Dive Brief:
- Fat Brands has named Jenn Johnston as chief marketing officer, the company announced Thursday. Johnston previously served as president of Fat’s QSR division since the company acquired her previous employer, Global Franchise Group, in 2021.
- Fat has hired Allison Lauenstein as brand president at Great American Cookies, Marble Slab Creamery, and Pretzelmaker. The company also hired David Pear to lead Round Table Pizza.
- These c-suite appointments are the latest in a series of leadership changes at Fat Brands, which began in March when former CEO Andy Wiederhorn announced his plan to resign.
Dive Insight:
Lauenstein’s past experience with Round Table Pizza, Great American Cookies, Marble Slab Creamery and Pretzelmaker should “bring immediate value to the brands,” Fat COO Thayer Wiederhorn said in a statement.
Between 2012 and 2020, she served as EVP of marketing and operations at Marble Slab and Pretzelmaker, specifically, according to her LinkedIn profile. Most recently, she worked as a marketing professor at Siena College.
Pear joins the company from Desert De Oro Foods, a multi-brand restaurant franchisee with more than 360 units across brands like Taco Bell, KFC, Whataburger, Pizza Hut and Dave’s Hot Chicken. Pear served as VP of strategic initiatives at the company, and “brings exciting insights from his outside experience,” Thayer Wiederhorn said.
Fat’s executive pool has shifted significantly in the wake of Andy Wiederhorn’s exit. In late March, most of the board was cut and replaced with several Wiederhorn family members and finance experts. On May 1, the company appointed CFO Ken Kuick and EVP for capital markets Rob Rosen as co-CEOs. Though Andy Wiederhorn framed his departure as a way to shield the company from distraction related to an ongoing federal probe into his finances, he remains board chair and controlling shareholder.
