Stephen Vaughan is chief financial officer of Sonic Corp., an Oklahoma City-based, publicly-held company that owns, operates and franchises Sonic Drive-In restaurants. He is responsible for accounting and financial reporting, investor relations, all treasury functions and risk management.
Vaughan has worked at Sonic since 1992 in various positions, including internal auditor, assistant controller and controller. Prior to assuming his current position, he served as vice president of planning & analysis and treasurer. He previously worked at Ernst & Young as an auditor.
Vaughan earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Oklahoma. He also is a certified public accountant. Vaughan serves on the board of the Oklahoma FFA Foundation.
Vaughan lives in Goldsby, Okla., with his wife, Merrie Lynn, and their two children.
Paige S. Bass
Vice President and General Counsel
Alan Cantrell
Vice President of SRI Field Finance
Jeffry D. Carper
Vice President of Field Marketing
Carolyn C. Cummins
Vice President of Compliance and Secretary
Steve Dobbs
Vice President of Real Estate
Robert J. Geresi
Sr. Vice President - Field Services
Keith O. Jossell
Vice President of Franchise Finance
William T. Pierquet
Vice President of SRI Development
Claudia San Pedro
Vice President of Investor Relations and Treasurer
Richard A. Schwabauer
Vice President of SRI Operations
Paul S. Sinowitz
Vice President of Purchasing and Distribution
C. Nelson Taylor
Vice President of Operation Services
David A. Vernon
Vice President of Franchise Sales
J. Alan Walker
Vice President of SRI Operations
Terry D. Harryman
Controller
M. Anne Burkett
Principal Internal Auditor
J. Clifford Hudson
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Sonic Corp.
Clifford Hudson has spent the last 21 years of his career at SONIC Corp., an Oklahoma City-based, publicly-held company that owns, operates and franchises SONIC Drive-In restaurants (NASDAQ: SONC). Today, he is chairman of the board, chief executive officer and president of this public company with 3,000 franchised and company-operated drive-in restaurants. SONIC's common stock is included in the S&P MidCap 600 Index.
Hudson was named chief executive officer (CEO) and president of SONIC Corp. in April 1995 and became chairman of the board in January 2000. Previously, he served the company in a variety of capacities, including general counsel, chief financial officer and chief operating officer.
During Hudson's tenure as CEO of SONIC, average drive-in sales have grown from $602,000 to $964,000 and brand awareness has doubled. The company's revenues are five times greater and market capitalization (the public value of its common stock) has grown from $185 million to $2.0 billion. He has appeared on CNBC's Wakeup Call, Squawk Box and Power Lunch programs, as well as Bloomberg's news programs on numerous occasions.
Hudson has been affiliated with many non-profit and community activities. He served as chairman of the board of directors of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), a presidential appointment, from 1994 - 2001. He now serves as Chairman of the Oklahoma City School Board, a position created in 2000 as part of a $530 million turnaround of a 40,000 student, inner city Oklahoma City Public School system.
Hudson graduated from the University of Oklahoma, which he attended with Phi Beta Kappa and President's Leadership scholarships. In 1998, Hudson was honored as a Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Oklahoma College of Arts and Sciences, where he serves as a member of the Board of Visitors. In 2001, he received the University's Regents Award from its Board of Regents.
Hudson graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he was a member of the legal honor society Phi Delta Phi. In 1979, he served as an editor of the International Law Journal, a publication of the Association of Student International Law Societies. He is also a member of the board of visitors of Georgetown University Law Center.
Hudson and his wife, Leslie, an epidemiologist, live in Oklahoma City with their two sons.
Scott McLain is president of SONIC Corp. McLain joined SONIC in April 1996 as treasurer and was named chief financial officer in August 1997. He was promoted to executive vice president in January 2004.
Prior joining SONIC Corp., McLain was treasurer for Stevens International, Inc. in Fort Worth, Texas. He also served as manager for Price Waterhouse in Dallas, Texas, and as vice president of Team Bank (Bank One) in Fort Worth, Texas.
McLain serves on the board of directors for the Arts Council of Oklahoma City and on its Executive Committee as Treasurer.
McLain is a graduate of Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where he received a bachelor's degree in business administration with an emphasis on accounting and marketing. He also earned a master's degree in business administration in finance from the University of Texas at Austin. McLain is a certified public accountant.
McLain lives in Edmond, Okla., with his wife, Dana, and their two sons.
