Craig Masek’s Exchange story began long before he became an associate.
His father served in the Air Force and later became a Department of Defense civilian, giving Masek an early connection to military communities overseas. As a child at RAF Lakenheath, England, he toured a Burger King being built on the installation, sparking his interest in food operations.
At the time, he said, many military bases in the UK didn’t have much of anything in terms of name-brand restaurants.
“For me to see this giant Burger King being built was an eye-opening experience,” said Masek, now the chief of restaurant support at the Exchange. “I thought it was incredible. Wow, we’re going to have a Burger King! At the time I think the Exchange operated only a snack bar and a Baskin-Robbins.”
The Burger King manager took him and his dad into the back of the restaurant and explained how the restaurant would operate.
“As a 12-year-old, that was amazing, I was hooked.” Masek said.
His mother later went to work for Burger King at Lakenheath, bringing home stories about new menu items as well as managers traveling from the US for training. Those stories helped Masek see the Exchange as more than just a job, but as a career path.
At 16, Masek was hired to work at Popeyes after school, across the way at Lakenheath. It became his first job with the Exchange — and his first job ever. He quickly grew to love the pace, branded environment, marketing materials and signage.
“I loved it all,” Masek said.
At 18, Masek began learning about “upward mobility” and training opportunities. Eager to grow, he applied for a supervisor position at Special-T’s inside the Lakenheath Express. The operation included sone signature-brand favorites, including Anthony’s Pizza, Robin Hood and Chicken Loft.
The role gave him some early leadership experience and taught him to support more than one operation at a time. It also confirmed where his passion was strongest – Name Brand Fast Food. Masek returned to Popeyes and soon became a foreman.
Over the next few years, he continued advancing, eventually becoming a Burger King foreman — the same brand that had first captured his attention as a child. When a position opened at RAF Alconbury, he moved forward again.
In 2003, Masek deployed to Kuwait, an experience he described as life-changing because it gave him a deeper understanding of the Exchange mission.
After Kuwait, he moved to Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan. Over the next 14 years, Masek worked in several food operations, moving from Burger King to Subway, Pizza Hut and then a food court.
In 2011, Masek took on an expanded role and moved to the Pacific Region as a program specialist, overseeing the school meal program and warehouse inventory for the restaurants. Travel to Korea, mainland Japan and installations across Okinawa broadened his view of the mission and strengthened his ability to support diverse teams across the Pacific.
Masek returned to the Okinawa Exchange in 2015 after being promoted to food court manager at Camp Courtney, where he continued his professional development while leading a large spread-out area of responsibility for approximately three years. In 2018, he finally came to the US as a senior restaurant program planner for Food and Theater Operations.
In 2021, he became the chief of restaurant support. His team works with EPOS, the Exchange point-of-sale system; branded point-of-sale systems; DoorDash; My Exchange Food overseas; online theater tickets; and other digital tools that support restaurants and customer service.
When new products, menu items or promotions launch, Masek’s team ensures register keys and digital tools are ready. In a global operation, a small mistake can affect restaurants in different time zones and delay service.
Masek said his team views restaurant managers as its customers.
“When we look the managers in the field as our customer, it really helps us to have a solve-for-yes mentality.” he said.
Masek is especially proud of helping digitize the Exchange restaurants. His work has supported online ordering overseas, DoorDash implementation, online theater ticketing and seat selection, and soon-to-be launched self-order kiosk efforts for restaurants.
His leadership today reflects the full arc of his career: front-line food service, supervision, restaurant management, regional support and headquarters systems work. Each step prepared him to lead with clarity, patience and a focus on the managers his team supports.
From a high school student walking to his after-school job at Popeyes to chief of restaurant support, Masek’s story reflects the spirit of You Can Do It Too.
His journey is a reminder that career development happens one step, one role and one opportunity at a time.
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