Meet Your Newest FBS Board of Directors Member : Karim Webb
Brad Haber has resigned from the FBS Board due to a promotion within his organization . FBS greatly appreciates the time and energy Brad Haber spent over the years developing and executing initiatives to benefit the membership and thanks him for his service . Karim Webb accepted the FBS chairman ’ s appointment to fill his vacancy and we ’ d like to introduce him to you :
Franchisee Karim Webb recently joined the FBS Board of Directors .
Name : Karim Webb Title : Co-Owner Company : PCF Restaurant Management No . of Units : 3 ( with 4 in development ) Year entered the system : 2007 Names of business partners : Edward Barnett
How / why did you get into the system ?
I got into the system after experiencing BWW for the first time in Las Vegas in 2006 . I knew southern Californians desperately wanted a place to watch games . I also thought the menu was highly executable .
What is your favorite thing about the brand ? My favorite thing about the brand is our viability across multiple day-parts . Where some concepts focus on lunch or dinner ( or both ), we have guests that come for lunch , midday happy hour , dinner and late night .
In your opinion , what is the most valuable benefit franchisees receive as members of FBS ?
The most valuable benefit franchisees receive from FBS is advocacy . Our leadership is dialed in to decisions being made at BWW and advocates for the best interest of the brand in general . That advocacy is specific to the perspective of franchisees . Although our franchisor is a good partner , they sometimes have interests that are not aligned with the best interest of the BWW franchisee community .
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2016 Issue 2 | THE SCORE
What do you look forward to accomplishing while serving on the board ?
I look forward to championing our value to society ( taxpayers specifically ). I don ’ t think we ( our industry ) do an effective job telling the story of all the lives we positively impact . Thus , we face an onslaught of margin-squeezing legislation . I believe we could best mitigate the attack on our margins by informing voters of our value . The fact we employ entry-level team members , some of which would certainly be a burden on taxpayers ( jail , prison , welfare ) if they were not employed .
In your opinion , what is the biggest challenge currently facing franchisees ?
As it relates to public policy , I believe frivolous lawsuits and increasing labor costs are our biggest challenges . Internally , I think our biggest vulnerability is the speed , or lack thereof , in implementing an effective guest-facing technology ( mobile ) platform . Our competitors are working on it , so we have to get it right and be the first to do it .
What are three things people would be surprised to learn about you ? 1 . My parents and two siblings are 17-unit McDonald ’ s franchisees . They bleed ketchup ; I bleed Honey BBQ . 2 . My business partner , Ed Barnett , and I have been good friends since the fourth grade . We don ’ t always agree but we never argue . We should write a book titled “ The Value of Delineated Responsibilities .”
3 . I am passionate about underserved youth in south Los Angeles ( South Central ): I am the chairman of Los Angeles Southwest College Foundation ; vice-chairman of the Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce ; spokesperson for the Multi-Cultural Food Service Alliance ; Advisory Council member of President Barack Obama ’ s “ My Brother ’ s Keeper ” Los Angeles pilot program – ( Building Lives of Opportunity and Options for Men ( BLOOM ) – targeting African American boys 12 to 18 who have been , or were at one time , on probation ; corporate board member , The Brotherhood Crusade ; member , Buffalo Wild Wings Marketing Sub-Committee ; member , Buffalo Wild Wings Diversity and Inclusion Council . S