Dairy Queen names new COO for U.S., Canada
International Dairy Queen, Inc. (IDQ) has tapped a food industry veteran to oversee its American and Canadian stores.
Art D’Elia has joined the quick-serve ice cream giant as chief operating officer, U.S. and Canada, reporting to Troy Bader, president and CEO. He will oversee Dairy Queen’s (DQ) nearly 5,000 restaurants in the two countries, with the goal of growing franchisee sales and profits and maintaining and growing the “strength and reputation” of the DQ system.
D’Elia joins IDQ from Domino’s Pizza, where he spent seven years in roles including executive VP of international, and executive VP and chief marketing officer.
“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,” said Bader. “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.”
D’Elia’s experience also includes nearly eight years at Danone Dairy UBN (United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) in several marketing roles. He also spent nearly seven years in multiple positions at PepsiCo.
“It is a tremendous honor to join the DQ team and lead the business in the U.S. and Canada,” said D’Elia. “I have long admired the iconic DQ brand and I am energized by the potential to grow the business, partner with world-class DQ franchisees, and introduce even more consumers to the DQ experience.”
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Headquartered in Minneapolis, IDQ develops, licenses and services a system of more than 7,700 DQ restaurants in more than 20 countries.
