Charles Watson is the Chief Executive Officer at Tropical Smoothie Café and focuses on the sustainable growth of the franchise system with current goals of 1500 units, $1M Average Unit Volume and 18% average unit profitability. Prior to ascending to the CEO role, Charles was the Chief Development Officer for Tropical Smoothie Café. Charles was responsible for all aspects of Franchise Development, Real Estate, Design & Construction, Franchise Administration and Legal. Under his leadership, the Tropical Smoothie Cafe system grew from 265 open units to 725 open units. A veteran franchise professional, Charles has worked for several hospitality-related companies including Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), US Franchise Systems, Inc. and Hospitality Real Estate Counselors (HREC). Charles began his career as Director of Franchise Development for US Franchise Systems, Inc. developing the Microtel Inns, Hawthorn Suites and America’s Best Inn’s hotel brands. As a Vice President for US Franchise Systems / Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Charles was responsible for all re-licensing activities, lead generation and sales management strategy. In his time with IHG, Charles held positions of increasing responsibility in the strategic services and global sales groups where he assisted in various strategic projects such as franchisee e-commerce integration, brand compliance, and the launch of a global automated RFP management system. Charles also spent time as a hotel real estate broker with Hospitality Real Estate Counselors as a senior manager of hotel brokerage operations in the southeast. Charles is a graduate of The Hotel School at Cornell University (BS) and also holds a Masters of Business administration (MBA) from The Terry School of Business at The University of Georgia. Charles lives in Atlanta with his wife, son and daughter.