Meet the Chief Financial Officer : Alexander Ware
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2016 Issue 4 | THE SCORE
What brought you to the BWW brand ?
It was an industry that I am very close to as a longtime supplier , first with soft drinks , then beer . I was 16 years in the Pepsi system , where I was the CFO of PepsiAmericas , and a big portion of that business was foodservice . For the last five years , I have been working with a business called MicroStar , which is the leader in providing keg management and logistics for craft brewers . We worked with over 800 of the largest craft brewers , so I know the beer side of the equation . With Buffalo Wild Wings ® being the largest retailer of craft beer and draft beer , it was a very good fit .
I ’ m five years out of the public company CFO realm , and this was a great opportunity to get back in and put my skills to use at a company that I think is at a very interesting point in its growth plan . There was a need and an interest , so it worked out well .
Tell us about your career before BWW .
Early on I was in banking and then management consulting . Then I went to work for PepsiCo and was in strategic planning and merger and acquisition roles before I went out to field finance operations . When I was at PepsiCo , I was part of the team that put together a game plan that called for the spinout of the bottling operations . Think about that as refranchising the bottling operations . At the time , it was rejected as being too radical .
Then I moved out to the field operations in the central part of the United States , and about nine months later , my former boss called and said , “ Remember that spinout strategy that was so crazy at the time ? Well , buckle up . It ’ s going to happen .” So I went with the spin into what became the PepsiAmericas business . As the second-largest anchor bottler of Pepsi products , we operated in 20 states in the central part of the U . S . and 16 countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the Caribbean . From the spinout in 1999 , we were able to grow from $ 3 billion to a $ 5 billion enterprise , so effectively , I was a franchisee and one of the anchor franchisees of PepsiCo . I ’ ve seen the franchisor side . I ’ ve seen the franchisee side , just in the beverage space , but there are many , many parallels .
Then , in 2010 , PepsiCo bought PepsiAmericas back . At that point , I went off and worked with the Pohlad family , who were 10 percent owners of PepsiAmericas . I helped them spend some of the proceeds , and after much searching , we acquired a nice stake in the MicroStar business , where I served as executive chairman .
What inspired you to enter the restaurant sector ?
It ’ s a space where quick decisions are very important . Our fickle , fast-moving consumer is always changing their tastes and preferences and cravings . I think this is an opportunity to marry up my finance skills and decision-making skills with that fastmoving consumer .
What are some of your day-to-day responsibilities ?
The role had been open for a little while , so there was a bit of catching up to do . The responsibilities cover everything from the accounting side of things to our investor relations activities to our treasury decisions and our planning and analysis .
I jumped right into our 2017 planning pretty much my first day . Most recently , I have been spending time with our investors . It was very constructive to hear from them . I would say , frankly , that is one of the things that was fun for me to get back into – I enjoy working with a public company and working with investors again .
From your view , what are some of the challenges facing the industry ?
I think same-store sales and the traffic side of that is probably the biggest challenge facing the industry . The consumers are perhaps opting to stay on their sofa and order delivery . People are making fewer trips with internet shopping , and restaurants and retailers are not going to have as many impulse occasions as they might have had before . We need to make sure our experience is going to be unique and compelling enough to pull people off of the sofa and into the stores .
What is your favorite thing about the BWW brand ?
I like the variety of options . Walking in , you have so many alternatives with the same favorite product , be it a boneless or a traditional chicken wing , but the flavors are all unique and innovative . There is a flavor and taste for everybody . And of course , there ’ s a pretty good beer selection , too . But , mostly it ’ s the energy of the BWW arena that everyone feeds on .
What are three things people would be surprised to know about you ?
I am kind of an open book , so there is not a whole lot of mystery . I may now live in Minnesota , but I grew up in Virginia and love southern cooking , bourbon and southern rock / soul music .
What are your goals for your first year in this position ?
I got that question my first week in a town hall meeting . I thought about it for a minute , and I will stick by my answer , which was to help Buffalo Wild Wings become a better investor . There are so many alternative ways to grow , invest and innovate the business . Placing new stores was the primary focus for much of the company ’ s life , but there are just many more alternatives for the business to consider .
Tell us a little about your personal / family life .
Amy and I have been married for 26 years . We have three daughters – 23 , 21 and 18 – which means we will be empty-nesting here in about six to eight months . We are very blessed with the kids . They are a lot of fun and give me plenty of direction . Our Westie , Jasper , helps me balance out the gender bias a little . I really enjoy the outdoors , hunting , fishing and golf , as well as cheering on my Virginia Cavaliers basketball team .
Anything else you would like to share about yourself , your vision or in general ?
Having been on both the franchisee and franchisor side , I understand the opportunities as well as friction points . There is tremendous power that we , as a system , have . My objective is to make sure we are doing a great job of sharing our knowledge , processes and practices , and innovating together to win the loyalty of more fans every day . S