Former Taco Johns CEO to Speak at e2e Wyoming Meetings in Gillette and Sheridan

The former CEO of Taco John’s International will be the guest speaker at e2e Wyoming’s September meetings in Gillette and Sheridan.

Barry Sims, currently an adjunct professor in the University of Wyoming College of Business, will speak Monday, Sept. 8, from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Gillette College Technical Center in Gillette; and again Tuesday, Sept. 9, from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Best Western Sheridan Center in Sheridan. To register for either meeting, go to https://www.uwyo.edu/wtbc/e2e-wyoming/.

Sims will discuss Taco John’s rise from a small family business to a large company. Taco John’s now operates and franchises more than 400 quick-serve Mexican restaurants across 25 states. In 2013, Sims retired as chairman and CEO of the Cheyenne-based company.

"Taco John's was founded right here in Wyoming and has experienced tremendous growth over the years,” says John Dick, Wyoming Technology Business Center (WTBC) assistant director. “Barry will share its success story as well as insights for entrepreneurs involved in a family business and franchising as a business model."

Sims joined Taco John’s in 1986 as chief financial officer after several years with the accounting firm of McGladrey & Pullen in Rapid City, S.D. He is a certified public accountant and graduate of the University of South Dakota.

He is a board member of Visit Cheyenne (Cheyenne Area Convention and Visitors Bureau) and recently served on the Wyoming Lottery’s Board of Directors during the lottery’s start-up phase. Sims also served as president of the Wyoming Lodging and Restaurant Association, and was a board member of Cheyenne LEADS for eight years.

E2e is an educational networking program with chapters in Laramie, Casper, Gillette and Sheridan. It is designed to improve the climate for the start-up and growth of entrepreneurial companies. Each e2e chapter meets bimonthly for 45 minutes of networking, followed by a 45-minute program. The programs include successful entrepreneurs telling their stories, panel discussion on relevant topics and advice from experts in a specific business.

The WTBC, a not-for-profit business incubator at UW, provides entrepreneurs with the expertise, networks and tools necessary for success, launched e2e as an educational networking program.

For more information on e2e, call the WTBC at (307) 766-6395.