Todd Penegor stepped down as the chief executive officer of Wendy’s in early February after spending eight years in the role – an unusually long tenure in the dizzyingly fast quick-service space. Factor in the COVID-19 pandemic, and it undoubtedly felt even longer.
Penegor’s plan from there was simple – retirement peppered with a few board of directors’ roles. In June, he joined the Dutch Bros board, adding to his already existing role on the Ball Corporation board. His plan was going smoothly.
But it was short lived. On Thursday, Penegor was officially announced as the CEO of Papa Johns, a business that includes more than 5,000 locations in 45 countries and territories around the world.
“I love the restaurant business. I’m hardwired for it. I started to think about what I missed in the space, the communities we’re in, supporting a franchisee community, opportunities for our employee base. I missed it,” Penegor said during an exclusive interview with Nation’s Restaurant News on Thursday morning.
Of course, it helped that Papa Johns has been his “go-to pizza” his whole life and so he was familiar with the brand and passionate about the opportunity to lead it. He’s less than a day into the role, which is way too early to understand any initial priorities, but those should come fairly quickly once his “aggressive 100-day plan to get fully immersed” in the business is complete. That plan includes a listening tour with corporate employees, restaurant employees, field employees, franchisees, and everyone in between. He also has the chance to fill some critical roles, including an open chief marketing officer position, as well as international and technology leaders.
“I’m going to spend some time to understand the pulse of the business from top to bottom,” he said.
At this point, he knows there are some similarities with Wendy’s – strong brand equity, a franchising model, an international footprint, convenience-minded consumers. But he admits there will still be a steep learning curve.
“Pizza is a lot different from hamburgers. In the hamburger business, it’s a big lunch rush and less at dinner, it’s more dependent on good weather. Pizza is more dinner, more weekends, and it does a lot better in bad weather,” he said. “In the pizza space, so much takes place through a digital experience, so I need to understand what matters most to those [digital] consumers to hit the sweet spot and take the friction out.”
One opportunity Penegor has already identified is making the app more seamless to further bolster Papa Johns’ loyalty program and drive more frequency and repeat visits. He said there is also an opportunity to make the company’s international footprint a little bigger.
“Pizza is relevant across the globe, and it helps that this brand is well known,” he said.
Additionally, Penegor wants to “grab the hearts and minds” of younger consumers and will continue to support the chain’s recently launched “Better Get You Some” marketing campaign to do so.
“Leveraging more value and our fresh, never frozen dough promise, there is goodness in that campaign. It does connect to the next generation of consumers, which is important. But we have to stay tried and true to who we are,” Penegor said. “We’ve got to continue to work on the value perception and make sure our consumers know it’s not just price, but what you’re paying for – a quality pizza at an affordable price. This brand is ingrained with a high-quality message.”
Penegor is especially focused on the franchisee base and ensuring a strong economic model, so they continue to invest and grow. When his predecessor Rob Lynch left for Shake Shack, shortly after announcing a comprehensive “Back to Better 2.0” strategy to increase profitability, rumors began to swirl that franchisee morale had fallen while stock prices also faltered. Indeed, share prices have recently hit historical lows, but they bounced up a bit after Penegor’s announcement and Penegor himself has plenty of confidence that this environment is “just a blip.” And, Penegor’s track record proves he can handle such blips; during his time at Wendy’s, the company expanded to more than 7,000 restaurants in 30 markets and U.S. territories and achieved its 12th consecutive year of same-store sales growth. Additionally, Penegor chartered three billion-dollar opportunities for the company, including digital, international, and breakfast, and created “The Wendy’s Way” framework. On his watch, in 2021, Wendy’s surpassed Burger King to become the No. 2 player in the burger category by sales.
As a lifelong customer, Penegor is optimistic that Papa Johns will afford opportunities that are just as exciting.
“The good news about [Papa Johns] is there is a strong partnership with the franchisee community. Folks are passionate about this brand, and they love this company,” he said. “We have a lot to work on and a lot to formulate what is working and what needs to evolve, but my focus is on making sure this employee base, franchisees, customers, and investors are excited. We’ll turn any challenge into an opportunity and stand out as the highest quality business to win in the market.”
Some friendly pizza competition
Penegor’s appointment comes on the heels of Carl Loredo’s appointment as president of category rival Pizza Hut. Loredo spent several years working on Penegor’s leadership team at Wendy’s as the company’s chief marketing officer and Penegor served as a reference for him when the Pizza Hut opportunity presented itself, adding a fun competitive twist to the segment.
“All I can tell Carl is ‘game’s on.’ I want to make his life challenging, and I say that affectionately,” Penegor said.
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]
