Inspire Brands on Wednesday named Kate Jaspon to be its next chief financial officer. She will take over for David Pipes, who is retiring after a 40-year career.
Jaspon is currently the CFO for Dunkin’ Brands, which Inspire acquired last year. She will transition to the new role this month and will oversee all accounting and reporting, tax, financial planning and analysis and internal audit and will manage Inspire’s relationships with the financial community.
Paul Brown, Inspire’s CEO, praised Jaspon’s “financial acumen, leadership and strong relationships with the investment community” and called her “ideal for this role.”
Inspire Brands owns Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Jimmy John’s and Sonic in addition to Dunkin’.
Jaspon joined Dunkin in 2005 as an assistant controller and she was appointed CFO in 2017. She led the company through a number of transactions, including its 2011 IPO and then the sale to Inspire.
Pipes' roots with the company date back to 2003 when he started with Arby’s franchisee RTM. He played an instrumental role in the company’s sale to Arby’s and then with Arby’s merger with Wendy’s. He remained with Arby’s when Roark Capital bought the brand.
Pipes also played a leading role in four massive acquisitions Inspire made over the past three years, including Arby’s 2018 purchase of Buffalo Wild Wings that led to the creation of Inspire Brands in the first place.
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