Omaha, Neb. — Scooter’s Coffee has appointed Joe Thornton as its next chief executive officer, effective Jan. 1, 2024. Thornton currently serves as the company’s president and will succeed Todd Graeve, who will retire after serving as CEO since 2016 and after nearly two decades in the Scooter’s coffee business. “Joe has been a blessing for our business since joining as president. He’s an exceptionally experienced leader in the restaurant, franchise and retail industry, and I know Joe is the right leader for us in our next acceleration of growth,” …
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Phoenix — Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc., a fast-growing specialty retailers of fresh, natural and organic food in the U.S., has appointed Curtis Valentine as chief financial officer, effective Jan. 1, 2024. Valentine is currently Sprouts’ senior vice president of finance and will succeed Lawrence (“Chip”) Molloy, who plans to retire from the CFO position at the end of 2023. “We are delighted to elevate Curtis from our deep bench of finance talent to be our chief financial officer,” says Jack Sinclair, chief executive officer of Sprouts. “Curtis and Chip have …
Raleigh, N.C. — Tompkins Solutions, a leading supply chain consulting and material handling integration firm, has hired Jon Johnson as chief operating officer. In this role, he will be responsible for overseeing daily operations and leading strategy development for end-to-end supply chain services. Johnson brings a wealth of operations consulting experience to Tompkins, with a strong background in distribution, fulfillment, transportation and technology implementations. Prior to joining Tompkins, Johnson held several senior leadership positions with ADVATIX, where he helped solve complex logistics challenges for industry-leading companies across a variety of …
Westville, N.J. — PrimoHoagies has appointed a new director of business development, Lauren Tesche-Johnson, whose arrival coincides with PrimoHoagies’ exceptional growth over the past few years. After surpassing the 100-location milestone earlier this year and with another 70 new locations actively in development, the beloved hoagie brand is on course to have at least 115 stores open by the end of 2023. In her new role, Tesche-Johnson will be at the forefront of leading expansion initiatives, playing a vital role in helping the brand achieve its goal of surpassing 300 …
West Palm Beach, Fla. — Retro Fitness, a leader in high-value, low-price fitness, has appointed Larry Strain, CCIM as chief development officer. Strain brings more than 25 years of experience in driving multi-unit development for top-tier franchise growth brands such as Starbucks, McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts. Most recently, he helped lead the successful transition of Potbelly Sandwich Works to a franchise-focused growth model. “Bringing in an industry heavyweight like Larry was a strategic move that adds serious muscle to an already strong management team,” says Andrew Alfano, CEO of Retro …
Chatham, N.J. — Toastique, a rapidly growing gourmet toast franchise, is wrapping up Q3 with nine new franchise openings — eight of which saw record-breaking grand opening sales. In June, Toastique opened its Chatham, N.J., store, which became the busiest in the system. The brand also opened its first California location in August and had two more openings in July. In total, Toastique now has 20 locations open across the country. “This quarter has been exceptionally strong for us, and we anticipate this momentum to carry into Q4,” says Toastique …
San Carlos, Calif. — Presto Automation Inc., an enterprise-grade AI and automation solutions provider to some of the nation’s largest restaurant brands, has promoted Justin Foster to chief revenue officer. In addition, after nearly 3 years at Presto serving as both president and chief revenue officer, Dan Mosher is leaving the company. Foster brings 15 years of experience leading go-to-market efforts at emerging high-growth technology companies. As chief revenue officer, he will be responsible for all facets of the company’s revenue generation, including growing Presto’s footprint in the emerging voice …
Katy, Texas — Effective Oct. 23, 2023, Sam J. Johnson, executive vice president of retail operations, has been promoted to president of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc., succeeding Michael P. Mullican, who is stepping down to pursue other personal and professional opportunities. Johnson will continue to report to CEO Steve Lawrence, and his responsibilities will include continued oversight of retail operations and real estate & construction, as well as new responsibility for logistics & supply chain. Mullican will serve the company in an advisory capacity through a brief transition period. …
Pittsburgh, Pa. — American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has named the appointment of two executive leaders following the previously announced departure of the company’s executive vice president – chief operations officer, Michael Rempell. Sarah Clarke has been named executive vice president – chief supply chain officer and will be responsible for managing AEO’s global supply chain from sourcing through distribution. Clarke joins AEO from PVH Corporation, where she held the role of global chief supply chain officer. Before joining PVH, Clarke held various leadership roles at Gap Inc. across sourcing, merchandising, …
Spartanburg, S.C. — Denny’s Corporation, owner and operator of Denny’s Inc. and Keke’s Inc., has hired Pankaj Patra as chief digital and technology officer (CDTO). This is a newly created enterprise role that will include support for Denny’s and Keke’s. Patra, who joins Denny’s from Brinker International, will be responsible for accelerating Denny’s capabilities across all specialties within the digital, technology and information functions. “Our restaurant teams and our guests rely on technology to enable a seamless experience, which makes the work that our IT team does absolutely critical,” says …