Papa John’s International Inc. has promoted Anne Fischer to the role of chief marketing and digital officer, joining the chain’s executive leadership team, the company said Tuesday.
Fischer, who joined the company in 2015 as senior director, digital marketing, most recently served as senior vice president, customer experience. She and her team helped drive the chain’s aggregator partnerships and played a critical role in doubling the company’s loyalty program, Papa Johns Rewards, since 2019, the company said.
In the new role, her responsibilities will include brand and advertising; media and field activation; and menu strategy and product innovation, in addition to continuing to oversee customer experience. She will report to Max Wetzel, executive vice president, chief commercial officer, who had taken on CMO duties in 2019.
“Anne’s strategic thought leadership and creativity have been essential to the success of Papa Johns’ digital marketing success over the past three years, so we are especially thrilled with her promotion to CMDO,” said Wetzel, in a statement. “Digital innovation continues to be an enormous long-term growth opportunity for our brand. Anne’s deep expertise in cutting-edge digital marketing, including leading our loyalty program, aggregator partnerships and our tech-enabled customer experience initiatives, brings a unique perspective and skill set to the CMDO role and will help Papa Johns continue to be a leader in our category.”
The Louisville, Ky.-based pizza chain in November announced a makeover, dropping the apostrophe from the name and refreshing the logo and color scheme with a new store design. The move appeared to be an effort to distance the brand from its controversial founder John Schnatter.
Company officials, however, described the changes as moves to bring the brand forward with an emphasis on efficiency and giving customers more control over the experience. Last week, the chain announced an aggressive move into China with one of its largest franchise deals.
Before joining Papa Johns, Fischer was marketing director at SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. She began her career at Walt Disney World.
The Papa Johns chain includes more than 5,500 restaurants in 50 countries and territories.
Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected]
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