Los Angeles — Sweetgreen, Inc. has appointed Jason Cochran as its chief operating officer, effective May 5, 2025. Cochran will oversee field operations and as well as operations services and innovation for the company and will report directly to Sweetgreen’s co-founder and chief executive officer, Jonathan Neman. Cochran joins Sweetgreen from past positions with Pizza Hut, Chipotle and GameStop.
“Jason is a trusted and visionary leader with hands-on operational experience at growth-oriented brands,” says Neman. “His strategic mindset, operational discipline and ability to inspire teams make him uniquely positioned to help lead Sweetgreen into its next chapter of growth. Jason’s alignment with our mission and cultural fit is clear, and I’m incredibly excited to welcome him to the team as we continue scaling our impact across more communities.”
Cochran brings more than two decades of executive leadership experience in restaurant and consumer retail. Prior to joining Sweetgreen, he served as CEO and a board member of American West Restaurant Group, the third-largest Pizza Hut franchisee in the U.S., where he led the company through transformational growth and operational improvements across hundreds of locations.
Previously, Cochran was vice president of operations services at Chipotle Mexican Grill, supporting over 3,000 restaurants and $8.6 billion in annual revenue. During his tenure, he led cross-functional efforts in process improvement, menu and equipment innovation, new store development and field training. Earlier in his career, Cochran spent 14 years at GameStop, ultimately serving as senior vice president of U.S. stores, responsible for 4,400 locations and more than $7.5 billion in sales.
Since opening its first 560-square-foot location in 2007, Sweetgreen has scaled to over 250 locations across the United States. For more information, visit www.Sweetgreen.com.
SOURCE: Sweetgreen