Dive Brief:
- In an management transition that runs counter to current trends, Noon Mediterranean's CEO Stefan Boyd is moving into the CFO role at Just Salad, Restaurant Business announced Tuesday.
- Boyd served as CFO of Le Pain Quotidien from May to November this year during Noon Mediterranean’s dissolution.
- His responsibilities as CFO of the salad chain appear to be more public-facing than numbers-based, according to QSR Magazine.
Dive Insight:
As CFO of Just Salad, Boyd "will help grow the company's store footprint in both new and existing markets, support the expansion of its award-winning sustainability efforts, and further its commitment to making healthy food accessible to everyone," QSR Magazine reported Tuesday.
These duties represent something of a departure from the financial planning, risk management, reporting and recordkeeping a standard CFO undertakes.
During Boyd's tenure as CEO, Noon Mediterranean filed for bankruptcy protection, and last year was purchased by Elite Restaurant Group, Restaurant Business said.
Just Salad, a salad chain with an eye towards sustainability and waste reduction, was founded in 2006. It has announced an initiative to be zero waste by 2020.
"Stefan will be an important contributor to our continued growth and expansion," Nick Kenner, Just Salad founder and CEO, told QSR. "Under [his] leadership, we will continue to execute on our mission to serve healthy, affordable, and sustainable food to more guests than ever before."
Earlier this year, Just Salad expanded within its existing New York City and Chicago markets, opening locations in Florida and North Carolina, Boyd confirmed to CFO Dive.
Just Salad is “ready to accelerate its growth,” Boyd said. “I’ll be helping as it increases density in New York City, and looks at other markets nationally.”
Boyd is excited for his new role, he told CFO Dive Wednesday, because he’s both a “longtime Just Salad customer, as well as a vegetarian interested in affordable healthy eating.”
Boyd calls Just Salad a leader, “not just a participant,” in the sustainability movement within the restaurant industry. It was the first salad chain to offer reusable bowls, for instance. If sustainability weren’t a challenge, Boyd said, “everybody would be doing it.” He calls sustainability both an important piece of the brand as well as a major challenge.
“That’s what it means to be a leader of these types of issues,” he said. “We’re going to wrestle with these challenges and find a way through.”
Additionally, Just Salad is financially healthy, Boyd said, which makes it "much easier to raise capital, as well as bootstrap."
"Just Salad has seen explosive growth over the past couple of years, and I look forward to building on their momentum," Boyd told QSR.
Prior to his C-suite experience, Boyd served as an investment banking associate at JPMorgan, Restaurant Business reported.
