Gelatissimo has bolstered its senior executive team with four new appointments ahead of the gelato brand’s planned expansion and brand refresh.
Anthony Shina is the new Australian general manager, Wendy McManus takes on the mantle of general manager of international, John Mellas is appointed national retail operations manager and Ethan Flowers heads up property and franchise development.
Gelatissimo CEO, Filipe Barbosa, said global expansion is at the heart of the company’s strategic plan for the year ahead.
“We will celebrate 20 years of successful growth in 2022 and feel the time is now right to really ramp up our international presence and continue our Australian expansion. Our growing team of highly experienced and skilled senior leadership members will allow us to achieve this.”
Anthony Shina has extensive experience as a hands-on executive on multi-site portfolios within the food and hospitality and banking sectors. He has worked with leading brands such as Oporto, Red Rooster, Chicken Treat, ANZ Banking Group and Westpac Group.
In his most recent role at craveable brands, Shina led the development, design and restaurant growth strategies across three QSR brands and he has real estate and franchising, store growth, retail operations and customer experience.
Wendy McManus is a culture-focused executive leader with retail experience for brands such as T2 Tea and Zambrero. In her career McManus has focusd on customer excellence, entering new markets, launching new business initiatives, and delivering innovation to customers.
John Mellas’ experience spans 27 years, working with company-owned and franchise brands including RFG, McDonalds, craveable brands, Oporto and Krispy Kreme. He brings a philosophy of business building through exacting standards, coaching and attention to detail.
Ethan Flowers joins Gelatissimo after four years with Zambrero where he managed a pipeline ranging from 20 to 40 new restaurants per year and worked with franchisees to secure new leases, lease renewals and rebranding initiatives.
