Fast-casual pasta specialist Noodles & Company has promoted three executives to the newly created positions of chief operating officer, executive vice president of inclusion, diversity & people and EVP of technology, the company based in Broomfield, Colo., said Wednesday.
Brad West has been promoted from EVP of operations, a role he had held since September of 2017, to COO, with the expanded responsibility of overseeing the franchise operations support program and rollout of new kitchen upgrades as well as his previous responsibilities of operations and training. West’s previous experience includes being vice president of operations and Smoothie King Franchisees, Inc.
In a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, Noodles & Company said West would have a base salary of $335,000 and report directly to CEO Dave Boennighausen.
Sue Petersen, who joined Noodles in February of 2015 as vice president of human resources, has been promoted to executive vice president of inclusion, diversity and people with expanded responsibilities of overseeing rewards, recruitment and human resources functions as well as spearheading diversity & inclusion initiatives.
Brad West, Corey Kline, Sue Petersen
Past experience includes HR and operations leadership roles at Chipotle Mexican Grill, Walgreens and Rock Bottom Restaurants..
Corey Kline the new EVP of technology, joined Noodles in September of 2011 and has been vice president of information technology since July of 2016. In the release announcing the promotions, Noodles said “Corey’s forward-looking approach to technology and governance has been instrumental in building the Company’s robust digital consumer platform as well as spearheading the Company’s efforts around a strong data security & compliance ecosystem.”
Boennighausen said the promotions reflect Noodles & Company’s strategy to achieve its goals, stated last week in its annual earnings report, of system-wide unit growth of at least 7% annually beginning in 2022, average unit volumes of $1.45 million per year by 2024, and restaurant 20% profit margins by 2024.
“Our people-oriented strategy, continued operational excellence, and guest focused technological innovation is foundational to achieving our accelerated growth objectives,” he said in the release announcing the executive appointments. “With these promotions, coupled with our bench strength in marketing and finance, we have built one of the best executive teams in the industry. The Noodles leadership team is strong, aligned and laser-focused on achieving our vision.”
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected]
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