Sonic Corp. has promoted three executives into new roles at the drive-in brand, the company said Thursday.
The Oklahoma City-based quick-service operator said the promotions included: Stephen Vaughan, the company’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, who was named executive vice president of franchise operations, finance and planning; Claudia San Pedro, the vice president of investor relations, communications and treasurer was promote to senior vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer; and Todd Smith, the company’s vice president and chief marketing officer, has added the additional title of senior vice president.
“We have an incredibly talented management team and believe that these expanded roles for Steve, Claudia and Todd will strengthen our organization even more,” said Cliff Hudson, Sonic’s CEO, in a statement. “Structuring the organization in this way ensures collaboration across functions with leadership who have a proven track record to move the business forward.”
Vaughan, who joined Sonic in 1992, has served as executive vice president since 2008 and chief financial officer since 2004. Prior to Sonic, Vaughan worked in public accounting. The company said that in his new role, Vaughan oversees franchise operations and leads supply-chain management, operations and technical services, quality assurance and customer satisfaction. He retains executive management of the finance function, the company said.
San Pedro, who joined Sonic in 2006 as treasurer, has served as vice president of investor relations since 2009. Prior to joining Sonic, she served as the director for the Oklahoma Office of State Finance. She was the first female and the first Hispanic to serve in that governor-appointed role.
In her new position, San Pedro is responsible for the finance and accounting functions, in addition to retaining responsibility for investor relations, treasury, performance analysis, risk management and communications, Sonic said.
Smith, who joined Sonic in 2012 as vice president of marketing, had earlier served in various marketing roles in the quick-service restaurant industry. In his new position, Smith will also lead digital marketing, customer relationship management and loyalty programs for the Sonic brand.
Sonic ranked No. 13 in the most recent Nation’s Restaurant News Top 100 census, booking $3.882 billion in U.S. systemwide foodservice sales for the fiscal year ended August 2013, up from $3.791 billion in the same period a year before.
Sonic has more than 3,500 drive-ins across the nation.
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