Amanda Clark Named Chief Development Officer for Papa John's

Ms. Clark joins Papa John's from Taco Bell, where she was Executive Vice President of Restaurant Experience.

Feb 17, 2020 - 12:54

Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) today announced the appointment of Amanda Clark as its Chief Development Officer. Ms. Clark will lead the company’s strategy to continue expanding its restaurant footprint in North America and internationally.

“Amanda is a passionate leader with a proven track record of driving growth at one of the restaurant industry’s biggest success stories over the past 10 years,” said Papa John’s President and CEO Rob Lynch. “I had the pleasure of working with Amanda during my time at both Procter & Gamble and Taco Bell, and I’m thrilled to welcome her to Papa John’s. Her energy, ideas and expertise will help us to achieve our goal of driving continued net unit growth through expansion in both the US and around the world.”

As Chief Development Officer, Ms. Clark will oversee franchise development and sales, building design and new concepts, and the programs and personnel that provide ongoing facilities support to existing restaurants.

“I believe Papa John’s is on a path to be one of the great brand turnaround stories, and I’m excited to a be a part of it,” said Ms. Clark. “I’m passionate about helping companies grow. Continuing to open more units is one of the key metrics that define the health of a restaurant brand. I’m looking forward to working with Rob and the leaders of Papa John’s to write the next chapter in the company’s history.”

Ms. Clark joins Papa John’s from Taco Bell, where she was Executive Vice President of Restaurant Experience. In her role there, she oversaw the entire customer experience of Taco Bell’s 7,000 restaurants, including design, consumer facing technology, merchandising, customer marketing, new concepts and company development. She served in other leadership roles during her nearly seven years at Taco Bell, including Senior Vice President, North America Development, where she helped Taco Bell deliver more net new units during those two years than any other QSR chain in North America. In addition, Ms. Clark served as General Manager for Taco Bell Canada, where she delivered record double digit same store sales growth for two years in a row. She also built the first free-standing Taco Bells in Canada for the first time in 17 years. Prior to joining Taco Bell, she worked at Procter and Gamble for nearly 12 years on some of P&G’s biggest brands, such as Olay, Pampers and Oral-B.