Papa Johns’ chief operating officer for international, Amanda Clark, will leave the company on March 1, the chain said in a press release Monday. She will assume the role of CEO for another company in the franchise segment, but the press release did not name the company.
Clark has been with the company since February 2020, when she joined as chief development officer. Her role expanded to include international business in May 2022 and she was promoted to COO, international in September. Prior to working at Papa Johns, Clark held various positions at Taco Bell for over five years, according to her LinkedIn profile. She also worked at Proctor & Gamble for about a decade in different brand manager and marketing roles.
During Clark’s tenure, the chain added over 700 net new units and signed two of the largest deals in the company’s history. In 2020, HB Restaurant Group signed a deal to open nearly 50 Papa Johns locations in Philadelphia and southern New Jersey by 2028. In 2021, Sun Holdings agreed to develop 100 Papa Johns stores in high-growth markets in Texas by 2029.
Papa Johns CEO Rob Lynch said they will evaluate internal and external candidates as they work to fill Clark’s position. The executive transition comes amid the company’s Back to Better 2.0 plan, which was announced in January and aims to improve Papa Johns’ North American and international businesses. During 2023, the company’s international business posted a comp sales decline of 4%, according to a press release.
Under its new strategy, Papa Johns will establish international regional hubs in its key regions of Asia Pacific, EMEA (Europe Middle East and Africa) and Latin America, led by general managers and their teams who will work with local franchisees. The company also will boost technology investments particularly in consumer-facing tech, digital infrastructure and enhanced reporting. Papa Johns is also honing in on its U.K. business, its largest international market, and will work on improving its operational efficiency, enhance the customer experience and drive profitability. As part of this plan, it closed low-performing restaurants in non-viable locations to boost profitability.
