Dive Brief:
- Shake Shack has promoted Steph So to chief growth officer and hired Luke DeRouen as chief communications officer, the company said Thursday.
- The fast casual brand’s chief marketing officer, Jay Livingston, will leave at the end of March to pursue a new opportunity. He will remain at Shake Shack in “a special projects role” until his departure, according to the press release.
- The roles are new additions to Shake Shack’s C-suite; the company did not specify if it intended to backfill Livingston’s position following his departure.
Dive Insight:
CEO Rob Lynch, who joined Shake Shack last spring, said the brand “is at a pivotal moment of growth and evolution,” and the new executives “will be instrumental in shaping our future, deepening our guest connections, and expanding Shake Shack’s footprint.”
Like other fast casual brands, Shake Shack has weathered the restaurant industry’s loss of traffic fairly well and is continuing with plans to eventually triple its unit count. The company also recently named a new chief information and technology officer, Justin Mennen.
Both So and DeRouen will serve in marketing, Shake Shack said, with So handling digital marketing, customer experience, culinary and promotional strategy. DeRouen, meanwhile, will oversee brand strategy, external communications and marketing at the regional and national levels.
So has worked at Shake Shack since 2019, and was senior vice president of digital experience for the chain before her appointment as CGO. In her previous role, she “played a pivotal role in driving digital growth, enhancing the Shack App and website, and launching impactful co-marketing campaigns with delivery partners,” the company said.
Digital order kiosks have emerged as Shake Shack’s largest ordering channel, and the technology has helped the company upsell consumers, promote LTOs and highlight premium items. The company also said last year that it would add a digital loyalty program in 2025 as a long term sales driver.
DeRouen most recently served as an executive vice president at Zeno Group, a communications firm. Prior to that, he was CMO at Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux for two years, and served in a variety of marketing and comms roles at Buffalo Wild Wings and Arby’s for Inspire Brands, according to his LinkedIn profile.
