Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue I, 2015 | Page 18
BY HELEN BOND
W
Top Domino
“To be the best, you’ve gotta beat the best”
hen Domino’s veteran Michael “Mike” Orcutt made
the switch from corporate
executive to franchisee he
was, he admits, a “little nervous” about
how the managers of the nine Atlanta
pizza stores he purchased in 1990 would
welcome their new boss. Orcutt gathered the group in a small hotel meeting
room and gave them their first assignment: name his new company.
“I said, ‘You are the ones who are
going to have to make it work. So let’s
come up with something that we can
be proud of and have fun with,’” recalls
Orcutt, a self-described quick decisionmaker. The managers brainstormed
some 200 monikers before selecting
Cowabunga, Inc.
Orcutt, who previously led U.S. store
operations for the country’s secondlargest pizza chain, tacked on “Team” to
the front of the name and never looked
back. With 101 stores, Orcutt operates
the largest singly-owned Domino’s franchise in the U.S.
His passion for business starts with
people. “We want the word ‘team’ in everything we say,” he says. “Not because
we talk about team, but because to us,
Team Cowabunga is about everyone
having the commitment to do well.”
The Team Cowabunga mantra, “To
be the best, you’ve gotta beat the best,”
is paying off. The company has 1,700
employees and locations in three states
(Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina) and reached a milestone with the
opening of its 100th store in late 2014.
With 40 years invested in the brand,
NAME: Michael “Mike” Orcutt
TITLE: CEO
COMPANY: Cowabunga, Inc.
NO. OF UNITS: 101 Domino’s
Pizza
AGE: 58
FAMILY: Single, 3 children: Stacy,
29, Michael 27, Cami, 25
YEARS IN FRANCHISING: 40
years with Domino’s Pizza;
franchisee since 1990
YEARS IN CURRENT POSITION: 24
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