Management Team

Razdan has extensive experience growing and leading successful multi-unit companies and franchise businesses. Most recently, he was President of Americas and India for The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, a global specialty coffee and tea house company operating in 30 countries across 1,200 cafes. Formerly, Razdan held senior operations leadership roles with respected brands and franchisors Yum! Brands (Pizza Hut and KFC), Dine Brands (Applebee’s) and Sweetgreen.

In each of his prior posts, Razdan demonstrated his ability to combine strategic acumen, branding expertise and a keen ability to effectively understand and support the needs of franchisees, with his passion for energizing teams and building strong cultures. As President at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Razdan restructured the company for growth, leading all cafe operations, CPG and e-commerce. He delivered the company’s strongest EBITDA results in over a decade by developing strong franchise relationships, repairing unit level margins and transforming the company’s culture. As COO at Sweetgreen, Razdan helped lead rapid growth, while fine-tuning at the unit level to ensure efficiency and profitability. His primary responsibilities centered on store operations and innovation, automation, and food safety, with oversight of IT, People and Facilities. At Applebee’s, as SVP and COO, he led the turnaround of the portfolio which was 1800+ restaurants across 35 franchisees in 50 states. And, with YUM! Brands, he held several business and functional leader roles across three continents.

Razdan earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Physics and Computer Science from St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai, India. He also completed a post-graduate program in Hotel Administration with ITC Hotels and holds a certificate from Cornell University in QSR Management. 

Jake Singleton joined The Joint in 2015 as corporate controller and was appointed Chief Financial Officer in 2018. During his tenure, he has been responsible for the full accounting operations, including the production of timely financial statements and related SEC filings and maintenance of a comprehensive set of internal controls designed to mitigate risk and enhance the accuracy of the company's reported financial results. He brings technical accounting knowledge, robust experience in Sarbanes-Oxley internal control implementation and compliance, and a strong SEC reporting background, all of which helps to guide The Joint in its growth as a public company.

Previously, Singleton was a senior manager with Ernst & Young. During his 10 years in its Assurance & Audit practice, he focused on serving public companies and assisting in raising capital through debt and equity offerings. Singleton also gained international experience in EY's Capital Markets transactional accounting group during a two-year rotation in the United Kingdom, where he focused on US GAAP & SEC reporting compliance for foreign entities raising capital in the United States. 

Singleton earned both a BA and masters of accounting from the University of Arizona and holds an active certified public accountant (CPA) license in Arizona and California.

Charles Nelles joined The Joint in 2022. Prior to that, he held the role of vice president of technology at American Express Global Business Travel, where he was responsible for oversight of its global technology infrastructure and service delivery processes supporting corporate travel, expense management, meetings & events and global business consulting. Nelles also held various executive and technology roles at Western Union, in addition to serving in various leadership capacities at several healthcare organizations, such as The Children's Hospital of Denver and PacifiCare Health Systems.

Nelles earned a BA in business administration from the University of Phoenix in 2003. He is also a certified project management professional (PMP) per the Project Management Institute.

Lori Abou Habib joined The Joint since August 2023 with over 15 years in marketing. Prior to The Joint, Abou Habib served for six years as senior vice president and chief marketing officer of SONIC® America's Drive-In®, part of the Inspire Brands family of restaurants. In her role, she led all marketing strategy for SONIC, which included national marketing, media, digital strategy, marketing technology and product innovation. A 15-year veteran of SONIC, Abou Habib earned several promotions with increasing responsibility. Previous to SONIC, she worked at CKE Restaurants, Inc. and Eateries, Inc.

Abou Habib earned her BA in business administration from the University of Central Oklahoma and MBA from Webster International University in London.

Beth Gross joined The Joint in September 2024 with over two decades in human resources. Most recently, Gross held the role of Vice President of Human Resources at Spear Education, a private equity-owned dental education organization based in Scottsdale, Ariz. She owned all aspects of organizational development and evolution, including talent acquisition strategy and execution, and established and led the employer branding strategy. Under her guidance, Spear Education was a five-time "Top Companies to Work For in AZ" selection.  

Gross earned a BA in corporate communications from Arizona State University.

Eric Simon has been with The Joint since November 2016. He has 20 years of franchise experience with brands such as AAMCO, FRANdata and The UPS Store/Mail Boxes Etc. Simon was also a franchisee and area developer for Extreme Pita, which enabled him to gain important experience for the role he now has with The Joint.

Simon earned a BA from the University of Rhode Island.

Dr. Steve Knauf began working at The Joint in 2011. After spending four years as a chiropractor with The Joint, he took the role of senior doctor of chiropractic for 13 clinics. He has received several promotions and is now vice president of chiropractic and compliance. In this role, he ensures regulatory and standards compliance for the franchise network while contributing to the growth of the system through strong relationships with chiropractic schools, associations and boards.

Dr. Knauf earned a BS and Doctor of Chiropractic from Northwestern Health Sciences University.  In August 2017, he was appointed by the governor to serve on the Arizona Board of Chiropractic Examiners, a position which he continues to hold.