Papa John’s International Inc. announced the appointment of Karlin Linhardt, former senior vice president of marketing for Subway Restaurants, as the Louisville, Ky.-based pizza chain’s new global chief marketing officer.
Linhardt also previously held marketing roles at restaurant and retail brands, including Anheuser-Busch and McDonald’s, where he took point in brand turnaround initiatives for the fast-food chain as senior director of marketing.
“Karlin is a seasoned marketing executive who I am confident will contribute to our brand value proposition,” Papa John’s president and CEO Steve Ritchie said in a statement. “The addition of Karlin as global chief marketing officer is one of the many significant steps we’ve taken to improve our brand differentiation, which includes enhancing our quality positioning in the category. Karlin’s combined restaurant, franchise and consumer brand experience make him an excellent addition to the Papa John’s leadership team.”
Linhardt said in a statement: “I am excited to join Papa John’s and begin working with the talented leadership and marketing teams to build upon the work underway. I’m a fan of Papa John’s high-quality product and I look forward to helping tell that quality story to customers in new ways.”
The global chief marketing role at Papa John’s had been vacant since last summer when Brandon Rhoten left to join Potbelly Corp.
Papa John’s is the nation’s third-largest pizza chain and had more than 5,300 locations worldwide as of the end of 2018.
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