PDQ (People Dedicated to Quality) has promoted Nina Franchina to the new position of chief people officer, the company said Wednesday.
Tampa, Fla.-based PDQ restaurants, known for breaded chicken tenders, salads, sandwiches and shakes, has 62 locations in five states.
Franchina started with PDQ in 2013 in the operations department and established a training strategy for the brand. She was promoted into the role of director of training in 2014 before taking over as director of human resources and training in 2020.
Franchina was named one of the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s 30 under 30 award winners in 2017, and she was also nominated for Tampa Bay Businesswoman of the Year.
“Nina is the kind of person that makes us all love coming to work every day,” said Nick Reader, PDQ co-founder, in a statement. “Her incredible effort and attitude is infectious and makes us all better.”
Kep Sweeney, PDQ CEO, said, “She is a delight to work with and is bright, full of empathy, and hard working. We are very lucky to have her on our PDQ team.”
Prior to joining PDQ, Franchina spent five years with Outback Steakhouse in operations and field training.
PDQ was started in 2011 by Reader, former CEO of MVP Holdings, and Bob Basham, a co-founder of Outback Steakhouse, now a division of Bloomin’ Brands Inc.
PDQ has units in Florida, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and South Carolina.
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