Our Team

Kal Gullapalli

CEO

Kal Gullapalli is an Executive in the franchise space. He’s been involved in Orangetheory Fitness, European Wax Center, Dave’s Hot Chicken, VIO Medspa and Marco’s Pizza. With the help of his team, he plans to build MPZ Holdings into the best franchise organization in the country.
Originally from Bloomfield Hills, MI, Kal spent time on Wall Street before working in the franchise sector. He resides in Tampa, FL with his wife and 2 children.

Matthew Simonetti

VP of Operations

Matthew Simonetti has been in restaurant management for over 10 years and with Marco’s for the last five. He enjoys the industry because it is never boring; there are always challenges and changes to face. He also enjoys meeting the different people he interacts with daily.

Matt was born and raised on Long Island but has lived in South Carolina for six years. He is a new father to a little boy, and in his spare time, he likes to golf, fish, travel, and spend time with his family.

Colton Gray

Director of Operations

Colton was born and raised in Alabama and moved to South Carolina with his family in 2000. He has been in restaurant management for the last 7 years with Marco’s and recently transitioned to Dave’s Hot Chicken. He loves the restaurant industry because he gets to face new challenges and work to find solutions for any problems. In his free time he likes to spend his free time with family, golfing, or fishing.

Travis Redmond

Maintenance Supervisor

Travis was born in California. He and his family moved to South Carolina 22 years ago. Prior to Marco’s, Travis worked in sales, service and installation of HVAC. He has a 12 year old daughter, whom he adores. He currently lives in North Augusta. Travis has been with Marco’s for two years. Golfing, fishing, or anything outdoors is how he likes to spend his free time.

Karen Milbrandt

Controller

Born in Saskatchewan, Canada, Karen attended school in Saskatchewan and graduated in 1989.  She got her college degree in 1993 from Niagara College, Welland, Ontario.   After college she moved to the US and to Seattle Washington where she was employed by several different firms advancing her career.  During these years she gained multi-industry experience including marketing, retail, manufacturing and restaurant/food industry.

After relocating to North Charleston, SC.  Karen was employed at Harley-Davidson as a Senior Accountant and later changed jobs to work for Affordables Apparel.  Her most recent employer was BID Group Construction as Project Controller before joining the MPZ team.

She resides in Summerville, SC where she lives with her two spoiled Savannah and Bengal cats, Simon and. Oliver.  Another passion she has is for traveling.  She has been to Europe, South America and to many of the Caribbean islands and hopes to continue traveling in the future.

Megan Hall

Development Coordinator

Megan moved to Columbia, SC at six years old and graduated from a local Columbia high school in 2009. She has two daughters, Peyton and Kora, whom she spends all of her free time with.

Megan has a wide variety of employment and volunteer experience that has led her to love the fast pace of the restaurant business. Her career paths in Banking, Military Programs, Real Estate, and Construction have given her a wide variety of experience to develop strong business relationships and create programs and processes to further a strong business.

Megan loves to travel, especially to New Orleans, and loves anything to do with Criminal Psychology. One of her passions is supporting the SC Army National Guard as a Volunteer.

Celee Irons

Human Resources Coordinator

Celee is an experienced professional who has been working for Marcos for nearly 2 years. She initially started out as a driver but quickly transitioned into the role of HR Coordinator. As HR Coordinator, Celee has found a passion in helping others achieve their goals of joining the Marcos team.

Celee is a dedicated individual who takes pride in her work and is always willing to lend a helping hand. She is known for her excellent communication skills and her ability to build strong relationships with both colleagues and job candidates. Her attention to detail and organizational skills make her an invaluable member of the MPZ team.

In her free time, Celee loves spending time with her family, friends, and beloved dog.

Chloe Brothers

Accounts Payable Specialist

Originally from New York, (both City and upstate) Chloe came to South Carolina by way of Ohio to enjoy warmer weather and a slower pace of life.  Well, at least it is warmer!

She has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Monmouth University in New Jersey and after graduation worked in Public accounting for 3 years.  An opportunity to work for CBS in New York City came to her so she took it and didn’t look back.  From that introduction to broadcasting, Chloe spent almost 20 years in broadcast management in both radio and television.  In 1993 she took a break from full-time work to raise her youngest of three daughters who required some special attention. When they relocated to South Carolina in 2007 she felt it was a good time for her to restart a career and joined Evening Post Publishing in Charleston, first in the Business department for the Post and Courier and later as the Business Manager for the Community Newspaper Group in Summerville, SC.  In 2017, Chloe retired which was enjoyable for a period.  The Covid pandemic halted any travel plans made so she decided to find a new use for her time.  The opportunity to join MPZ fit that bill.

Chloe lives in North Charleston, SC with her family.  They enjoy time together, day adventures, games, movies and laughs.

Jenn Hodgson

Executive Assistant

Jennifer is a 20-year administrative professional with experience in a variety of industries. She’s originally from Northwest Florida and most recently moved to Birmingham, Alabama. She is a proud wife and mother of three amazing children, Conner, Nathan, and Evie.

When she’s not busy with work or family duties, Jenn enjoys hiking, camping, and spending quality time with her loved ones. She is also a devoted pet parent to two rescue pups, Moxxi and Obi. 

 Jenn’s exceptional organizational skills, attention to detail, and friendly demeanor have helped her excel in her administrative career. She takes pride in her work and loves making a positive impact on the people around her.