When it comes to franchise and restaurant business, our experience is second to none. We provide owners and executive management teams the type of financial representation they need and deserve. Whether it is the sale of a business, raising growth capital, or a balance sheet restructuring, we know how to achieve successful outcomes. We have honed our expertise from years of deal execution as well as working on the front lines of the industry. In addition to our long history as investment bankers, our foundation is built upon our experience as franchisors, area developers, lenders, and private equity investors. This diverse background gives us the advantage of truly understanding the nuances of our clients’ businesses, making us the best at what we do.
Dean Zuccarello - CEO & Founder
Dean is the Founder of The Cypress Group. His background encompasses over 35 years of financial and transactional experience in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, strategic planning, and financing in the franchise and restaurant industries.
Dean has structured and completed hundreds of franchise and restaurant transactions over his career. He is well-respected as a leading authority in the Restaurant Finance arena and has written numerous industry articles, been quoted in various publications, and spoken frequently at major industry conferences.
Prior to founding The Cypress Group, Dean was the Vice President of Finance for Burger King Corporation. In this role, he was responsible for strategic development & planning, asset management, and all merger, acquisition & divestiture activity for the company worldwide. Dean was directly involved in the acquisition and divestiture of over 1,000 restaurants in his seven year career at Burger King Corporation.
Dean earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business and a Master of Business Administration degree from Nova Southeastern University. He is also a licensed CPA (inactive status) and holds the Certificate of Management Accounting (CMA) designation.
Dan Collins - Principal
Dan is a senior finance executive with over 35 years' experience in the restaurant and financial services industries. Most recently, Dan was Senior Vice President and Treasurer of The Wendy's Company, having responsibility for all capital-raising activities, cash and debt management, mergers and acquisitions, corporate development, franchising, refranchising, and development activities for this +$3 billion market cap company.
Dan has extensive experience in the formation and implementation of corporate strategy for both public and private companies. These strategies include growth initiatives, capital allocation and prioritization, and corporate finance alternatives.
Prior to Wendy's, Dan held similar roles with the combined Wendy's/Arby's group, Triarc Industries, and Arby's, Inc. Additionally, he spent 8 years as Senior Vice President of Finance for RTM Restaurant Group, which was the largest franchisee in the Arby's system with over 900 restaurants, as well as several regional quick service restaurant brands. Dan also has 15 years of middle market lending experience, including extensive exposure to both restaurant operating companies and franchisees.
Dan graduated from the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business with a Bachelor degree in Business Administration and Finance.
Alan Dillsaver - Principal
Alan's resume includes over 30 years of financial, mergers & acquisitions, and operational experience in the aerospace and information technology industries. Most recently, his focus has been on the restaurant industry, in which his financial expertise has been utilized in the valuations, acquisitions, divestitures, and recapitalization of businesses comprising of thousands of restaurants.
Prior to joining The Cypress Group, Alan was the Chief Financial Officer, and later, the Chief Operating Officer of Critigen LLC, a $100 million IT consulting and Managed Services company. Critigen was a spin-off of CH2MILL, the largest employee-owned engineering firm in Colorado. While in these positions, Alan oversaw all accounting, finance, contracts, human resources, and project delivery functions. He also worked closely with Critigen's lenders and its parent company, a private equity group.
During his career, Alan has been the primary focal point on both buy side and sell side transactions, and has extensive experience in complex financial modeling, forecasting, strategic planning, and cost management.
Alan holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Denver, and a Bachelor of Science degree from William Jewell College.
J.B. Hewetson - Principal
J.B.’s background encompasses a decade of M&A and private equity experience, as well as five years of restaurant development and franchise operations leadership. J.B. has structured and completed dozens of transactions in the middle and lower middle market, across a wide variety of industries with an emphasis on the consumer and retail industries.
Prior to The Cypress Group, J.B. was the Vice President of Franchise Development & Operations at Noodles & Company. In his role at Noodles & Company, J.B. built and led a franchise business segment to achieve industry-leading growth and operational performance, while also assisting the company in its IPO.
Prior to living in the Denver market, J.B. was an Associate at Heritage Partners, a private equity firm with approximately $2.0 billion in capital under management. Prior to Heritage Partners, J.B. was an analyst with CIBC World Markets in their Leverage Finance and Financial Sponsors Coverage Group. In these advisory and investment roles, J.B. worked to arrange or invest nearly $1.5 billion in debt and equity financing for public and private companies.
J.B. earned Bachelor of Science degree with a double major in Finance and Economics from Tulane University.
William Pabst - Principal
Bill is a franchise finance industry veteran with over twenty years’ experience. Bill has originated, structured, and closed over $2 billion in loans and sale leasebacks in the Franchise and Multi Unit Restaurant Industry, ranging from three of the largest Franchisee transactions ever completed, each in excess of $150 million, to smaller loans to literally hundreds of franchisees and chains.
Prior to joining Cypress, Bill was a Senior Vice President at GE Capital Franchise Finance for nearly 11 years, where he was consistently recognized by General Electric as a top performer in the franchise segment. Bill was also a founder of International Franchise Capital LLC (“IFC”), an affiliate of the investment banking arms of Deutsche Bank and Nomura Securities. IFC originated $600 million in securitized franchise, restaurant, c-store, and automotive services loans prior to selling the business to Heller Financial in 1999.
Bill holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University-Bloomington.
303-680-4141 ext. 104
wpabst@cypressgroup.biz
Nicole Zuccarello - Associate
Nicole began working with Cypress in early January 2015 after graduating from the University of Colorado. She has over 5 years of experience in the retail sector. Throughout her college stay, she worked for the clothing brand Free People, starting as a part time sales associate and ending as a full time manager for their Boulder location.
Nicole earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado.