STEELE SMILEY - EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD, FOUNDER, OWNER
Steele has served as Chairman of the Board and controlling shareholder of numerous companies including CRISP & GREEN®, STALK & SPADE®, and STEELE Fitness, and also served as Chief Officer of Lift Brands, a Global wellness company that built and managed multiple fitness concepts. Under his leadership the company added over 1000 units in over 20 countries. At the time of his departure in 2017, Lift Brands was the largest privately held wellness franchisor in the world with over 2500 locations in 25 countries.
Over the past decade, Steele has been called a Chief Executive Officer, Entrepreneur, Investor, Board Member, Creator, Founder, Chairman and Builder of Brands Worldwide. Having successfully worn all the hats, Steele is a seasoned executive that has done business all over the globe with expertise ranging from building world-class brands to world-class teams; from investment banking to international development; from transforming businesses to transforming lives.
Steele has an undergraduate degree in Finance and Marketing from the
McIntire School of Commerce from the University of Virginia.
EXECUTIVE TEAM
KELLY C. BALTES - CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Kelly C. Baltes has over 28 years of restaurant industry leadership experience in both founder-led and private-equity brands. Most recently serving as President of Maggiano’s Little Italy, Baltes is an industry veteran with 28+ years of experience and a proven track record of establishing scalable business models and significantly growing revenues across restaurant formats and brands in various stages of growth. Previous to Maggiano’s Little Italy, Baltes held the Chief Executive Operator position at Good Smoke Restaurant Group that merged Jim ‘N Nick’s and Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, with system revenues of $200 million. Earlier in his career, Baltes served as Chairman and CEO to transition the founder-led Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen into a more nationally positioned chain, resulting in tripled revenue growth. Baltes also held operations leadership roles at Darden including Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Pizzeria UNO
MEREDITH BAUER - CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER & CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER
After spending years in private practice, Meredith formed her own law firm working with entrepreneurs and franchise entities. She quickly became consumed with one of the firm's clients, Anytime Fitness, and thereafter went in-house as its General Counsel. While there, she managed all of the legal affairs of the company and its related entities, and assisted Anytime Fitness in growing to over 3,000 franchised locations in the US and internationally, and the acquisition and launch of its sister brand, Waxing the City. Over time, Meredith decided to return to a more entrepreneurial experience, and rejoined her own private law firm, where she met Steele.
HALEY GATES - CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER
As the senior leader of our Recruitment and Culture teams, Haley has been instrumental in creating a unique, world-class employment experience to ensure we have the best-in-class talent to drive our brand missions. Prior to STEELE BRANDS®, Haley served for 3 years as the Director of Talent for CRISP & GREEN®, where she was responsible for recruitment and talent management at all levels. Previous experience at The Estee Lauder Companies and a national event staffing corporation gives Haley over 10 years of experience working with and managing top talent across a broad range of industries.
BILL FAIRBANKS - PARTNER, CHIEF CULINARY OFFICER
Bill Fairbanks has dedicated more than two decades to the Culinary and Hospitality industry. As a chef he is dedicated to creative innovation, is passionately seasonal and continually inspired by classic cuisine. He has held many positions in a wide range of kitchens, from fine dining to high concept bars and wellness focused fast-casual restaurants. In 2016 he was excited to join CRISP & GREEN®. He helped to design the culinary program to reflect CRISP & GREEN®’s mission to offer chef crafted and scratch made nutritious foods to conveniently fit into a modern wellness driven lifestyle. He believes that access to healthy eating is the future of the culinary industry and is dedicated to working with STEELE BRANDS® to create a diverse landscape of foods in the wellness sector
TAMMY BAILEY - CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Tammy has over 16 years of progressive accounting and finance experience in a broad range of industries. Most recently, Tammy was CFO at Kris Lindahl Real Estate, LLC where she oversaw accounting, HR, IT and the facilities departments for the Real Estate Brokerage, Title Company, Advertising Agency and Home Remodeling businesses. Prior to Kris Lindahl Real Estate LLC, Tammy served as VP of Finance for Creative Apparel Concepts for six years where she was a critical piece to their leadership team in creating efficiencies and finding cost savings in excess of $200K per year for the rapidly growing wholesaler. She’s worked in both start-up, entrepreneurial companies and large, multi-billion dollar companies.
TRAVIS MOE - CHIEF RESTAURANT OFFICER
With over 20 years of experience in the fast casual food industry, Travis has become a key component in driving the operational excellence of STEELE BRANDS® restaurants. Prior to joining the team, Travis was a veteran member of the Chipotle brand and directly contributed to the growth and success of the company at all levels, from working in the kitchen to overseeing and leading teams on a national level. By leading through empowerment, Travis has built restaurant teams that equally understand their value and the importance of systems and processes, ultimately resulting in more positive and sustainable results.
JONATHAN GRAND - VP OF DEVELOPMENT
Jonathan Grand joins STEELE BRANDS® as the VP of Development. Jonathan is a proven strategic leader with 20+ years of diverse experience and expertise in the restaurant industry. He is responsible for real estate analytics and strategic planning, real estate development, design and construction. Prior to joining STEELE BRANDS®, he served as the Corporate Director of the franchise program with Whataburger Restaurants. Prior to that, Jonathan held multiple operations leadership roles with Darden across multiple brands.
LILY PHILLIPS - PARTNER
Lily has over 15 years of experience in wellness and hospitality, first beginning her career alongside Steele Smiley at STEELE Fitness. There, she focused on marketing of both the fitness and retail aspects of the business, contributing to the successful growth of company. In addition, Lily spent time in the Client Service department of STEELE Fitness where she developed a passion for providing world-class hospitality. In 2016, Lily helped create the CRISP & GREEN® brand, working in both the marketing and operations departments. Today, she continues to work across all STEELE BRANDS® companies.
