Photo Credits: Applebee’s, Brinker International, Crumbl Cookies, Farmer Boys, Fuzzy’s Taco Shop and Taco John’s
CHIEF OPERATOR CHANGES
GRACIELA CHADWICK COO
Crumbl Cookies
BRIAN KRAUSE Chief Development Officer Focus Brands
SCOTT RODRIGUEZ SVP & Chief Culinary Officer Applebee’s
AARON WHITE EVP - Chief People Officer Brinker International
WADE ALLEN
SVP - Chief Digital Officer Brinker International
JOSEPH ORTIZ
VP of Finance and Accounting Farmer Boys
Applebee’s Chef Scott Rodriguez has joined Applebee’s as senior vice president and chief culinary officer. A classically trained chef, Rodriguez brings deep casual dining innovation experience to Applebee’s talented culinary team.
“Scott possesses a unique blend of culinary creativity, operational pragmatism, and big-brand leadership. Most importantly, Scott loves food and the role it plays within Applebee’s Eatin’ Good in the Neighborhood positioning,” Applebee’s President John Cywinski said. With more than 20 years in the casual dining restaurant
industry, Rodriguez has previously worked with recognized brands like Papa John’s and BJ’s Restaurants Inc. He helped these brands develop new offerings for guests through a focus on research and development, new product innovation and menu strategy.
“I have a life-long admiration for Applebee’s and am thrilled to be part of this incredible leadership team,” Rodriguez said. “A successful culinary strategy begins with our guests and restaurant-level excellence. I’m spending my first few months in- restaurant learning from our teams and franchise partners and listening to our guests in terms of what they love and expect from Applebee’s.”
Brinker International Brinker International, the parent company of Chili’s and Maggiano’s, announced the promotion of Aaron White to executive vice president, chief people officer. In her new role, White will oversee all aspects of the team member experience for Brinker and Chili’s Grill & Bar, including recruitment and retention, talent selection, learning and development, and diversity, equity and inclusion. At an enterprise level, she will also lead key business priorities such as culinary operations, restaurant services, guest engagement and team member relations.
“Given the importance of team member and manager
retention, we’re moving our people function closer to the operation,” President and CEO Kevin Hochman said. “And with previous leadership roles in PeopleWorks – our HR department
40 FEDA News & Views
JOSH DIEKMAN Director of Culinary & Executive Chef Fuzzy’s Taco Shop
MARK KOCER COO Taco John’s
– and extensive operations experience, Aaron was the perfect candidate to help us achieve our hiring and retention goals and make our positions in the field easier, more fun and more rewarding.”
White joined Chili’s as an hourly team member and has devoted her 20-plus year career serving Chili’s restaurant teams and guests. In her most recent role as senior vice president and co-chief operating officer of Chili’s, Aaron oversaw operations for more than 500 restaurants to ensure best-in-class operations and deliver excellent guest and team member experiences. “I’ve had a passion for this industry since I started working
in restaurants in high school, and I’ve always been motivated by supporting the growth and development of team members throughout their careers,” White said. “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.” In addition, Wade Allen returned to his role as senior vice
president, chief digital officer, this time with a focus on growing the company’s off-premise business and driving the digital guest experience online through the Chili’s app, to-go and delivery.
“Given the $1 billion in annual Chili’s sales consumed off-
premise, it’s clear that guests now view Chili’s as a delicious home meal replacement,” Hochman said. “I’m pleased that Wade has jumped into the opportunity to explore and determine how we might remove friction from the team member and guest experience to continue to drive this important part of our business.” Allen joined Brinker in 2014 and was previously senior vice
president of innovation with oversight of culinary innovation, engineering, strategic growth, and the development and execution of virtual brands “My roots are in technology, data security and analytics, and I’m excited to continue to use technology to transform and improve the off-premise experience for our Guests,” Allen said. “Chili’s has always been a leader in leveraging tech in the industry, and we will continue to innovate and make strides with ease, personalization and hospitality at the forefront.”
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