---
title: "Mike’s Red Tacos Introduces Leadership Team Driving Nationwide Franchise Growth"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/4e184ba2-58e5-46b0-ac99-de14c516cca1
source: "Franchising.com"
original_url: https://www.franchising.com/news/20260818_mikes_red_tacos_introduces_leadership_team_driving_nationwide_franchise_gro.html
category: "Mexican"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Mexican"
topics: ["People"]
published: 2026-08-18T12:00:00.000Z
modified: 2026-10-31T14:43:23.714Z
image: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1568901346375-23c9450c58cd?w=1600&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop
---

# Mike’s Red Tacos Introduces Leadership Team Driving Nationwide Franchise Growth

**TL;DR:** Mike's Red Tacos has announced its leadership team, including Founder Mike Touma as Chief Brand Officer and Andrew Feghali as CEO, to drive nationwide franchise growth. The team brings decades of experience in building, operating, and scaling restaurant brands.

*originally published in Franchising.com on 2026-08-18. [Read the original](https://www.franchising.com/news/20260818_mikes_red_tacos_introduces_leadership_team_driving_nationwide_franchise_gro.html).*

## Story

Founder Mike Touma, who grew the brand from a San Diego food truck into two brick-and-mortar restaurants, has been announced as the company’s Chief Brand Officer. Joining Touma is Andrew Feghali as Chief Executive Officer. Feghali, the first Dave’s Hot Chicken franchisee, initially became involved with Mike’s Red Tacos as an early investor and Board Member before taking on the CEO role. Stephen Jennings, who has been named Chief Financial Officer, brings decades of financial leadership experience, having served as CFO of a number of brands, including Marie Callendar’s and Ruby’s Diner.

In addition, Mike’s Red Tacos President and Chief Operations Officer Vincent Montanelli and Chief Development Officer Patrick Cunningham bring decades of experience to the appointed leadership team in building, operating and scaling restaurant brands including Wetzel’s Pretzels, Dunkin & Baskin Robbins, Little Caesars and Bobby’s Burgers by Bobby Flay. Nate Zelazoski also joins the team as Vice President of Real Estate, bringing expertise from Five Guys and Smashburger, while Lance Salsman serves as Senior Vice President of Operations, drawing on experience from Blaze Pizza, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut.

“We’ve assembled a leadership team that understands what it takes to build, operate and scale restaurant brands,” said Andrew Feghali, CEO. “Our responsibility is to preserve the authenticity and energy that made Mike’s Red Tacos stand out in the fast-casual Mexican segment, while establishing the systems, infrastructure and support needed to grow strategically. Each member of this team brings a distinct area of expertise that will be critical as we welcome new franchise owners, support restaurant openings and break into new U.S. markets.”

## Entities

- Franchising.com (publication)
- QSR (sector)
- franchise growth (topic)
- fast casual (topic)
- Dunkin' Brands (company)
- leadership team (topic)
- Little Caesar's (company)
- Baskin-Robbins (company)
- Dave's Hot Chicken (company)
- Wetzel's Pretzels (company)
- Five Guys (company)
- Smashburger (company)

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Originally reported by Franchising.com (https://www.franchising.com/news/20260818_mikes_red_tacos_introduces_leadership_team_driving_nationwide_franchise_gro.html). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/4e184ba2-58e5-46b0-ac99-de14c516cca1).