A Pivotal Transition for a Global QSR Technology Player
Glory Global Solutions’ announcement of new executive leadership at its subsidiary Acrelec marks more than a change of titles; it reflects a strategic transition in how the group intends to capture growth in a rapidly evolving quick service restaurant (QSR) and unified commerce landscape.
After steering Acrelec from an early-stage start-up to a global technology provider, co-founder, President and CEO Jacques Mangeot has stepped down and exited the business. His tenure saw Acrelec evolve from a niche innovator into a recognised partner to some of the world’s leading QSR brands, helping to define digital ordering, self-service, and in-store technology standards across multiple regions.
The leadership baton now passes to two executives with complementary mandates:
- Diane Palmquist has been appointed President, Acrelec Group.
- Bruno Lo‑Ré has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer, Acrelec Group.
Both appointments are effective immediately and are aimed at aligning Acrelec’s next phase of expansion with Glory’s broader growth and integration strategy.
Why This Leadership Shift Matters Now
The timing of these changes is significant for three reasons that matter to industry leaders and investors:
- The QSR sector is entering a new digital maturity phase, where brands expect partners to deliver integrated, global solutions rather than point products.
- Glory has been steadily building a broader commerce and retail technology portfolio, and closer alignment between its assets is becoming a strategic priority.
- Acrelec itself is at an inflection point, moving from regional leadership and high growth to scaled, coordinated global operations.
In this context, Glory is not simply replacing a founder; it is reshaping Acrelec’s leadership profile to:
- Tighten the link between software-led innovation and hardware-enabled experiences.
- Bring unified governance to multi-region operations.
- Position Acrelec to address larger, more complex customer engagements across markets.
Diane Palmquist: Embedding Enterprise Software Discipline
Deep roots in global enterprise software
With more than 25 years in global enterprise software, Diane Palmquist brings an operator’s understanding of scale, integration, and customer lifetime value. Her background spans multiple industries and complex digital transformation programs, giving her perspective on how large retailers and QSR brands govern their technology roadmaps and procurement decisions.
Key career milestones underline why this is strategically relevant:
- She joined Flooid, a leading Unified Commerce Platform provider, in 2020.
- She led Flooid through its acquisition by Glory in 2024, navigating integration, stakeholder alignment, and portfolio repositioning.
- She joined Acrelec’s Board of Directors in June 2025, giving her early visibility into Acrelec’s strengths, gaps, and global operating model.
Her track record suggests three capabilities particularly important for Acrelec’s next chapter:
- Translating customer strategy into scalable platform capabilities.
- Leading organizations through ownership and structural change without losing commercial focus.
- Working effectively at the intersection of software, services, and retail operations.
Strategic implications of the President role
As President, Palmquist is positioned to:
- Strengthen Acrelec’s software and platform strategy, ensuring solutions can be deployed, updated, and supported consistently across regions.
- Foster tighter alignment between Acrelec and other Glory portfolio companies, especially where unified commerce, payments, and in-store technology converge.
- Embed a more data-driven, repeatable operating rhythm suitable for larger, multi-market deployments.
Her own words highlight a focus on disciplined growth: she emphasizes the power of “strong platforms and focused leadership” to unlock transformational growth and signals an intention to “accelerate growth and deliver lasting value for customers worldwide.” For QSR executives, this points to a more structured, platform-centric approach to innovation—one that balances experimentation with operational reliability.
Bruno Lo‑Ré: Scaling a Proven QSR Technology Business
From national leadership to global responsibility
Bruno Lo‑Ré’s promotion to CEO consolidates nearly a decade of progressively broader leadership within Acrelec:
- Joined Acrelec in 2016 as CEO of Acrelec France.
- Advanced into key global roles, including Executive Vice President of Food & Beverage.
- Most recently served as Co‑CEO of Acrelec Americas.
In the Americas, Lo‑Ré oversaw a period in which:
- Acrelec Americas doubled its revenue.
- The business returned to profitability.
- The company deepened relationships with major customers, demonstrating its ability to win and retain large accounts.
These outcomes underline Lo‑Ré’s ability to balance growth with operational discipline, a critical skill as QSR brands demand both innovation and stability across their global estate.
Operational priorities for the CEO
As CEO, Lo‑Ré’s stated priority is to “build on this momentum,” scaling Acrelec’s impact and strengthening its position as a global QSR technology leader. In practice, this will likely translate into:
- Sharpening focus on core QSR and food & beverage segments where Acrelec has a proven right to win.
- Standardising offerings and delivery models across regions to ensure consistent performance and customer experience.
- Deepening strategic partnerships with global QSR brands, leveraging Acrelec’s installed base and the broader Glory ecosystem.
For C‑suite leaders in the QSR sector, Lo‑Ré’s track record signals continuity where it matters—sector expertise, customer intimacy, and results-driven execution—while creating room to scale proven models into new geographies and channels.
Glory’s Strategic Lens: Integration, Scale, and Market Opportunity
Parent company perspective
Toshimitsu Yoshinari, CEO of Glory Global Solutions, frames the leadership shift as part of a broader growth agenda. He pays explicit tribute to Jacques Mangeot for shaping Acrelec “from a small start-up to a global leader in Quick Service Restaurant technology solutions,” underscoring how central Acrelec has become within Glory’s strategic portfolio.
Yoshinari also points to “significant market opportunities” ahead, signalling that Glory views Acrelec not as a mature, slow-growth asset, but as a platform capable of:
- Capturing a larger share of global QSR technology spend.
- Extending into adjacent segments that value the same blend of hardware, software, and services.
- Benefiting from cross-selling and integrated solutions across the Glory ecosystem.
His confidence in the combined leadership of Palmquist and Lo‑Ré suggests a deliberate pairing: software-led strategic integration on one side, sector-specific operational execution on the other.
What this means for customers and partners
For QSR brands and partners, the leadership changes at Acrelec indicate several likely developments:
- More integrated propositions. Expect tighter coupling of front-of-house devices, back-end software, and data capabilities, with an emphasis on unified commerce journeys.
- Global consistency with local responsiveness. With a CEO steeped in regional operations and a President attuned to global platforms, Acrelec is positioned to support multi-country deployments without losing sight of local nuances.
- Stronger long-term roadmaps. Being closely aligned with Glory’s acquisition and integration strategy should translate into clearer product and investment roadmaps, giving enterprise customers greater planning certainty.
In an environment where QSR operators face rising labor costs, shifting customer expectations, and ongoing pressure to optimize throughput and experience, such clarity and integration can become a key differentiator.
Acrelec’s Next Chapter: From Founder-Led Growth to Institutional Scale
The exit of a founder is always a symbolic moment. In Acrelec’s case, it signals the close of its entrepreneurial first chapter and the start of a more institutionalized growth phase under Glory’s ownership.
The new leadership configuration is designed to:
- Preserve the entrepreneurial energy and customer focus that defined Acrelec’s rise.
- Introduce the governance, integration, and platform thinking required for the next level of scale.
- Align Acrelec’s growth agenda with Glory’s broader vision for QSR and unified commerce technology.
For industry leaders, the move offers a case study in how a founder-led technology company transitions into a globally integrated platform business—without losing sight of the operators and customers at the heart of its success.
About GLORY
As a global leader in smart automation solutions, we provide the retail, hospitality, and financial industries with confidence that their cash is protected, their processes are optimized, and the customer experience they deliver is truly exceptional.
Our software, hardware, and digital platforms help businesses in more than 100 countries enhance the experience they deliver in store, in restaurant, and in branch. While we span the globe, we personally engage with each customer to address their unique challenges and goals, whether it be enhancing staff efficiency, reducing operating costs, or enabling a more rewarding customer experience.
Employing over 11,000 professionals worldwide with dedicated R&D and manufacturing facilities worldwide, GLORY is built on a rich customer-focused, technology-driven heritage spanning more than one hundred years. For further information please visit www.glory-global.com
About Acrelec
Acrelec, a subsidiary of Glory Global Solutions, is a global technology company focused on reinventing the customer experience for restaurant and retail brands. Leveraging decades of software, hardware and service expertise, the company develops and integrates new platforms that increase customer engagement, optimize efficiency and improve operations. With over 120,000 installations across more than 70 countries, Acrelec counts many of the world’s best-known restaurant mega-brands among its customers.
