Church's Chicken names new chief development officer

Church’s Chicken has named Tony Moralejo chief development officer effective immediately, the company said Monday.

Moralejo replaces Pedro Voyer, who joined Church’s in June 2011.

Moralejo will oversee domestic and international expansion, as well as franchising, reimaging, construction and real estate management. He will report directly to Jim Hyatt, president and chief executive of Atlanta-based Church’s.

“Tony is a valuable addition to Church’s management team and has a vast amount of experience and an impressive track record in restaurant development and building relationships with franchisees,” Hyatt said in a statement. “He will be instrumental in spearheading and accelerating the brand’s growth plans both domestically and internationally.”

Before joining Church’s, Moralejo spent more than 15 years in a variety of senior level positions at Burger King Corp., where he most recently led a multi-functional team negotiating and implementing new joint venture companies and master franchise models to accelerate growth and international presence in key countries.

Before joining Burger King, he was senior director of partner and franchised management in the direct to consumer group at Nike Inc.

Church’s Chicken is owned by private-equity firm Friedman Fleischer & Lowe and has more than 1,700 quick-service restaurants in 25 countries.

Contact Charlie Duerr at [email protected].