Dive Brief:
- Papa Johns has appointed Todd Penegor as its president and CEO, effective immediately, the company said in a Thursday press release.
- Penegor, former Wendy’s president and CEO, succeeds Ravi Thanawala, who took on the interim CEO role in addition to his duties as chief financial officer in March 2024, when then-CEO Rob Lynch announced his resignation to become CEO at Shake Shack.
- Penegor joins the pizza chain in the middle of its Back to Better 2.0 plan, which includes a $20 million investment in national advertising and makes local ad spending optional for franchisees. The program exempts restaurants built in 2024 from paying into the national ad program for five years, which could save franchisees about $330,000 for each new store. Following that initiative, several franchisees said they are moving up domestic development from the first half of 2025 to Q4 2024 to take advantage of this incentive.
Dive Insight:
Penegor has over 20 years of experience in the industry, including nearly eight years as CEO at Wendy’s after serving a stint as CFO at the chain, according to his LinkedIn profile. His experience also includes 13 years at Kellogg Company, where he held several leadership positions. The new post at Papa John’s takes Penegor out of retirement.
While Penegor was at Wendy’s, the chain posted substantial growth in sales, earnings and new restaurant counts, reaching over 7,000 units worldwide. The chain posted 12 years of same-store sales growth as well. Among the biggest initiatives started under Penegor’s leadership were the addition of a breakfast daypart in 2019, which now accounts for roughly $6,000 in sales per store per week; a new prototype; and a push for more technology, including drive-thru voice automation.
“Todd has an outstanding record of leading winning teams and scaling franchised operations globally through trusted partnerships, product innovation and digital transformation,” Christopher Coleman, chair of the Papa Johns’ board of directors, said in a statement. “He has also demonstrated his ability to effectively allocate capital, drive value and enhance profitability.”
Penegor’s experience could help accelerate sales at Papa Johns, which were down by 2% in North America during Q1 2024, according to an earnings release. The decline was driven by lower transactions, Thanawala said during a May investor call. Growth in its aggregator business was more than offset by a decline in first-party delivery, but carryout remained consistent. Customers have also been more deliberate in their orders, with pizza orders remaining high year-over-year while sides and beverage orders were lower.
As the year progresses, sales could shift to positive as the chain continues to leverage its new brand platform, “Better Get You Some,” which launched at the end of Q1 and includes new brand visuals and messaging. The chain remains focused on improving sales with revenue management strategies, upgrading its loyalty program and adopting its media strategy mix across more channels, Thanawala said.
