San Diego — Darin Harris, the chief executive officer of Jack in the Box Inc., has resigned and accepted a new position outside of the restaurant industry. The board of directors has appointed Jack in the Box’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, Lance Tucker, as interim principal executive officer, effective Feb. 24, 2025. Harris will remain as a consultant through March 14, 2025, to ensure a smooth leadership transition.
Tucker has served as the company’s chief financial officer since Jan. 13, 2025. He previously served in this same role at Jack in the Box Inc. from March 2018 to September 2020. A restaurant industry veteran with more than 20 years of corporate finance experience, Tucker was the chief financial officer of CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc., the parent company for the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s brands, from September 2020 until January 2022. Prior to joining Jack in the Box Inc. in March 2018 as CFO, Tucker held several senior leadership positions during his combined 14-year tenure at Papa John’s International, Inc., including CFO & treasurer, chief administrative officer, and senior vice president of strategy & chief of staff.
“On behalf of the company, I want to thank Darin for his contributions as CEO for the past 5 years,” says David L. Goebel, chairman of the board. “With Lance’s multi-faceted, strategic expertise over the last 20 years at the executive level, we are excited to welcome him as the interim CEO. The board is confident in Lance’s ability to build upon the existing foundation in a way that balances our growth and financial goals, while ensuring that the company remains competitive in the rapidly evolving quick-service restaurant landscape.”
While Tucker serves as interim principal executive officer, the senior vice president & controller, Dawn Hooper, will assume the role of interim principal financial officer. Hooper has been with Jack in the Box Inc. for 24 years and held various senior leadership positions within finance during that time. She served as principal financial officer from August 2020 to January 2021, February 2023 to August 2023 and November 2024 to January 2025.
Jack in the Box Inc., founded and headquartered in San Diego, is a restaurant company that operates and franchises Jack in the Box®, one of the nation’s largest hamburger chains with approximately 2,200 restaurants across 22 states, and Del Taco®, the second largest Mexican-American QSR chain by units in the U.S. with approximately 600 restaurants across 17 states. For more information, visit www.jackinthebox.com and www.deltaco.com.
SOURCE: Jack in the Box Inc.