ASHOK KUMAR PARAMANATHAN

· Oversaw daily operations across multiple premium casual dining outlets, ensuring consistency in product quality, customer service, and brand standards.

· Developed and implemented operational SOPs tailored to the brand’s high-end casual dining concepts, maintaining a distinct edge in a competitive market.

· Led recruitment, onboarding and training of front and back-of-house teams, fostering a culture of accountability, hospitality, and performance excellence.

· Collaborated with culinary teams to launch limited-time offerings and seasonal menus, balancing innovation with operational feasibility and cost control.

· Drove store-level P&L management including labour optimization, food cost control, and waste reduction strategies, resulting in improved EBITDA performance.

· Conducted regular performance reviews and audits to ensure compliance with hygiene, safety, and brand protocols.

· Implemented inventory control systems and supply chain coordination to ensure seamless kitchen operations and zero stock-outs.

· Engaged directly with guests and staff to drive a customer-obsessed culture; used feedback loops and mystery audits to enhance service delivery.

· Partnered with marketing and brand teams to execute local store promotions and events that boosted footfall and increased average check value.

· Spearheaded new store openings, from site readiness to team setup and go-live support, ensuring each location launched with operational stability.

· Built a strong middle management layer through succession planning and capability-building programs.

Franchisee Onboarding

• Designed and executed comprehensive onboarding programs for new franchisees, ensuring seamless integration into brand standards and operations.
• Conducted in-depth training sessions on SOPs, compliance, and brand values to establish strong operational foundations.
• Developed onboarding checklists and performance benchmarks to track early-stage franchisee progress.

Operational Excellence

• Implemented process optimization strategies that improved efficiency and reduced operational costs across multiple franchise locations.
• Ensured compliance with brand guidelines and quality standards through regular audits and performance reviews.
• Leveraged data-driven insights to improve franchisee KPIs, customer satisfaction, and unit-level profitability.

Regular Meetings & Stakeholder Communication

• Scheduled and led monthly operational review meetings with franchisees to track performance, resolve issues, and align on goals.
• Created structured communication frameworks for consistent updates, support, and feedback exchange between franchisor and franchisees.
• Facilitated cross-functional collaboration between departments (training, marketing, supply chain) to support franchisee growth

• Company Overview: Cloud Kitchen
• New Market launch and expansion, led the launch and expansion of Casper Netherlands by opening 5 stores in 6 months. Included site selection, design of store lay out and operations flow, staff hiring and training by liaising with remote HQ team in Belgium
• Achieved 2 million euros revenue in 9 months into opening, exceeding budgeted numbers
• Designed and implemented SOPs, daily/weekly dashboards, bonus structure, staff planning system, compliance audit, store training framework and recognition policy for Netherlands which was later implemented in also other countries
• Launched 10 new brands and 30 products and upskilled team on the same
• Ensured growth by partnering with Uber, Thuisbezorgd, Deliverect and managed the relationships
• Franchise Development - Franchised 5 brands into Casper and Casper's brands into 2 external brands
• Overall stakeholder management and alignment between vendors, suppliers, customers (B2C and B2B)
• Talent Management - Hire and coached team of 2 district managers, 6 store manages and 6 team leaders 50 plus crew members
• Cloud Kitchen

• Drove end to end location operations with a focus on budgeting, sales (In store, delivery platforms and Vascobelo E-commerce channel), financial control and stock management and staff scheduling
• Managed the set KPI's - NPS, customer experience, sales and profit metrics
• Hired and empower team members to achieve goals and maximize their potential and to create a positive and productive team environment

• Drove regional business by setting up goals for the region to meet the daily, weekly and monthly KPIs based on budget and operational planning
• Analysed KPI metrics (sales, profit, people, customer and process) and derived reports for the region on daily, weekly and monthly basic and steered decision making. Tracked and reported sales/transaction/new products/customer inflow growth YoY/MoM for the region and conducted deep dive analysis
• Together with leadership formulated and executed strategies for reviving under performing stores
• Collaborated with cross-functional teams (i.e. supply chain, projects, quality, marketing, finance, audit, business development and HR) to achieve KPIs and built relationships with customers and vendors
• Training the store operations team to optimize product quality, customer experience and team productivity in a diversified and fast-growing environment via monthly and quarterly 121's
• Achieved EBITDA target across 20 stores during the tenure at KFC
• Delivered BSC balance score card rating for the region at 4.31/5 and won the best Area coach in the country award
• Revised design elements to upgrade store displays, offering a modernized look and feel; resulting in 31% increase in customer satisfaction index
• Launched new products liaising with R&D and Marketing leading to 15% sales increase and 6% margin improvement
• Reduced costs by 4% through successful implementation of cost-saving initiatives around resources and utility

• Owned franchisee relationship and P&L responsibility for a diverse footprint of stores by being the bridge between the franchiser and franchisee
• Formulated standard operating procedures for the new franchise owners
• Ensured stock availability based on projections of sales figures, market insights and sales trends
• Delivered business plan ensuring food safety, compliance, and Franchisee Agreements
• Drove efficiency by implementing automated systems (billing software) and improved productivity
• As a result of high EBIDTA and sales growth I was rewarded to operate my own store with no franchise cost
• Measured and reported outcome 110% of EBIDTA
• Certified Multi-Unit Owner at Subway

• Business development based on operational assessment and feasibility study
• Assessed training needs and ensured training compliance for the region
• Developed implemented and maintained quality assurance protocols
• Tracked staffing requirements and hired new employees as needed
• Successfully opened 18 additional stores and grew from management trainee to Area Manager in 5 years
• Recognized twice as Best Area Manager in the country for selling highest merchandise products