Amy Elder CFE

Amy Elder is the Head of Franchise Expansion & Strategic Infrastructure for Galardi Group, the portfolio company behind Wienerschnitzel, Hamburger Stand, Tastee-Freez, and Bigfoot Fries. In her role, Amy sits at the intersection of franchise growth, operational discipline, and scalable infrastructure, helping brands expand not only with momentum but also with the systems, governance, and compliance framework needed to support sustainable growth.

With more than eleven years of franchising experience and over twenty years in development, design, real estate, and construction, Amy brings a unique architect’s lens to franchise expansion. Her background spans traditional and non-traditional development, multi-unit growth, franchise administration, operations compliance, legal administration, and cross-functional process improvement. She specializes in building playbooks, approval structures, and operational systems that enable franchise brands to grow responsibly while protecting brand integrity.

Prior to joining Galardi Group, Amy served as Senior Director of Franchise & Operations Compliance at Papa Johns, one of the world’s largest pizza delivery companies. She previously held franchise administration and development leadership roles with Focus Brands, supporting brands including Auntie Anne’s, Carvel, Cinnabon, Jamba, McAlister’s Deli, Moe’s Southwest Grill, and Schlotzsky’s. Earlier in her career, she was an Enterprise Manager at Inspire Brands, supporting development across Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s, and Rusty Taco. Her broader experience also includes roles with Living Spaces, Colliers International, and Hooters.

Throughout her career, Amy has led cross-functional teams across multiple brands and development functions, partnering with executive leadership, legal, operations, real estate, construction, and franchise development teams to align growth strategy with operational execution. She is known for creating scalable systems that reduce friction, improve compliance, support sophisticated franchisees and investors, and help transform brand vision into market-ready growth.

Amy is also actively involved in the franchise community. She is a member of the International Franchise Association and has held leadership roles with the Women’s Franchise Committee and Women’s Franchise Network, including involvement with the Atlanta chapter and current support for the Tampa chapter. She is also a member of the Women’s Foodservice Forum. Her passion is helping franchise systems grow with clarity, discipline, and long-term value for franchisees, partners, brands, and customers.