Dan Doulen, CFE

With more than 20 years of restaurant franchising experience, Dan Doulen serves as Senior Director of Franchise Business Development at Golden Corral, where he leads franchise growth and development efforts across the United States and supports select international growth initiatives. A Certified Franchise Executive (CFE), Dan works closely with internal teams and franchise partners to drive both single- and multi-unit expansion and to attract high-quality operators aligned with the brand’s long-term growth strategy. Prior to Golden Corral, Dan led franchise development for Wings & Rings and played a key role in launching its sister fast-casual concept, Noble Chicken. His work included re-engineering real estate and site selection processes and refining development strategy to support franchisee growth. At Golden Corral, Dan is closely involved in communicating and supporting the brand’s refreshed development incentive platform, while also helping educate and engage prospects and franchisees around flexible and smaller-format prototypes, conversion opportunities, non-traditional locations, and technology-enabled lead generation. He helps ensure the iconic brand continues to expand with strong performance, disciplined growth, and high-quality franchise partners.