International Franchise Association announced that Steve Romaniello has been named as the new chairman. Romaniello accepted the chairman's gavel during the 53rd IFA Annual Convention this week in Las Vegas. Romaniello has more than 25 years of experience with top brands in the franchise industry. As managing director of Roark Capital Group, Romaniello is actively involved with its investments in FOCUS Brands, Wingstop, Corner Bakery, McAlister's and Arby's. Prior to joining Roark, Romaniello was CEO of FOCUS Brands.

The International Franchise Association announced that Bill Grubb, CPA, will join the organization as Senior Vice President, Finance, Administration and Conferences. Bill Grubb brings a wealth of finance, human resources and organizational operations experience to the IFA. Grubb has over 30 years of corporate and trade association experience in finance, administration, information technology and human resources. Most recently, Grubb served as a department head (Senior Associate), Facilities Liaison, for Booz Allen Hamilton, where he managed budgeting, equipment procurement, installations and infrastructure configurations for new facilities across the United States. He also has served as Director of Finance and Administration for the Montgomery County Association of REALTORS (MCAR), Comptroller for Lane and Edson, P.S., a Washington area law firm, Director of Finance, Administration and IT for the American Federation of Information Processing Societies (AFIPS) and as Senior Auditor for Arthur Andersen and Company.

Aziz Hashim, President & CEO of National Restaurant Development (NRD) Inc., based in Atlanta, Ga, has been elected Secretary of the International Franchise Association, placing him in the leadership chairs of the Association. The International Franchise Association is the world's oldest and large organization representing franchising worldwide. IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees and companies that support the industry in marketing, law and business development. Hashim will assume his position Feb. 20, 2013 at the conclusion of IFA's 53nd Annual Convention in Las Vegas. He has been active in the association for many years in a variety of roles, including serving on the Board of Directors, the Franchisee Forum, the strategic planning Blue Sky Group, and the Credit Access Taskforce. He most recently assumed the chairmanship of the franchisee working group of the IFA Franchise Relations Best Practices Taskforce. In his new position, upon approval of the IFA Board of Directors, Hashim will have the opportunity to move through the leadership chairs and become IFA Chairman in 2016.