Blaze Pizza has added two new executives to its C Suite. This week, the pizza chain named Kevin Moran chief development officer and Johnny Tellez chief operations officer.
Moran has over two decades of experience in financial planning and accounting under his belt. Prior to joining Blaze, Moran held the role of vice president of strategic development at Focus Brands International. In his new role as CDO, Moran will accelerate the brand’s global growth, according to a press release.
Tellez brings experience in both operations and training, and he has held several leadership roles at restaurant chains. Tellez also comes to Blaze from Focus Brand International where he held the role of vice president of training and operations.
"We are pleased to announce the addition of Kevin and Johnny to our executive team at Blaze Pizza. Their outstanding qualifications and proven track record of success assure us of our continued ability to provide an exemplary experience for our franchisees and patrons as we move forward into our next phase of expansion," said Beto Guajardo, CEO of Blaze Pizza, in a statement.
Dutch Bros has named Tana Davila chief marketing officer. Davila comes to Dutch Bros from her role as chief marketing officer at CKE Restaurant Holdings and she brings over a decade of food industry experience to the role. Prior to that she held the role of chief marketing officer at P.F. Chang’s. As CMO of Dutch Bros, Davila will over see brand and product marketing, and the company’s reward program.
“Tana is an accomplished marketer and has proven talent for elevating the efforts of exciting, established brands,” said Christine Barone, president of Dutch Bros, in a statement. “Her strategic skills and ability to create customer connections will be key as we continue toward our target of 4,000 shops in the next 10-15 years.”
Jeremy Theisen has been named chief growth and development officer for Craveworthy Brands, the multi-brand platform company created by Gregg Majewski earlier this year. Theisen was previously chief growth officer for Fat Brands, and, before that, chief revenue officer of foodsafety-tech company PathSpot. He was also chief sales officer for the loyalty and engagement tech firm Punchh.
Jeremy Theisen. | Photo courtesy of Craveworthy Brands.
Kelley Morrell, a former head of asset management at investment firm Blackstone, has been named chief financial officer of the food tech startup Wonder, effective in July. New York City-based Wonder is a collection of higher-end restaurants offering dishes for delivery.
Kelley Morrel. | Photo courtesy of Wonder.
Also this week, Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux named Chris Dawson CEO, the sports-bar franchise’s second new CEO this year.
Krystal, Logan’s Roadhouse parent company, also has a new CEO. This week the company appointed Josh Kern to the position.
Meanwhile, Gene Lee is retiring as Darden chairman. Lee will step down after the company’s annual meeting, which is set for September.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.