Sphera Franchise Group is the largest group in the Romanian food service industry, owning the companies that operate in franchise system KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands in Romania and KFC in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, and in some areas in Italy.
The group owns more than 160 restaurants in the three markets and employs approx. 5,000 people. Sphera Franchise Group is the only HoReCa player present on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, where it was listed in 2017, under the symbol SFG, which is included in the main BET index, as well as in the FTSE Global Microcap.
Development through relevance and trust.
Be the leaders in the Romanian food service industry and become an important player at European level.
Offer customers a memorable experience, backed by excellent services and unique products prepared by passionate teams.
Our success comes from teamwork. We work with the colleagues to implement and adopt the best practices; with the customers to offer them excellent experiences; with the community to create the premises for development.
We increase confidence in the human potential. We trust our colleagues and their positive intentions. We offer confidence to our customers through the quality of our products and services. We are responsible and accountable for our actions.
We appreciate every achievement. We celebrate our successes and those of others. We are grateful for the opportunities for personal development. We are grateful to the team for their support.
We act promptly and look forward to the future. We focus on priorities and solutions. We do not tolerate inequities.
We grow people and business. We encourage employees to grow both personally and professionally. We grow management teams directed to SMART & HEART & COURAGE & GREEN. We build SMART restaurants for our customers.
Călin Ionescu is the Chief Executive Officer of Sphera Franchise Group, starting with October 2020. He studied Marketing and Management at the Romanian-American University in Bucharest and has almost 30 years of experience in Horeca, having started in 1994, with the opening of the first Pizza Hut restaurant in Romania. He held various positions in the operations area, from Restaurant Manager to General Manager, and in 2012 he was promoted to Director of Operations. Throughout this period, he actively participated in the expansion process of KFC and Pizza Hut in Romania and the Republic of Moldova, and in 2016, he laid the foundations for the development of KFC in the north-east and north-west of Italy.
Valentin Budeș is the Chief Financial Officer of Sphera Franchise Group, since May 2019. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Economic Studies in Foreign Languages, French section, at the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest and holds a master’s degree in International Accounting from the same university. He is a senior member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and holds a certification in risk management issued by the Institute of Internal Auditors (USA). He is also an expert accountant member of CECCAR and an insolvency practitioner, being a member of UNPIR. Before entering the restaurant industry, Valentin worked in financial consulting, at KPMG Romania, as well as within the financial division of the telecommunications companies of the Telekom Romania group (Cosmote, Telemobil, Germanos and Nextgen). He was also responsible for the financial activities of the Medicover Romania Group for approximately 3 years.
Monica Eftimie is the Chief Marketing Officer of Sphera Franchise Group, since August 2017. She graduated summa cum laude from Northwestern University (USA) and holds an MBA from Georgetown University (USA). Monica has been working within the companies of the Group for over 10 years. She was Marketing Director of Pizza Hut and KFC, from which position she developed and coordinated the implementation of local marketing campaigns for these brands, and she coordinated the successful launch in Romania of Taco Bell, the famous Californian brand with Mexican-inspired food. She was also Marketing Director for Paul bakeries in Romania. With over 14 years of experience in the Quick Service Restaurant industry, Monica began her marketing career with internships at Accor Group (France) and Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising and developed complex marketing campaigns for some of the most well-known industry names such as McDonald’s.
Mr. Hoancă is a non-executive member of the Board of Directors of Sphera Franchise Group since 2018, as well as the Chairman of the Board since October 2020. He is also chairman of the Group’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee. Born in 1956, Mr. Hoancă graduated from the Faculty of Foreign Languages, University of Bucharest, being licensed in philology. Since 1995, he has held management positions in various companies such as ANA Group, EUROM, Exclusiv Comp, Baneasa Developments, Wellkept Group, Tatika Investments, Parc Hotels.
Mr. Repidonis is a non-executive member of the Group’s Board of Directors since 2019. Born in 1961, Mr. Repidonis graduated from the Faculty of Planning and Economic Cybernetics within the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest. His professional career has been in the field of executive management, development projects, product marketing and accounting. Between 1994 – 1997 he was a shareholder, administrator, and General Manager of Comtra Intl Distributor in Romania, and between 2004 – 2010 he was a shareholder and General Manager of El Greco restaurant in Bucharest. Mr. Repidonis was also a shareholder and responsible for the development of the Romanian franchise of the Lacoste and Gant brands between 2001 and 2015. Since 2008 he is a shareholder, administrator, and general manager of Cafe Nescafe cafes, and since 2015 he is general manager of Casa Doina restaurant in Bucharest. Mr. Repidonis is a member of the Board of Directors and an administrator at Băneasa Developments.
Mr. Ene has been a non-executive member of the Board of Directors since February 4, 2022. Born in 1975, he graduated from the Faculty of Business and Tourism at the Academy of Economic Studies, later obtaining a Diploma in Hospitality Management at École hôtelière de Lausanne, in Switzerland. Over time, he has participated in numerous courses and programs for professional development and specialization. He is currently General Manager and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Practic SA, Business Operational Director at Star Consulting & Training SRL and Trade Operations Manager at Euroacces Foundation. In the past, he was also part of the boards of directors of Obor Market & Trade Center, Universal SA, and at the beginning of his career, for a long time, he worked in the hotel sector, holding positions from Front Desk Officer to Deputy General Manager.
Mr. Lefter is an independent, non-executive member of the Board of Directors of the Sphera Group since November 2018. Born in 1980, he graduated from the Faculty of Finance, Insurance, Banking and Stock Exchanges at the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest and holds the title of CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) awarded by CFA Institute since 2008. He is currently Managing Partner at RSL Capital Advisors, an investment consulting firm, but also a member of the boards of directors of companies such as Mundus Services AD Bulgaria or Eurohold AD Bulgaria. He was also a member of the boards of directors or supervisory board of important companies such as SIF Muntenia, Cemacon Zalău, CONPET Ploiești, TeraPlast Bistrița. At the beginning of his career, Mr. Lefter held several positions at ING Bank, being among others analyst at the bank’s headquarters in the Netherlands, after which he was Senior Equity Sales Trader at EFG Eurobank Securities and Swiss Capital Romania.
Mr. Cârmaciu has been a non-executive member of the Group’s Board of Directors since May 2017, as well as Vice-Chairman of the Board since October 2020. He is also the Chairman of the Company’s Audit Committee. Born in 1980, he has a degree in economics, being specialized in Finance, Banking and Accounting. He is also a graduate of postgraduate courses specializing in International Economic Relations – “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” Academy, postgraduate courses “Security and National Defense”, National Defense College-National Defense University “Carol I”.
Over the years, he graduated a series of professional training courses in Banking – European Banking Certificate (EBTN – European Banking & Financial Services Training Association); Diploma in Banking – issued by the Romanian Banking Institute and the National Bank of Romania; General Management – Open University Business School London; Coaching and Leadership, Financial Management – Financial Analysis, Financial Valuation of Companies.
Between 2006 and 2012, he held management positions and functions in various areas of banking activity, including Loans and Risk – Risk Assessment and Management, Treasury, Business Development, Customer Relationship Management, Preventing and Combating Money Laundering.
Starting with 2013, Mr. Cârmaciu is a director at Computerland Romania SRL, being responsible for Strategic and Financial Management. Between 2013 and May 2020, Mr. Cârmaciu held the position of advisor to the General Manager of Griro S.A.
