of serving franchisees, who then serve our guests."

About Mark Montini, Chief Marketing Officer

With more than 20 years of leadership experience, Montini joins Tropical Smoothie Cafe from Floor Coverings International where he drove brand transformations and leadership in service-based franchising. Early in his career, Montini developed technology-driven marketing strategies for international organizations focused on increasing revenue through local-level marketing and sales. As the new Chief Marketing Officer of Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Montini will lead the company's vision to drive process change and accelerate business performance.

About Michael Lapid, Chief Information and Digital Officer

Previously with Papa John's International as the Vice President, Global Digital Technology, Lapid is a seasoned technology executive with vast engineering expertise, leadership skills and a deep understanding of consumer technology. At the start of his career, Lapid's ambitious spirit led him to develop a point of sale system, Hot Sauce. Lapid's entrepreneurial and corporate mindset will be instrumental as he guides Tropical Smoothie Cafe through technology innovation and thought leadership.

For more information about Tropical Smoothie Cafe, please visit https://www.tropicalsmoothiecafe.com.

About Tropical Smoothie Cafe^®️

Tropical Smoothie Cafe is a national fast-casual cafe concept inspiring healthier lifestyles across the country with more than 800 locations nationwide. Serving better-for-you smoothies, wraps, sandwiches, and flatbreads, Tropical Smoothie Cafe also offers upgraded app technology and enhanced mobile ordering capabilities to further elevate the digital and dine-in cafe experience and emphasize the brand's focus on convenience. The rapidly growing franchise has received numerous accolades including rankings in QSR's Best Franchise Deals, Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 and Forbes' Best Franchises, as well as Franchise Times' Top 200+. In 2019, the brand has already been recognized amongst Fast Casual's Top 100 Movers and Shakers, Nation's Restaurant News' Top 200 and Top 10 Fastest Growing Chains, Franchise Times Fast and Serious, as well as being chosen as NRAEF's Restaurant Neighbor Award Winner.

SOURCE Tropical Smoothie Cafe