Michael A. Perry
Chief Operating Officer
Mike Perry is Chief Operating Officer of SONIC Restaurants, Inc.
He joined SONIC Corp. in 1998 as vice president-Operations Services. He then served as vice president-Field Services in September 1999. He assumed his current position in September 2004.
Prior to joining SONIC, Perry served three years as regional vice president for Au Bon Pain. He is a current member of the Oklahoma Restaurant Association and also serves on its board.
A native of St. Louis, Perry earned a bachelor's degree in business from Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, Ill. He resides in Edmond, Okla., with his wife, Janet, and three children.
Mitchell W. Gregory
Senior Vice President of Concept Development and Distribution
Mitch Gregory is Senior Vice President of Concept Development and Distribution for SONIC Corp.; the Oklahoma City-based headquarters of SONIC, America's Drive-In. He assumed the position in September 2006. Gregory is primarily responsible for the retrofit, a key initiative for continued momentum of the brand. Gregory also oversees the Purchasing area, a critical part of the business with almost $1 billion a year in system purchases.
Gregory served most recently as chief information officer for SONIC September 2004. Gregory was responsible for market research as well as SONIC's management information services (MIS) function including systems analysis, programming, telecommunications and computer/auxiliary equipment operations.
Gregory joined SONIC in 1995 as director of market research. He was promoted to vice president- Brand Development where he oversaw product development, market research and SONIC's 2000 retrofit program. In September 2001, he assumed the title of vice president-Information Services. Prior to joining SONIC, he was a business analyst with Pepsico for seven years.
Gregory earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the Oklahoma State University and a masters of business administration from the University of Tulsa. A native of Prague, Okla., he and his wife Vicki now reside in Edmond, Okla.
Andrew (Drew) Ritger
Senior Vice President Development
Drew Ritger is senior vice president- Development for SONIC Corp., the Oklahoma City-based headquarters of SONIC, America's Drive-In. Named to his current position in September 2004, Ritger is responsible for the A&E process in addition to oversight of real estate and the management of area development agreements, franchise sales, franchise finance, and purchasing.
Ritger joined SONIC in 1996 as vice president Purchasing and Distribution, was promoted to vice president Quality Assurance in 2001 and added Franchise Development to his responsibilities in April 2002.
Prior to joining SONIC, Ritger held leadership positions with Fast Food Merchandisers, Inc., HJ Heinz and Ralston Purina.
A past member of the National Association of Purchasing Managers, Ritger served on its regional board of directors. He also served as a board member for the Oregon Grain & Food Association, the Council of Logistics Management and the MS Society of Oklahoma. He is a recent graduate of Leadership Oklahoma and is a member of that organization. Ritger holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from Oklahoma State University. A native of El Dorado, Ark., Ritger lives in Edmond, Okla., with his wife, Elizabeth, and three children.
Nancy L. Robertson
Senior Vice President-Franchise HR Development
A native of Oklahoma City, Nancy's 29-year career has encompassed both the for-profit and non-profit sectors of business.
Beginning January 1, 2007, Nancy began serving as Senior Vice President of Franchise HR Development for SONIC Industries., the Oklahoma City-based national headquarters of SONIC, America's Drive-In. In her new role, she oversees the human resource development for the chain's franchise community. This is a new area of service for the company as SONIC strives to help its franchisees build the best small businesses in America. Nancy welcomes the opportunity to build a new function within the organization that will add value to SONIC's franchise community long term.
Previously, Nancy served as Senior Vice President-People and Communications for SONIC Corp. In that role, she oversaw SONIC's human resources/corporate administration functions for the Oklahoma City corporate office and all field-based employees, in addition to guiding SONIC's corporate communications efforts.
In her role on the People side of the business, Nancy has led efforts to evolve SONIC's human resource function from a personnel department into a strategic, spirited organization that maximizes human capital potential in the talent base of its employees. Her leadership in the Talent Management process has been culturally sensitive while creatively driving the systems and processes necessary to manage human capital in a comprehensive way. In particular, she has provided the strategy and resources necessary to migrate systems and processes from a manual, paper laden environment.
In providing oversight to SONIC's Corporate Communications function, Nancy and her team are responsible for all public, community (including corporate philanthropy), media, as well as all internal and external communications and crisis management. As chair of SONIC's crisis management team, Nancy has guided the company's crisis preparedness by taking a proactive and strategic approach to protecting SONIC's customers, employees, stockholders and the brand. She also serves as the company spokesperson for the more than 3200-unit chain of fast-food drive-in restaurants.
