American Blue Ribbon Holdings names Jeffery Kent CIOAmerican Blue Ribbon Holdings names Jeffery Kent CIO

American Blue Ribbon Holdings LLC has named Jeffery Kent chief information officer, the company said Monday.

Kent replaces Robert Hess in the role. A former vice president of information technology for South Deerfield, Mass.-based Yankee Candle Company, Kent will oversee IT for ABRH and its six restaurant brands, including O’Charley’s, Ninety Nine Restaurants, Max & Erma’s, Village Inn, Bakers Square and Legendary Baking.

“Throughout Jeff’s more than 35 years of systems design and IT experience, he has earned an exceptional reputation for not only his deep technical abilities, but also his strong business acumen and leadership qualities,” ABRH CFO Anita Adams said in a statement. “Jeff has been instrumental in leading the evolution of technology wherever he has worked, making him the perfect fit for ABRH during a time of continued growth and opportunity for our company.”

In addition to Yankee Candle, Kent has considerable restaurant experience. He was formerly CIO of Carrols Corp. and Fiesta Restaurant Group Inc., and he spent eight years with Wendy’s International as vice president of solutions delivery. He received a degree in computer engineering from Case Western Reserve University.

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