Premium QSR to hire first-ever general counsel in brand’s history
Zaxby’s, the premium QSR chain known for its chicken fingers, wings and signature sauces, welcomes Brenda Beerman Trickey as its first-ever general counsel. Trickey joins Zaxby’s from Pet Retail Brands Ltd., where she served as chief legal officer and head of real estate. Trickey is the first general counsel in Zaxby’s 31-year history. She reports directly to founder and CEO Zach McLeroy.
“As Zaxby’s works toward becoming a national brand, we continue to identify opportunities to effectively grow our footprint and sustain our mission of enriching lives,” said Zach McLeroy, founder and CEO. “That means strategically adding more seats to our table, particularly within our ZFL leadership team.”
Trickey can look back on a successful career in franchising. At Popeyes, she was awarded the Spirit of Popeyes award by their franchisee association in recognition of being a brand partner that represented the spirit and collaboration of the system. There, Trickey focused on the brand’s domestic and international growth programs as well as enforcing brand standards. Prior to that, she worked with Marriott International as vice president and senior counsel, where she was lead attorney for the ExecuStay franchise corporate apartment business and partnered with Marriott’s business teams to solve for day-to-day operational issues.
“I am fueled by a passion for tackling challenges while also developing team members,” Trickey said. “Being a part of servant led organizations in the past helped me to see firsthand how servant leadership positively impacts a brand’s growth and success. That’s one of the many reasons why I am excited to be part of Zaxby’s.”
In her new role with Zaxby’s, Trickey serves on the ZFL executive team. She leads Zaxby’s legal services department while managing the brand’s legal vendor relationships to mitigate risk, preserving Zaxby’s culture and prioritizing its employees.
Trickey is well-versed in process improvement and implementation, domestic and international franchising, negotiation and risk compliance. At Zaxby’s she is creating a best-in-class in-house legal department that proactively anticipates the company’s needs and establishes processes and procedures to ensure legal matters are handled efficiently and expediently.
“We are excited to have Brenda join us during this pivotal time in our brand’s history,” said McLeroy. “As we focus on our brand’s ability to ensure our culture while continuing to strive to attain our brand vision, Brenda’s servant-led heart and exceptional experience at other culture-driven organizations and QSR brands, such as Marriott International and Popeyes, make her the ideal candidate to fill this critical role.”
Founded in 1990, Zaxby’s is still led by founder Zach McLeroy. The brand is committed to serving delicious chicken fingers, wings, sandwiches and salads in a fun, offbeat atmosphere where customers are considered friends. Zaxby’s iconic Signature Sandwich won Thrillist’s 2021 Fasties Award for Best Fried Chicken Sandwich. Zaxby’s has grown to more than 900 locations in 17 states and is headquartered in Athens, Georgia. For more information, visit zaxbys.com or zaxbysfranchising.com.
