Our Team
Harry T. Rose
HARRY T. ROSE, Chairman
Mr. Rose is a graduate of The University of Scranton with a bachelor's degree in Accounting. He began his career in the restaurant and hospitality industry with the Marriott Corporation. During a twenty-year association with Marriott, he progressed from a trainee position to that of a senior executive. His career with Marriott included the position of vice president of finance for the Roy Roger's Division and vice president and general manager for over 250 company and franchise-owned Roy Roger's restaurants in the mid-Atlantic and New York markets. In 1985, Mr. Rose purchased five Roy Roger's restaurants from Marriott and founded H. T. Rose Enterprises, Inc.
Mr. Rose is chairman of The Rose Group, a restaurant management company established in 1985 encompassing all his active restaurant concepts over the course of his franchising career including Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar, Boston Market, Corner Bakery Cafe, The Shannon Rose, Einstein Bros. Bagels, Johnny Carino's Country Italian and Roy Roger's. The company currently operates Applebee's restaurants in four states and two Shannon Rose restaurants in New Jersey. Over the years, Mr. Rose has received numerous significant awards from Dine Brands, Inc. including "Franchisee of the Year" in 1997, 2004, and 2015 as well as served as chairman for multiple councils for the Applebee's brand. The Rose Group also won numerous awards with Corner Bakery Cafe including "Franchisee of the Year" for 2015 as well as many awards for previous concepts they ran over the years.
Mr. Rose has been recognized and awarded for his personal and civic commitments to serving the local community, various businesses, social and philanthropic organizations. Over the years, he has been a member of multiple boards of directors and board of trustees, including New Jersey Manufacturer's Bank, Pennsylvania Restaurant Association, St. Mary's Medical Center, The University of Scranton, and the New Jersey Business and Industry Association. He held the chairmanship of the Mercer County Chamber of Commerce from 1995 to 1997 and remained active with the organization as a member of the board of directors until 2004.
Jason Rose
Bonnie Lippincott
Christopher J. Tobia, CPA
Christopher J. Tobia, CPA
Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
Christopher Tobia began his career with Price Waterhouse in 1991. In 1996 Christopher joined Fleer/SkyBox International LP, a sports and entertainment trading card and die-cast vehicle company and was responsible for all aspects of accounting, finance, and treasury functions as well as sales, operations and human resources.
Christopher joined The Rose Group in August 2007 as vice president & chief financial officer with responsibilities overseeing all aspects of accounting, finance, and office administration. In September 2018 he was named executive vice president. Christopher is a graduate of The Catholic University of America with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and is a licensed certified public accountant in Pennsylvania.
Christopher resides in Hopewell, New Jersey with his wife and three children. He coaches youth baseball and basketball in the community and serves as a volunteer member of the board of directors of the Hopewell Basketball Association and the Hopewell Valley Baseball and Softball Association.
Paul Rockelmann
Paul Rockelmann, Vice President, Human Resources
Paul Rockelmann’s professional experience includes human resources positions at Prudential Insurance Company and the Trump Taj Mahal Casino and Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Paul joined our company in 1995 and progressed through a number of human resources roles culminating with a promotion to vice president of human resources in 2008. His responsibilities include overseeing all human resource and risk-related functions.
Paul is a member of the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) and received professional accreditation by obtaining his Senior Professional of Human Resources (SPHR) and Society of Human Resources Management – Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) designations.
Paul is a graduate of Richard Stockton College with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Temple University with a master’s degree in Human Resources.
Catherine Chuck
Catherine Chuck, Vice President, Marketing & Public Relations
Cathi's restaurant career started with employment as an assistant manager with Marriott Family Restaurants, Olive Garden, Stuart Anderson's Black Angus, and Lonestar Restaurants.
She joined the company in 1996 as an assistant manager, was promoted to general manager in 1997, marketing manager in 1999, director of marketing in 2001, and vice president of marketing and public relations in 2011. Her responsibilities include overseeing all aspects of marketing and public relations for the company.
Cathi has been a member of the MEG (Marketing Executives Group) with the National Restaurant Association, a board member for The Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce, and a 1989 graduate of Johnson & Wales University with a bachelor's degree in Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Management.
Cathi was born and raised in Holland PA, graduating from Council Rock High School as a member of the class of 1985. She resides in Doylestown, PA with her husband and son. She enjoys the beach, golf, reading, gardening, and wine collecting.
Harry Karopoulos
Harry Karopoulos, Vice President, Operations, Region 2
Harry began his restaurant career with a New York franchisee of Nathan's Famous. In 1981, he joined the restaurant division of Hebrew National Inc. where he was promoted to general manager. In 1986, he founded a food brokerage company. Clients included Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs. In 1991, Harry joined Solow Inc., one of the early franchisees of Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar as a general manager and was later promoted to area director.
Harry joined The Rose Group as an area director in 1999. In 2002 he was promoted to regional director of operations with responsibilities overseeing Applebee's unit operations, people development and training. Harry K focuses on restaurant R&M projects in addition to daily operations excellence and team development in his region. In 2014, Harry was honored for his contributions and dedication to the company with a promotion to executive director of operations. He was later promoted to vice president of operations in 2017.
Harry is a graduate of Queens College with a bachelor's degree and St. John's University with a master's degree in Finance.
He resides in Long Beach Island, NJ with his wife and four children. He enjoys traveling (to Greece especially), remodeling projects and outdoor activities.
Tom Lowe
Tom Lowe Vice President, Operations, Region 1
Tom began his career in 1990 as a general manager of Charley's Brother restaurant in Hopewell, New Jersey. He joined Boston Market in 1992 and became an area manager in 1994. From 1998 to 2003 Tom was owner and chef of Cambers Café in Princeton, New Jersey.
Tom joined the company in 2003 as a manager and was promoted to general manager. In November 2005 he was promoted to area director and is responsible for the operations of several Applebee's units. Tom was later promoted to Director of Operations for Region 1 in April 2014. He was promoted again to Vice President of Operations in 2017.
Tom resides in Princeton, New Jersey with his wife. He is a volunteer firefighter at the Pennington Volunteer Fire Department and volunteers as a coach for Lawrence Recreation Youth Soccer League. He enjoys golf, gourmet cooking and physical fitness.