Nancy serves on Board of Visitors for the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts at the University of Oklahoma, on the Executive Committee of Allied Arts Foundation, and the Crown Heights Edgemere Heights Neighborhood Association. Most recently she served on the Board of the Cimarron Alliance Foundation; on the leadership team for the Human Capital & Diversity Project, an economic development initiative of the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce; on the Executive Committee of the Oklahoma Arts Institute; on the steering committee for the Holocaust Remembrance Project, and on the steering committee for Project KIDS, the program that led to MAPS for KIDS, a citywide tax initiative to reinvest in public education.
Nancy was a member of Class XIV of Leadership Oklahoma. Previously, she served on the Arts Advisory Committee for the Oklahoma City Public Schools, the steering committee for A+Arts, A Talent Show!, on the boards of the Red Bud Foundation and Automobile Alley, a Main Street revitalization project in downtown Oklahoma City. Nancy is an active tutor at Wilson Arts Integration School (located in Oklahoma City) having tutored students there for 10 years.
Prior to joining SONIC more than 13 years ago, Nancy worked for five years at the Oklahoma Arts Institute, the non-profit organization that produces the nationally recognized Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute and the Oklahoma Fall Arts Institutes at Quartz Mountain.
Her career began as a reporter and senior news producer at the CBS affiliate in Oklahoma City. Following her work as a reporter/producer, Nancy was recruited into the corporate sector as a public relations professional for both Southwestern Bell Telephone and Cellular One/AT&T Wireless.
Nancy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from Oklahoma State University with a minor in Art History, and a Masters in Business Administration from Oklahoma City University, a private Methodist school.
E. Edward Saroch
President, Sonic Restaurants, Inc
Eddie Saroch is President, Sonic Restaurants, Inc.
Saroch has served in various capacities including: director - Operations for Sonic Restaurants, Inc. (SRI), Sonic's division of company-owned drive-ins in 1995; regional vice president for SRI in 1998; regional vice president - Field Services for SRI in 2000; and as vice president - Field Services in 2003.
For more than 16 years, Saroch managed multiple programs at Hardee's Food Systems prior to joining Sonic.
He earned his bachelor's degree in business economics from the University of Missouri at Rolla, Mo. Saroch is a member of Leadership Oklahoma City, Class XXV.
A native of Rolla, Mo., Saroch currently lives in Oklahoma City, Okla., with his wife, Karla, and their two children, Jessica and Jonathon.
Renee G. Shaffer
Vice President, Chief Information Officer
Renee Shaffer is Vice President, Chief Information Officer for SONIC Corp., a position she assumed in September 2006. Shaffer is responsible for SONIC's management information services (MIS) function including systems analysis, programming, telecommunications and computer/auxiliary equipment operations.
Shaffer served as treasurer for SONIC Corp., since joining the company in February 2005. In this position, Shaffer was responsible for cash management, treasury and risk management functions. She also maintained a working relationship with multiple banks and lenders that work with SONIC.
Previously, Shaffer held leadership positions with Mid-Continent Life Insurance Company and Hobby Lobby. Additionally, she has six years of auditing and financial consulting experience and is a certified public accountant.
Shaffer earned her Bachelor of Science degree in accounting at Oklahoma State University. A native of Edmond, Okla., Shaffer currently lives in Oklahoma City.
V. Todd Townsend
Chief Marketing Officer
V. Todd Townsend, a native of Durant, Oklahoma, joined Sonic Industries Inc. as Chief Marketing Officer in August 2005.
Townsend has extensive experience in developing brands and business results in a range of industries. Prior to Sonic, Townsend spent a number of years in the technology sector as Vice President of Sales and Marketing with Yahoo! and as Assistant Vice President of Small Business Marketing with Sprint. Townsend spent the first nine years of his career at Leo Burnett Company, one of the nation's largest advertising agencies, based in Chicago. At Leo Burnett, Townsend worked with a number of leading brands including Miller Brewing, Kellogg's, Pillsbury and McDonald's.
Currently, Townsend is involved in several organizations including Leadership Dallas, Oklahoma State University Board of Directors, Northwestern University Alumni Association and the Prothro Family Center Board of Directors.
Townsend has a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Oklahoma State University and a Masters from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He currently lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with his wife, Dr. Carter Townsend and their young daughter.