Multi-Generational Franchisees Talk Nepotism and Ownership Transition Tips | Franchise News

It was never a given that Aaron Engler would take over as the leader of Border Foods, the 255-unit Taco Bell business his dad and uncle, Jeff and Lee Engler, had been building since the early 1990s.

“These guys always kept saying to me, ‘We don’t know if you’re the guy or not … we don’t do nepotism here,’” Aaron Engler said. “I always say to people, it was my opportunity to lose, and I absolutely think Lee and Jeff would let me lose that opportunity if I didn’t step up to the plate.”

Aaron Engler became president of Minnesota-based Border Foods in 2019 and added the CEO title in 2024, but he’d been working in the business for roughly 20 years, starting as a crew member and then helping with restaurant repairs.

“I was caulking toilets, painting restaurants, replacing tabletops, all that fun stuff,” he said during a Restaurant Finance & Development Conference session November 11. In deciding to pursue a career in the family business, he worked through the development, analytics and finance departments and was vice president of finance before his dad and uncle decided to transition ownership.

Jeff Engler said he “saw the detriments of nepotism” early in his career working for a different family business with four brothers and didn’t want to repeat those mistakes.

“We were always very guarded about showing any nepotism in our company or having people jump over other people. I know that Aaron is where he is because he earned it,” Jeff Engler said. When his son was named president, “I said to my brother, hey we’ve got to move out of our offices, because we’ve got to make a statement that there’s a change in the guard here.”

The younger Engler also replaced the entire Border Foods leadership team when he became president, his dad noted, because “he didn’t want legacy people there—he wanted his people. People that were gonna be with him for the next 10 and 20 years. His ability to lead and get the right people in the right seat, I think, has been one of our key successes of our company today.”

Tiffany Oder said she built “respect and clout” within the Desert De Oro Foods business her mom, Krystal Burge, and uncle, Mark Peterson, started with a single Taco Bell in 1982 before stepping into a leadership role. Oder and her brother, Chad Burge, expanded the company’s portfolio into Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, eventually operating 10 units before exiting that brand and turning their attention to the core Taco Bell and Pizza Hut businesses.

“My brother and I were going to do something different, just so people didn’t assume, oh they’re over here because they’re the children,” Oder said. “We did the Dickey’s thing and just put in the work.”

Oder is now president of real estate and investments while her brother is Desert De Oro’s president of development and operations. Their company operates more than 350 Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants.

Peterson and his sister each have three children, he noted, and about 10 years ago they began having annual family meetings to discuss not just the performance of the business and financials but also the history and culture of their company. They’ve tapped into consultant resources and done personality profiles, all with the aim of creating a solid succession plan.

“It’s really easy to transfer the business and money, but it’s hard to transfer the values, so we started out with that in mind,” said Peterson. He added it’s important to consider how the children and grandchildren who aren’t directly involved in Desert De Oro can still benefit from the wealth being generated.

Peterson and his sister began gifting their shares to a dynasty trust 10 years ago and they also set up a separate entity for their children and eventually their grandchildren to invest in.

“My advice is start early thinking about plan and hire a very good estate tax attorney,” said Sam Sibert, who bought 13 KFC stores in 1994 and has since grown his Northwest Restaurants portfolio to 221 units in KFC and Taco Bell. His sons, Brett and Adam, are now 50/50 partners in the business.

More than 15 years ago Sibert said he began the process of gifting and, using estate tax exemptions, selling stock in his company to his sons through a trust. By starting early, he emphasized, “you are able to transfer legally—and this is the current tax laws—a tremendous amount of wealth or value to your heirs, if that’s who you want.”

At Border Foods, because there are members of the next generation who aren’t part of the business, Aaron Engler said it’s been important to surround himself with a team and advisers he trusts, people who can help the family make decisions.

“The last thing I want to be left with, when me or Jeff are gone, is me knowing everything about the business with one position, and my three peers knowing nothing about the business with a different position,” he said.