NEW ORLEANS — Ballard Brands, LLC, whose restaurant portfolio includes brands WOW Café American Grill, PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans, The Original City Diner, Deuce McAllister’s Ole Saint Kitchen & Tap, Richard Fiske’s Martini Bar and Boardhouse Serious Sandwiches, recently appointed Matthew Salmonson (executive vice president of finance, inventory and outlet for Williams Sonoma Brand), Dale Scofield ChFC®, CLU®, APMA®, CRPC®, (managing partner/ financial advisor with Jones, Cannon & Scofield, a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial, Inc.) and Marty Schweitzer (CEO and owner of Network Designs, Inc.) to its Board of Advisors.
Salmonson, Scofield and Schweitzer will join Ballard Brand Owners Paul, Steven and Scott Ballard to complete the Board.
The Board of Advisors will act as a resource for company executives, providing counsel on issues and questions raised by owners, directors and management at Ballard Brands, and encourage and support the exploration of new business ideas. They will work to develop an understanding of the business; market and industry trends; provide unbiased insights and ideas from a third-party point-of-view; monitor business performance; impose challenges to directors and management that could improve the business; provide social networking platforms for directors and the company; and encourage the development of a governance framework that enables sustainable growth of the company.
“These three gentlemen possess the experiences, knowledge, skills and business savvy needed to provide our team with fresh perspectives and strategic insights as we move into the future,” Peter J. Boylan III, president of Ballard Brands, LLC, said.
Salmonson is 25-year veteran in the retail industry with a passion for technology. He has held roles with many iconic retail brands, spending 19 years at Gap Inc., where he held executive management positions across the entire portfolio of brands – Banana Republic, Old Navy and Gap Inc. While at Gap, Salmonson was part of the leadership team that entered China and significantly increased the ability of Gap to grow its brands internationally. He was recognized as one of the 40 most influential people in the history of Gap Inc. In 2010, he joined the team at Restoration Hardware and was part of the management team that led the company to a very successful IPO in 2012. While at Restoration Hardware, he significantly improved operations through his talented teams and the strategic implementation of technology, reps said.
Currently, Salmonson is the executive vice president of finance, inventory and outlet for Williams Sonoma Brand in San Francisco, California. He is an investor, advisor and board member for several companies ranging from retail optimization software to healthcare. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama where he currently serves on the Culverhouse School of Business Board of Visitors. He resides in Marin County, California with his wife of 22 years, Rebecca and his three children.
With 17 years of financial services experience and 26 years in business, Scofield brings a deep understanding of the complex issues in financial planning as it relates to building, growing, protecting and preserving family’s wealth. As a chartered financial consultant (ChFC), chartered life underwriter (CLU), accredited portfolio manager (APMA-Masters) and chartered retirement specialist (CRPC), Scofield’s clients benefit from being educated and informed of solutions made simple by working through the process of evaluating investment options and implementing those strategies to meet and exceed expectations short, mid and long term. Scofield works with many different types of individuals, families and business owners in different times of their lives to capitalize on opportunities to save more of what they are making now and preserve what is wanted and/ or needed for a legacy to last into the future. Wealth accumulation and cash flow, tax, accumulation strategies for those goals that are important, retirement and estate planning are all focal points he works with his clients on as part of an on-going relationship.
Scofield is a native of New Orleans and has been in Dallas, Texas since 1997 after several years in the Northeast. He is married to Deana Scofield, PharmD, and has two amazing children, Camden and Marina, he said.
Schweitzer serves as the president, CEO and owner of Network Designs, Inc. (NDi), a 22-year-old IT company that has faithfully provided the federal government with IT support, reps said. In his capacity as CEO and president, Schweitzer works to ensure NDi meets its long term strategic goals. Schweitzer has more than 33 years of senior executive management and leadership experience at every level in the United States Military and civilian industry. He retired as a Brigadier General in 2014 from the United States Army. His final active duty assignment was deputy director for regional operations, J3, joint staff, the Pentagon, where he managed the day-to-day global military risk for our nation.
Schweitzer is a 1985 graduate from Old Dominion University (BS), VA and a 1995 graduate of Indiana University, Indiana where he earned a MS in Education, Instructional Systems Technology. He is a 2006 graduate of the National War College, where he earned the distinction of Distinguished Honor Graduate while securing a MS in National Security Strategy. He served in operational and command assignments at every level in the military and has participated in eight combat and operational tours in Panama, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Africa, and Afghanistan. In his spare time, Schweitzer assists senior military officials to transition out of the military into the civilian workforce.
Ballard Brands formed in December of 2012 and has since experienced tremendous company growth. The company’s restaurant portfolio collectively totals more than 170 locations across the United States and internationally (in both traditional and non-traditional models) and continues to grow.
Dale Scofield
Marty Schweitzer
