Sign in

You're signed outSign in or to get full access.

Roger Gondek

Chief Operating Officer at Twin Hospitality Group
Executive

About Roger Gondek

Roger Gondek, age 67, is Chief Operating Officer of Twin Hospitality Group Inc. (Twin Peaks/Smokey Bones) and has served in this role since July 2017. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Southern Connecticut State University and has over 40 years of restaurant operations experience at La Cima Restaurants (Twin Peaks franchisee), Hooters of America, and Hazzard Burdick Group . Company-level results during his tenure show FY2024 revenues of $353.8M versus $230.9M in FY2023 (YoY growth ~53%), while EBITDA declined to $15.2M from $25.3M YoY, indicating top-line growth with margin pressure; TSR was not disclosed in the proxy or 10-K excerpts reviewed ].

MetricFY 2023FY 2024
Revenue ($USD)$230,867,000*$353,801,000
EBITDA ($USD)$25,317,000*$15,185,000*

Values retrieved from S&P Global for asterisked cells.

Past Roles

OrganizationRoleYearsStrategic Impact
La Cima Restaurants, LLC (Twin Peaks franchisee)EVP, OperationsJun 2011 – Jul 2017Led operations across multi-state Twin Peaks franchisor footprint (FL, AL, GA, SC, NC, TN)
Hooters of AmericaDivisional Vice PresidentOct 2001 – Feb 2011Oversaw divisional operations for national casual dining chain
Hazzard Burdick GroupVP, OperationsApr 1996 – Oct 2001Operational leadership in restaurant portfolio

External Roles

No external board seats or public company directorships disclosed for Gondek in reviewed filings .

Fixed Compensation

  • Not individually disclosed for Gondek in the FY2024 Summary Compensation Table; NEOs listed were the former CEO (Hummel), CLO (Mingus), CDO (Locey), and CFO (Kuick) .
  • The proxy states that, aside from the CEO’s agreement, the Company has no other written employment agreements with employees, implying at-will arrangements for other executives, including COO .

Performance Compensation

Incentive TypeGrant DetailPerformance MetricsVesting
RSUs/Options (Company awards as of FY2024 YE)None outstanding for Company shares as of Dec 29, 2024 Not applicableNot applicable
FY2024 Option ExercisesNone by named executive officers Not applicableNot applicable
  • June 2025 one-time RSU awards were granted to non-employee directors and certain consultants; no RSU/option awards to Gondek are disclosed in those grants .

Equity Ownership & Alignment

  • Individual beneficial ownership for Gondek is not itemized in the principal stockholders table; the table covers >5% holders, directors, NEOs, and the group total (2.3% for all directors and executive officers) .
  • Insider Trading Policy: hedging is discouraged; short-sales and margining of Company stock are prohibited—reducing pledging risk via margin accounts .
  • Clawback Policy: Section 16 officers (which includes COO) are subject to recovery of erroneously-awarded incentive compensation for three years preceding a required restatement .

Employment Terms

  • No written employment agreement disclosed for Gondek; Company confirms only the CEO has a written agreement and “no other written employment agreements” exist .
  • Severance/change-of-control terms are not disclosed for Gondek; non-compete/non-solicit terms are disclosed only for the CEO .

Investment Implications

  • Pay-for-performance visibility: Lack of individual disclosure for Gondek’s salary, bonus targets, and equity awards limits alignment analysis; FY2024 Company-level incentives were active for NEOs, but COO was not disclosed—monitor future proxies for inclusion as NEO .
  • Selling pressure: No Company equity awards outstanding at FY2024 YE and no FY2024 option exercises imply limited near-term insider selling pressure tied to vesting for execs (including COO) in that period .
  • Alignment and governance: Anti-hedging posture is partial (discouraged, not banned), but short-sale and margining prohibitions mitigate pledging risk; clawback coverage for Section 16 officers is a positive governance signal .
  • Retention risk: Absence of a disclosed employment agreement or severance/change-of-control terms for COO suggests standard at-will employment without contractual retention economics; compensation committee oversight exists, but Twin is a controlled company (FAT Brands holds ~98.5% voting power), which can influence compensation practices and strategic direction .
  • Execution context: Significant securitization debt service and covenant obligations create operational pressure; COO execution on store-level economics is pivotal amid required cash sweeps from equity offerings—this macro constraint can drive short-term decision-making and incentive design over time .

Data gaps to monitor: (1) future inclusion of COO in NEO disclosure; (2) any RSU/option grants post-June 2025 to executives; (3) Form 4 filings for ownership/transactions; (4) adoption of stricter anti-hedging/pledging policies and ownership guidelines in subsequent filings.

Citations: