NEW YORK, February 8, 2010 – Sentinel Capital Partners today announced that Sidney Feltenstein joined the firm as an operating partner, which increases to four the number of Sentinel’s operating partners. Mr. Feltenstein has worked closely with Sentinel since 2001 and currently is a director of Interim Healthcare, Inscape Publishing, Massage Envy, and Southern California Pizza Company. He also served as a director of Tony Roma’s prior to the sale of this business.
Mr. Feltenstein has had a successful career as a corporate executive and successful entrepreneur. In 1995, he led an private equity investment group that acquired A&W Restaurants. Under his leadership, the chain grew from 450 to almost 1,000 units in just five years. In 1999, FeItenstein led A&W’s purchase of Long John Silver’s. Under his leadership, A&W/Long John Silver’s sales grew five times and its operating profits grew by 40 times. The company was sold to YUM! Brands in 2002 in a highly successful transaction.
Previously, Mr. Feltenstein was EVP of Worldwide Marketing for the Burger King Corporation and is credited for reversing an eight-year decline in customer traffic. Before that, he spent 19 years at Dunkin’ Donuts in both operations and marketing positions. Most recently, he served as its Chief Marketing Officer.
Mr. Feltenstein is a past chairman of the International Franchise Association (IFA) and a former chairman of the IFA Educational Foundation. He also was the recipient of IFA’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Mr. Feltenstein is a Trustee of Boston University and Chairman of its audit committee. He received a BA degree from Boston University.
Sentinel Capital Partners is a private equity firm that specializes in buying and building smaller middle market companies in the United States and Canada in partnership with management. Sentinel targets consumer products, food and restaurants, franchising, manufacturing, and service businesses. Sentinel invests in management buyouts, recapitalizations, corporate divestitures and going-private transactions of established businesses with operating profit of between $5 million and $25 million.