His appointment completes the chain’s C-suite
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BurgerFi has completed the restructuring of its C-suite with the appointment of Karl Goodhew as chief technology officer, the fast-casual burger chain based in Palm Beach, Fla., said Tuesday.
He will be working on modernizing the 120-unit chain’s drive-thru systems and improving its mobile app, according to a press release announcing his appointment.
Most recently Goodhew was director of software engineering at Macy’s Inc., where he updated the cloud technology at Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s and brought on a team of engineers to assist in operations, BurgerFi said.
He also has held tech positions at Home Depot, financial tech firm YellowPepper and JCPenny.
CEO Julio Ramirez said the pandemic showed how important technology was in adapting to changes in the industry and illustrated the need to have a CTO.
“Our investments in our digital platforms like our mobile application, loyalty program and online ordering capabilities positioned us well to deal with the dramatic changes in consumer behavior caused by the pandemic. Given the increasingly important role technology plays in our ability to deliver a seamless guest experience and operate as efficiently and profitably as possible, we recognized the need to have a Chief Technology Officer,” he said. “We’re excited to have someone with Karl’s experience and track record joining our team. I know he’ll effectively lead our efforts to leverage technology in an even bigger and better way to help us realize the significant growth opportunities we have.”
The announcement of Goodhew’s appointment comes a week after the 120-unit chain named Henry Gonzalez its chief marketing officer. Earlier this year it named Jim Esposito chief operating officer and Michael Rabinovitch chief financial officer.
“I am excited to build an engineering team that will enable capabilities and features in the loyalty, delivery, and payments space,” Goodhew said. “We are just starting the journey to provide a customer experience that gives the customer the best burger selections when and where they want to order, however they choose. Additionally, I am thrilled to take on the capabilities of BurgerFi’s extensive omnichannel platforms. Our customers will be excited and rewarded by the leadership team’s plans to drive additional innovation throughout our customer experience. By testing new technology and enabling innovative multi-channel services, we’ll position BurgerFi for explosive growth.”
Goodhew has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Management Information Systems from the University of Georgia.
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