LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 28, 2019--
Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA), one of the world’s
largest pizza delivery companies, today announced the appointment of
Karlin Linhardt as its Global Chief Marketing Officer. Mr. Linhardt is a
veteran marketing leader with deep Quick Service Restaurant (QSR)
category experience and C-suite executive roles at global Fortune-500
restaurant companies, consumer brands and top professional services
firms, including Anheuser-Busch, McDonald’s, Accenture and Subway.
In his most recent role, Mr. Linhardt served as Senior Vice President of
Marketing for North America for Subway Restaurants, where he led brand
management and guest experience for 30,000 restaurants and designed the
company’s global brand transformation plan. Prior to Subway, Mr.
Linhardt served as a Senior Consultant of Business and Digital
Strategies at Accenture, a leading global professional services company.
“Karlin is a seasoned marketing executive who I am confident will
contribute to our ‘BETTER INGREDIENTS. BETTER PIZZA.’ brand value
proposition,” said Papa John’s President and CEO Steve Ritchie. “The
addition of Karlin as Global Chief Marketing Officer is one of the many
significant steps we’ve taken to improve our brand differentiation,
which includes enhancing our quality positioning in the category.
Karlin’s combined restaurant, franchise and consumer brand experience
make him an excellent addition to the Papa John’s leadership team.”
Mr. Linhardt’s QSR experience includes 10 years at McDonald’s, where he
led initiatives that were critical to the brand’s turnaround, including
kids & family (Happy Meals), value (Dollar Menu) and premium burger
products (Big Mac, Quarter Pounder). He has led strategic business and
marketing efforts across multiple brand categories that include
restaurant, retail, consumer packaged goods, media, sports marketing and
entertainment. Mr. Linhardt has also led partnerships with world-class
brands such as Disney, Walmart and Coca-Cola, and served on the Board of
Directors for Perkins & Marie Callender’s Restaurants for seven years.
“Strong marketing leadership is critical to driving the success of our
brand and our business,” said Bo Knapp, Papa John’s Franchise Advisory
Council Marketing Committee Chairman. “Karlin appreciates the important
role franchisees play in the organization and understands the needs of
the franchise system. I welcome him to Papa John’s and look forward to
working closely with him in his new role.”
“I am excited to join Papa John’s and begin working with the talented
leadership and marketing teams to build upon the work underway,” said
Mr. Linhardt. “I’m a fan of Papa John’s high-quality product and I look
forward to helping tell that quality story to customers in new ways.”
About Papa John's
Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John's International, Inc.
(NASDAQ: PZZA) is the world's third-largest pizza delivery company. In
2018, consumers rated Papa John’s No. 1 in product and service quality
among national pizza chains in the American Customer Satisfaction Index
(ACSI). For 17 of the past 19 years, consumers have rated Papa John'sNo. 1 in customer satisfaction among national pizza chains in the
American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). For more information about
the company or to order pizza online, visit Papa John's at www.papajohns.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190328005253/en/
Source: Papa John’s International, Inc.
Media:
Madeline Chadwick, 502-261-4189
VP,
Communications
Madeline_Chadwick@papajohns.com