Papa John’s restructures management teamPapa John’s restructures management team

Papa John’s International Inc., has promoted Mike Nettles to the newly created position of executive vice president and chief operating and growth officer as part of a restructuring the Louisville, Ky.-based pizza delivery chain said would help improve customers’ experience and accelerate growth.

Nettles was promoted from the position of senior vice president, chief information and digital officer.

In a press release Friday announcing the appointment, Papa John’s also announced the following new positions, effective immediately, all of whom report to Nettles:

• Justin Falciola has been promoted to senior vice president, chief analytics and technology officer. Previously he was vice president for global enterprise architecture.

• Ann Fischer has been promoted to senior vice president, customer experience. Previously she was vice president for product management.

• Paul Fabre has been promoted to senior vice president, menu strategy and innovation. Previously he was vice president for research and development and quality assurance.

• Melissa Richards-Person has been promoted to senior vice president and chief brand officer. Previously she was vice president for global brand strategy and consumer connections.

The company said the restructuring “established dedicated roles and responsibilities around each consumer touch point and has consolidated the line of reporting for these roles under [Nettles].”

“Improving how we engage with our customers is core to the new operating priorities announced earlier this year,” Papa John’s president and CEO Steve Ritchie said in a statement. “By aligning our leadership structure around the customer experience, our team’s diverse talents will be leveraged to drive enterprise-wide change and pioneer new innovations that accelerate the company’s growth. Since joining last year, Mike has significantly elevated the consumer experience across our digital and mobile platforms. His promotion and the other appointments announced today reflect the strong contributions these executives have made to Papa John’s and our belief that, in their new roles, they can propel our success even further.”

Before joining Papa John’s, Nettles was vice president of enterprise architecture and information technology strategy for Panera Bread Company.

Papa John’s sales have struggled for the past year, and those struggles have worsened in the wake of controversy surrounding founder John Schnatter, who has been battling with the chain’s current management since resigning as chairman of the board in July in the wake of reports that Schnatter used racist language in a conference call and that the chain has a toxic corporate culture.

Since then, Ritchie has said that he and a special committee comprised of the company’s board of directors, minus Schnatter who is both a director and the company’s largest shareholder, have been working to improve corporate culture by meeting with employees. The chain also has launched an advertising campaign emphasizing the company’s diverse employee base.

Papa John’s, which is the third largest pizza chain in the world — behind Domino’s and Pizza Hut — has more than 5,000 locations worldwide.

Get the latest on the chain’s ongoing struggles here.

Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected] 

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