Derek Roback and Dean Sasso Join Fast Casual Brand to Lead Operations and Marketing Departments
Wing Zone – a fast-casual brand serving made-to-order, flavor-packed chicken wings – today announced the hirings of Derek Roback as the Vice President of Operations and Dean Sasso as the new Director of Marketing. With more than 20 combined years of experience in their respective industries, Roback will lead the brand’s operations while Sasso will develop and reinvent ways of promoting the Wing Zone brand in the evolving marketplace.
No stranger to the food industry, Roback comes from The Wendy’s Company where he served as the Manager of Field Technology and Innovation. In that role, Roback was in charge of leading the company’s technology and innovation initiatives across 17 states in the Western U.S. Prior to Wendy’s, Roback joined Domino’s in their Executive Leadership Development Program immediately out of college and led business units on both the corporate and franchise sides. At Wing Zone, Roback is looking forward to partnering with his team, along with current and future Wing Zone franchisees to build a culture that will support the exponential growth of the franchise across the globe.
Sasso brings a diverse wealth of knowledge to Wing Zone after holding positions at multiple advertising agencies where he was responsible for conducting promotional campaigns for clients. He most recently served as the Director of Brand Marketing with Exeo Entertainment, Inc., and held four-plus year stints as the Digital Marketing Director at RogueWaveGroup, Associate Creative Director at Epsilon and a pair of advertising roles with Ryan Partnership prior to that. While he’s always had a passion for food, Sasso will apply his marketing and advertising acumen from his agency foundation toward improving and maintaining the marketing initiatives with Wing Zone’s consumer base.
“We are extremely excited to bring these two outstanding professionals into the Wing Zone family. Both Derek and Dean are highly skilled and have a lot of quality and unique experiences under their belts that make them well-equipped for the responsibilities they’re about to take on,” said David Bloom, Wing Zone’s Chief Development Officer. “Derek and Dean have been highly regarded in their respective fields and I have the utmost confidence in their abilities to thrive in their new roles within the Wing Zone organization.”
The duo has already begun work and are implementing their vision and strategies in their respective departments. The collective goal is to get 250 units producing $1 million per year by 2025, and establish a reputation for Wing Zone as a category leader in the restaurant franchise industry and as the wing shop that gets people the best wings the fastest.
For more information about a Wing Zone franchise opportunity, please visit wingzonefranchise.com.
