Papa John’s International Inc. has appointed Tom Sterrett senior vice president of the 3,516-unit pizza chain’s international division, where he will oversee operations at Papa John’s more than 700 units in 28 countries.
A 15-year veteran of the company, Sterrett has been the division vice president for the South since 2008, leading that business unit to record sales and profits, the company said.
“Tom is an extremely talented operator with tremendous operations experience, and we are pleased to have him lead our growing international business,” said Jude Thompson, president and co-chief executive of the Louisville, Ky.-based company. “Tom knows what it takes to run successful Papa John’s restaurants, markets and franchises. With a very solid international leadership and support team already in place, I am confident that our international business will thrive under his leadership.”
Sterrett served as the division vice president for the Midwest, Papa John’s largest territory, from 2007 to 2008, and prior to that he was operations vice president for the Midwest. He spent 11 years at Domino’s Pizza as an employee and franchisee before beginning his career at the nation’s third-largest pizza brand.
“As our international business continues to gain momentum, our goal is to consistently make and deliver the same quality pizza around the world as we do in the U.S.,” Thompson said. “Tom has done an outstanding job on the domestic side of our business and has proven he is committed to profitable sales and growth.”
Thompson and other Papa John’s executives also said in the company’s most recent quarterly earnings conference call that the brand was close to hiring a new president for the international division to replace Bill Mitchell, who left the company several months ago and now is a vice president at Baskin-Robbins. The officials also said more than 1,200 international Papa John’s locations are in the development pipeline.
Contact Mark Brandau at [email protected].