When candidates evaluate a restaurant franchise, they usually compare numbers. They study average unit volumes, territory availability, investment requirements and more. But far fewer ask a different question: Who will still be helping me make decisions 10 years from now?
For global fast food brand Jollibee, the answer is one of the brand's biggest competitive advantages.
While many restaurant companies have cycled through multiple leadership teams in recent years, Jollibee's North American organization is led by executives who have spent decades building the brand from the inside. That continuity has created something difficult to replicate: institutional knowledge forged through years of operating restaurants, navigating economic cycles and continuously refining the business.
For franchisees making a multi-decade investment, that stability may be just as valuable as the brand's industry-leading unit economics.
"In a world where many companies facing a challenging operating environment frequently turn over their leadership, what we have is uncommon," said Peter Wright, vice president of franchising for Jollibee North America. "There are many examples of well-known brands that have had multiple CEOs in a short span of time. But the average tenure on the Jollibee leadership team is well over 25 years and, in many cases, over 30. That tenure signifies a seasoned team with a strong track record of delivering great business results. It's also a team that has been together through the business's ups and downs. It has risen to meet the challenges and is moving forward."
Jollibee's leadership bench wasn't assembled overnight.
Beth Dela Cruz, president of Jollibee Group North America, joined the organization in 1989 as a restaurant shift manager and spent decades advancing through operations leadership. After joining the broader Jollibee leadership team in 2005, Dela Cruz has held multiple roles across Honeybee, Red Ribbon Bakeshop USA, Chowking Food Corporation (USA), Tokyo Teriyaki Corporation and MKSA LLC before becoming president of JBM LLC in 2022. Along the way, she served as vice president and business head before advancing to president in 2019, giving her firsthand experience overseeing operations across multiple restaurant concepts.
"Operational excellence is the heart of the restaurant business," Dela Cruz said. “To be a good leader, you need to understand what happens on the ground, what the team members and managers are experiencing every day.”
That philosophy extends throughout the organization. Rather than building a strategy from a corporate office disconnected from operations, Jollibee's leadership team spent years inside restaurants, supporting operators and refining systems before introducing franchising in North America.
The result is a leadership culture grounded in practical operating experience, not theory.
Leadership continuity is valuable only if it translates into better support for franchisees. "Our team has experienced many challenges to the business and has proven that they work together in an effective way to meet those challenges and overcome them," Wright said. “The collective experience and wisdom accumulated over the decades really help the team stretch and grow and continue to respond to an ever-changing customer environment.”
Mackey Dimaculangan has been with the organization since 2013, when she joined Honeybee as director of operations. She became vice president of operations in 2020 and has now spent over a decade working across the brand’s restaurant operations.
That institutional knowledge influences virtually every part of the franchise system, from real estate strategy and restaurant development to supply chain planning, operations, marketing and franchise support.
It's also one reason Jollibee waited until after operating more than 100 company-owned restaurants across North America before launching franchising. "We didn't rush into franchising," Wright said. “By operating corporate units for decades, we learned how to be successful in North America before asking franchisees to join the system.”
That consistency matters as Jollibee accelerates its North American expansion toward its goal of 500 restaurants by 2030.
Jollibee's leadership philosophy reflects a broader belief that restaurants ultimately succeed through people.
Throughout its history, the brand has emphasized operational discipline, culture and long-term relationships over rapid expansion. Those priorities helped the company build more than 100 corporate restaurants across North America before introducing franchising. They still shape how the organization selects franchise partners today.
"When you have a leadership team with over 300 years of operating experience, you're not just getting a franchise opportunity," Wright said. “You're getting the benefit of that collective operating experience.”
For experienced multi-unit operators making an investment designed to last decades, that may be one of Jollibee's most overlooked competitive advantages.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/jollibee.
Jollibee
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Many members of Jollibee’s leadership team have been with the brand for decades, bringing longtime operating experience to the franchise system as it expands.
When candidates evaluate a restaurant franchise, they usually compare numbers. They study average unit volumes, territory availability, investment requirements and more. But far fewer ask a different question: Who will still be helping me make decisions 10 years from now?
For global fast food brand Jollibee, the answer is one of the brand's biggest competitive advantages.
While many restaurant companies have cycled through multiple leadership teams in recent years, Jollibee's North American organization is led by executives who have spent decades building the brand from the inside. That continuity has created something difficult to replicate: institutional knowledge forged through years of operating restaurants, navigating economic cycles and continuously refining the business.
For franchisees making a multi-decade investment, that stability may be just as valuable as the brand's industry-leading unit economics.
"In a world where many companies facing a challenging operating environment frequently turn over their leadership, what we have is uncommon," said Peter Wright, vice president of franchising for Jollibee North America. "There are many examples of well-known brands that have had multiple CEOs in a short span of time. But the average tenure on the Jollibee leadership team is well over 25 years and, in many cases, over 30. That tenure signifies a seasoned team with a strong track record of delivering great business results. It's also a team that has been together through the business's ups and downs. It has risen to meet the challenges and is moving forward."
Jollibee's leadership bench wasn't assembled overnight.
Beth Dela Cruz, president of Jollibee Group North America, joined the organization in 1989 as a restaurant shift manager and spent decades advancing through operations leadership. After joining the broader Jollibee leadership team in 2005, Dela Cruz has held multiple roles across Honeybee, Red Ribbon Bakeshop USA, Chowking Food Corporation (USA), Tokyo Teriyaki Corporation and MKSA LLC before becoming president of JBM LLC in 2022. Along the way, she served as vice president and business head before advancing to president in 2019, giving her firsthand experience overseeing operations across multiple restaurant concepts.
"Operational excellence is the heart of the restaurant business," Dela Cruz said. “To be a good leader, you need to understand what happens on the ground, what the team members and managers are experiencing every day.”
That philosophy extends throughout the organization. Rather than building a strategy from a corporate office disconnected from operations, Jollibee's leadership team spent years inside restaurants, supporting operators and refining systems before introducing franchising in North America.
The result is a leadership culture grounded in practical operating experience, not theory.
Leadership continuity is valuable only if it translates into better support for franchisees. "Our team has experienced many challenges to the business and has proven that they work together in an effective way to meet those challenges and overcome them," Wright said. “The collective experience and wisdom accumulated over the decades really help the team stretch and grow and continue to respond to an ever-changing customer environment.”
Mackey Dimaculangan has been with the organization since 2013, when she joined Honeybee as director of operations. She became vice president of operations in 2020 and has now spent over a decade working across the brand’s restaurant operations.
That institutional knowledge influences virtually every part of the franchise system, from real estate strategy and restaurant development to supply chain planning, operations, marketing and franchise support.
It's also one reason Jollibee waited until after operating more than 100 company-owned restaurants across North America before launching franchising. "We didn't rush into franchising," Wright said. “By operating corporate units for decades, we learned how to be successful in North America before asking franchisees to join the system.”
That consistency matters as Jollibee accelerates its North American expansion toward its goal of 500 restaurants by 2030.
Jollibee's leadership philosophy reflects a broader belief that restaurants ultimately succeed through people.
Throughout its history, the brand has emphasized operational discipline, culture and long-term relationships over rapid expansion. Those priorities helped the company build more than 100 corporate restaurants across North America before introducing franchising. They still shape how the organization selects franchise partners today.
"When you have a leadership team with over 300 years of operating experience, you're not just getting a franchise opportunity," Wright said. “You're getting the benefit of that collective operating experience.”
For experienced multi-unit operators making an investment designed to last decades, that may be one of Jollibee's most overlooked competitive advantages.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/jollibee.
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