Chili’s and Maggiano’s owner Brinker International has reworked its C-suite in recent days, naming a new chief people officer and returning Head of Innovation Wade Allen to his former post as chief digital officer.
The restructuring, the company said, reflects a new strategy under CEO Kevin Hochman, who took over in June from the retiring Wyman Roberts.
That strategy will apparently look to align human resources more closely with restaurant operations and will put a renewed emphasis on Chili’s off-premise business.
New Chief People Officer Aaron White will spearhead the first part. The 20-plus-year Chili’s veteran will not only oversee hiring and retention but also culinary operations and restaurant services.
"Given the importance of Team Member and manager retention, we're moving our people function closer to the operation," said Hochman in a statement.
Aaron White has been with Chili's since 2001. / Photo courtesy of Brinker International
White’s background at Chili’s, which includes both HR and operations roles, made her the perfect candidate, Hochman said. She was most recently Chili’s co-COO alongside Doug Comings.
In an effort to improve retention, the chain in recent months has worked to simplify operations to make employees’ jobs easier and more fun. The changes have extended to matters as granular as how fries are presented. But White suggested an entirely new labor model is in the works.
"I'm honored to take on this role and am ready to tackle our retention goals and redefine our labor model to better support our operators and Team Members,” she said in a statement.
Read more: Brinker CEO Kevin Hochman wants to make Chili's fun again.
White replaces Rick Badgley, who joined Brinker in 2016 and held dual titles of chief people officer and chief administrative officer. He left the company Oct. 17, according to an SEC filing.
The reinstatement of longtime executive Wade Allen as chief digital officer, meanwhile, heralds changes on the technology front.
Specifically, Allen will focus on growing Chili’s off-premise business, which already accounts for $1 billion in annual sales, or nearly 30% of the brand’s total revenue.
"I'm pleased that Wade has jumped into the opportunity to explore and determine how we might remove friction from the Team Member and the Guest experience to continue to drive this important part of our business,” Hochman said.
Wade Allen was Brinker's chief digital officer from 2018 to 2020. / Photo courtesy of Brinker International
Allen joined Brinker in 2014 as VP of customer engagement and digital innovation. He became chief digital officer in 2018 and then head of innovation in June 2020.
In that role, Allen was involved in a variety of projects, including culinary innovation and virtual brands. He also oversaw a rollout of front-of-house robots that was paused under Hochman.
The return to his old job jives with the back-to-basics approach touted by Hochman, who has said he wants to focus on tech that can help tackle the chain’s most immediate challenges rather than what might be coming five years from now.
That philosophy extends to Chili’s delivery-only virtual brand It’s Just Wings. The concept exploded into a $150 million business during the pandemic, but Hochman has hinted that it may be less of an emphasis in the near term, noting that it can bog down the kitchen during busy periods.
“It’s a big part of our business,” Hochman told the audience at FSTEC in September, but “it’s not going to be the thing that I think some people think it could be.”
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