Beto Guajardo, the former president of Focus Brands International, was named CEO of Blaze Pizza on Wednesday.
Mandy Shaw this week announced her departure after five years in the CEO seat at Blaze Pizza, confirming earlier rumors, though she did not reveal her plans.
Shaw in a LinkedIn post said she was moving on to her next journey, after five “wild and fulfilling” years with the Pasadena, Calif.-based chain. After moving across the country as a single mom, Shaw said she wanted to spend more time with her family on the East Coast.
Guajardo spent more than three years with Atlanta-based Focus Brands, which is the franchisor and operator of more than 6,400 restaurants and snack shops under brands such as Auntie Anne’s, Carvel, Cinnabon, Jamba, Moe’s Southwest Grill, McAlister’s Deli and Schlotzsky’s. He first joined as president of Schlotzsky’s in 2019 and later took on the parent company’s international business.
Before joining Focus Brands, he was a senior vice president, global strategy for Starbucks, and he worked previously with Levi Stauss & Co. and Avon.
According to sister brand Technomic’s Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report, Blaze had systemwide sales of $347 million in fiscal 2021, up 20% year over year. Blaze ended that year with 313 units and average unit volumes of $1.1 million.
Founded by Rick Wetzel, who also co-founded Wetzel’s Pretzels, and his wife Elise Wetzel, Blaze attracted big name celebrity backers early on, including NBA Star LeBron James, Boston Red Sox chairman Tom Werner and former California First Lady Maria Shriver.
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