Jay Johns was named president of IHOP on Monday, according to a federal securities filing by parent company Dine Brands Global.
Johns, who had been senior vice president of operations for the family-dining chain since 2017, will take over effective June 13 as part of a succession plan following the departure of Darren Rebelez.
Rebelez is leaving IHOP “to pursue another opportunity as chief executive officer.” It is uncertain what company has hired Rebelez.
Johns has held various operations roles with IHOP since coming to the company in 2009. The company in a filing said that Johns’ “knowledge of the business, solid relationships with our franchisees, and his strategic leadership over the years position him as the ideal candidate to lead IHOP into its next phase.”
Charles Scaccia has been appointed senior vice president, operations, for IHOP. Scaccia has been with the chain for more than 21 years.
Johns takes over a chain that operates more than 1,700 locations and generated more than $3.2 billion in system sales in the U.S. in 2018, according to Technomic data.
Rebelez has been the president of IHOP since 2015. He had been a franchising veteran, having been the chief operating officer of 7-Eleven before that. He led the brand through an aggressive marketing period, notably the viral campaign in which it changed its name to “IHOb” to promote its burgers last year.
The company this week launched a successor campaign, calling its burgers “Angus beef pancakes.”
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