Building strong marketing teams continues to be a central focus for restaurant companies this year. Chili's promotion of Ellie Doty to chief marketing officer will only solidify the company's marketing team. Papa John's, Ruby Tuesday and Wendy's are among the other chains to bring on a CMO this year. 

Check out the latest executive changes below:

Sept. 27

Jack in the Box: Three long-tenured executives will leave the company in January and February, according to a press release. Phillip Rudolph, executive vice president, chief legal & risk officer and corporate secretary, will leave on Feb. 28. Mark Blankenship, executive vice president and chief of staff & strategy, as well as Paul Melancon, controller and treasurer, will depart Jan. 3. Their responsibilities will be assumed by other staff. Rudolph, Blankenship and Melancon spent 12, 22 and 14 years, respectively, at the company. 

Sept. 25

Gusto Farm to Street: Meg Schiffman, who led marketing at Cava, has joined the fast casual restaurant as vice president of brand and marketing, according to Fast Casual. She has over 15 years of branding and marketing experience, and also held positions at Glaceau Vitaminwater, Muscle Milk and Honest Tea.  

Sept. 23

Chili’s: Brinker International, Chili’s parent company, promoted Ellie Doty to the position of senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Chili’s, according to a press release. Her promotion is meant to recognize her leadership and accomplishments in helping drive positive sales, traffic and internal guest metrics during fiscal 2019. She joined Brinker in 2017 as vice president of marketing. In this role, she and her team created a consistent brand voice across marketing platforms and developed everyday value programs for Chili’s.  Prior to Brinker, Doty worked at Yum Brands in various positions, including roles at Taco Bell and KFC.