Gonzalez holds over 25 years of success in the food business; experience in branding, strategy & communications, franchisee relationships, product development, category management, and more
BurgerFi, one of the nation’s fastest-growing premium fast-casual concepts, QSR’s 2020 Breakout Brand of the Year and recently voted USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Fast Casual Restaurant Top Better-Burger chain for 2021, has hired Henry Gonzalez as Chief Marketing Officer. Gonzalez holds over 25 years of experience with leading brands in marketing, account management, product development, category management, merchandising and promotions both domestically and internationally with B2C and B2B businesses. Gonzalez is another welcome addition to BurgerFi’s C-Suite and Executive Management Team, since the recent announcements of Chief Financial Officer, Michael Rabinovitch and Chief Operations Officer, Jim Esposito joining the company.
“While Henry’s been successful across several industries and categories, his tenacity, efforts give a unique perspective into the food industry is undeniable,” said Ophir Sternberg, Executive Chairman of BurgerFi. “For over 25 years, his experience in sales and marketing for leading QSR chains, food manufacturers and ad agencies has effectively trained him to understand how to develop collaborative relationships that drive sales and profit growth. We welcome him to BurgerFi’s leadership team where we know he’ll be instrumental in redefining our brand and value proposition.”
Gonzalez joins BurgerFi after serving as Founder of Bigger Slice Consulting, a marketing consulting practice focused on helping companies accelerate and sustain profitable growth by collaborating with them to define or refine their brand or value proposition, brand and product portfolio, strategic and tactical marketing plans, campaigns and communications. Prior to, he served as Chief Marketing Officer of Costa Farms, leading the marketing and category management teams developing new products, brands, merchandising and promotions to serve Walmart, Lowe’s, Home Depot, Ikea, Kroger and other top retailers.
“Henry has a proven track record of working in fast-paced, competitive environments and masterfully integrating marketing and communications that not only moves the needle to drive short term business objectives but position brands for longer-term success. His extensive leadership experience in field and corporate marketing with Burger King collaborating with franchisee partners along with his agency, vendor partner and client experience make him uniquely qualified to collaborate with all stakeholders to help us unlock our brand’s potential to drive significant growth and profitability, said Julio Ramirez, CEO of BurgerFi. “He has been working with us as a contractor since the beginning of the year and has already made significant contributions. I am excited about the impact he’ll have leveraging his experience, passion and commitment to take our brand and our business to new heights as our CMO.”
For nearly a decade, Gonzalez worked at Crispin Porter + Bogusky, the preeminent ad agency of its time where he leveraged his experience working at Burger King to help lead Burger King’s US business during their tenure as Ad Age Client of the Decade. His agency experience also included leading teams working with top brands like MetLife, McDonald’s, Aspen Dental, Infiniti, Sam’s Club and others.
“I have been a huge fan of the brand as a consumer primarily because of the taste of the food and quality of the experience but also as a marketer because it’s so well positioned to capitalize on current trends. From a consumer standpoint, BurgerFi is the best kept secret in the fast casual space. I’m thrilled to collaborate with this talented team to bring a more consumer-focused and data driven approach to drive greater awareness, engagement, growth and profitability. We have a tremendous opportunity to highlight our points of differentiation and showcase how our brand is aligned with consumer expectations for fresh, all natural, great tasting food ordered and served conveniently across an array of platforms. Focusing on the consumer is how we’ll deliver on our mission to redeFine how the world eats burger by enriching lives through the best better burger experience.”
Gonzalez has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Florida. He believes in community service and actively supports organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters as a Board Member, St. Hugh Grove Outreach Food Bank and Mission 22.
Established in 2011, BurgerFi is among the nation’s fastest-growing better burger concepts with approximately 120 BurgerFi restaurants domestically and internationally. The concept is chef-founded and is committed to serving fresh food of transparent quality. BurgerFi uses 100% American angus beef with no steroids, antibiotics, growth hormones, chemicals or additives. BurgerFi’s menu also includes high quality wagyu beef, antibiotic and cage-free chicken offerings, fresh, hand-cut sides and custard shakes and concretes. BurgerFi was voted the Top Better Burger chain in Fast Casual Restaurants in USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice for 2021, named QSR Magazine’s Breakout Brand of the Year for 2020, placed as the Top Better Burger Chain in Fast Casual’s Top 100 Movers & Shakers list in 2021, was named “Best Burger Joint” by Consumer Reports and fellow public interest organizations in the 2019 Chain Reaction Study, listed as a “Top Restaurant Brand to Watch” by Nation’s Restaurant News in 2019, included in Inc. Magazine’s Fastest Growing Private Companies List, and ranked on Entrepreneur’s 2017 Franchise 500. To learn more about BurgerFi or to find a full list of locations, please visit www.burgerfi.com. Download the BurgerFi App on iOS or Android devices for rewards and ‘Like’ BurgerFi on Facebook or follow @BurgerFi on Instagram and Twitter.
