George Naddaff

George Naddaff, considered by many to be the Guru of Franchising in America, specializes in the development and marketing of franchise concepts. As a man frequently featured in leading business publications like Forbes, Inc., Success, Entrepreneur, The Wall Street Journal, and in numerous trade publications, he is a recognized visionary.

George began his career in food service when he co-founded International Foods, which operated 19 Kentucky Fried Chicken Franchises in the Greater Boston area and was sold in 1970. In 1988 George founded, and until 1993 served as Chairman and CEO of New Boston Chicken, Inc. ("Boston Chicken") , a company that operated and franchised limited service restaurants specializing in rotisserie-roasted chicken. In addition to formulating the overall strategic direction, he was in charge of Boston Chicken's franchise expansion program and was primarily responsible for site selection for both franchised and company-owned locations. In 1992 he sold the company to a group of Blockbuster Video executives, and shared in its record setting IPO (143% first-day increase) in 1993. The company, now known as Boston Market, is a 700-unit subsidiary of McDonald's.

In addition to Boston Chicken, George has been significantly involved with several other successful concepts including the founding of Mulberry Child Care Centers, which had over 90 company-owned childcare centers when it was sold to Kindercare, America's largest chain. In 1996 George invested in Ranch*1, a New York-based chain of grilled chicken sandwich restaurants that today operates 60 units in nine states and is franchising worldwide. George also founded Living and Learning Schools, which operated more than 50 upscale childcare facilities and was sold to Kindercare in 1980. In addition, George founded VR Business Brokers, the nation's larges business brokerage franchise with over 350 offices, which was acquired in 1986 by Christies, LLP, London. In 1984, as a director and investor in Sylvan Learning Centers, George helped launch their franchising effort which today has over 800 units.

Today George is Chairman and Co-CEO of KnowFat! Franchise Company, which is a start-up company planning a national franchise roll-out of their new 2+1 concept. Presently, there are three operating units in the Boston area.