Church’s Texas Chicken has named Navin Sharma as its new chief marketing officer, replacing Natalia Franco, who announced her plans to retire at the end of this month.
Sharma will oversee brand marketing, digital strategies, and advertising. Prior to Church’s, Sharma was a founding partner at Datacraft Advisors, a specialized marketing and digital advisory firm. He also spent many years of his career in the restaurant industry, having served as the chief commercial services officer at Inspire Brands, and as senior vice president of insights, analytics, and digital at Arby’s Restaurant Group.
Additionally, Church’s announced Alisa P. Cleek as chief legal officer and corporate secretary. She joins Church’s from Hooters of America, where she served in the same role and had oversight for legal, human resources, risk management, loss prevention, real estate, compliance and licensing. Cleek was previously an equity partner and practice group leader at the national law firm of Taylor English Duma, LLP. She has nearly 30 years of experience representing clients in the restaurant industry, spanning from quick service to fine dining, food distributors, and vendors. She has been recognized nationally as a top litigator by Chambers USA.
"We are pleased to welcome Navin and Alisa to the Church’s family,” chief executive officer Joe Guith said in a statement. “Their exceptional background and leadership will be invaluable as we continue to drive innovation, strengthen our brands, and navigate our rapidly changing industry.”
Founded in San Antonio, Texas, in 1952 by George W. Church Sr., Church’s Texas Chicken, along with its sister brand Texas Chicken outside of the U.S., have more than 1,500 locations in 22 global markets and systemwide sales of more than $1.4 billion.
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]
