Wendy’s on Monday named Beverly Stallings-Johnson its first chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer.
The former chief diversity officer for the City of Columbus, Ohio, will take over the position on March 15. She will lead the company’s efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion across the system, including franchisees, employees and suppliers.
Before she took the job with the city, Stallings-Johnson spent more than 25 years with Xerox, culminating in her position as chief diversity and inclusion global compliance and policy officer.
Todd Penegor, Wendy’s CEO, said that Stallings-Johnson “will be a critical leader within the Wendy’s system to help advance our journey as an employer of choice and community member.”
In hiring Stallings-Johnson, Wendy’s becomes the latest big restaurant company to name new diversity chiefs—or even create the position. Yum Brands last year promoted James Fripp to become the chief diversity and inclusion officer at a company that oversees four brands, including KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Habit Burger.
McDonald’s, meanwhile, named Reggie Miller its new global chief diversity officer.
Such efforts have come amid a renewed focus on diversity within large restaurant companies—there are no Black CEOs of publicly traded restaurant chains, for instance.
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