Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> May 19, 2003
STEVE ROMANIELLO is the President and Chief Executive Officer of
Carvel Corporation. He joined Carvel in February 2002 as
President of the franchise and food service division, and was
promoted to lead the brand's nationwide expansion in April 2003.
Prior to accepting the post at Carvel, Mr. Romaniello was
President and Chief Operating Officer of US Franchise Systems
(USFS), where he headed the company's sales; franchise operations
including design and construction; franchise support and quality
assurance; administration; human resources, and purchasing
departments. Appointed to the position in June 2000, he was
formerly Executive Vice President, Franchise Sales, Operations
and Administration. Joining USFS at its inception, Mr. Romaniello
played an integral part in the company's remarkable growth. In
just five years, USFS grew from one brand with 27 hotels in nine
states to three brands and over 1,100 hotels open or in
development in 50 states and five countries. Hotels magazine
listed USFS as the nation's eighth largest hotel franchisor in
terms of numbers of hotels. Before joining USFS, Mr. Romaniello
was Holiday Inn Worldwide's youngest Vice President, responsible
for franchise sales in the US, Canada and the Caribbean, as well
as for the franchise services, support and training for 1,700
hotels in the region operating under the Holiday Inn and Crowne
Plaza brands. Under his direction, Holiday increased its
franchise sales from 60 in 1991 to 300 franchises in 1995. From
1988 to 1991, he held various positions with Days Inn of America.
After serving as brand manager of the Daystop product, he became
Regional Director of franchise sales in New England, where he set
company-wide sales performance records. By age 23, he was
promoted to Vice President of Franchise Sales, regularly
exceeding sales quotas and contributing to a world record of 415
franchises sold in one year. A native of Stamford, Conneticut,
and a 1988 Tufts University graduate, Mr. Romaniello resides in
Atlanta with his wife, Gina, and two sons. Profile
Mr. Romaniello: Carvel Corporation has 425 retail locations, and
we distribute our famous ice cream cakes in nearly
