Zaxby’s has hired industry veteran Sharlene Smith as chief operating officer, the chicken finger chain announced Thursday.
Smith comes to the Athens, Ga.-based chain after serving most recently as VP of operations excellence, North America for Papa John’s. She spent most of her career in field leadership positions with McDonald’s Corporation, where she led one of the largest regions in the system and oversaw more than 850 company and franchised locations.
The move marks another leadership change at the fast-growing brand.
In October, former El Pollo Loco CEO Bernard Acoca was named CEO, while former CEO and chain co-founder Zach McLeroy became Zaxby’s chairman.
It was the first time since the chain’s founding in 1990 that an outside CEO has led the brand.
David Waters was the chain's previous COO.
Zaxby’s now has more than 900 locations in 17 states.
“Helping organizations develop talent, grow revenue and create systems for excellent service are my passion,” Smith said in a statement. “Zaxby’s is a company I am proud to join and has teams that I am honored to lead. I am particularly excited to be part of Zaxby’s during its next phase of growth.”
While at McDonald’s, Smith was recognized as a “National People Leader” for her work in developing cross-functional teams and developing talent.
“Our industry is experiencing rapid off-premise growth and the digitalization of practically every aspect of our business,” Acoca said in a statement. “Sharlene’s vast foundational experience with iconic brands in the areas of drive-thru and delivery, along with her abilities to build strong teams while scaling for growth will prove vital in the evolution of Zaxby’s.”
Goldman Sachs took a “significant stake” in Zaxby’s in 2020, with plans to propel the chicken chain’s growth.
The chain saw its sales grow 10.5% in 2021 over the prior year and 17.6% on a two-year basis, according to Top 500 chain data from Restaurant Business sister firm Technomic.
This story was updated to correct the name of Zaxby's previous COO.
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