Wendy's tech leader joins Papa Johns' C-suite
Papa John’s International, Inc. has appointed a new chief digital and technology officer to its C-suite.
The pizza giant has hired Kevin Vasconi to the position, where he will be responsible for guiding the development and execution of Papa Johns’ long-term strategy across the entire digital and technology ecosystem, including customer-facing, restaurant and corporate technology. This includes enterprise architecture, engineering, data analytics, enterprise technology, information security, as well as advancing scalable, cost-effective technology capabilities for the franchise system globally.
Vasconi joins Papa Johns from The Wendy’s Company, where he served as CIO from October 2020 to April 2024, and went on to serve as executive advisor to the CEO for three months after. As CIO, he led the company’s transformation and tripled its e-commerce business in three years through a “consumer-centric approach, leveraging technology to build loyalty with Wendy’s customers.”
“Kevin and I worked together at The Wendy’s Company, where I experienced first-hand his ability to lead technology innovation that delivered significant impact for our customers, team members and franchisees,” said Todd Penegor, president and CEO, who joined the pizza chain last month. “His experience spans a number of industries, though his leadership in QSR, in particular, has been recognized in the industry and has served as an inspiration for other peers in our category. I look forward to Kevin’s partnership across our leadership team to build on the success Papa Johns has had in the digital space, while also leveraging technology to develop even better platforms, partnerships and systems to enable us to build for the future.”
Prior to Wendy’s, Vasconi spent eight years at Domino’s as executive VP and chief information officer, where he was responsible for developing and growing its domestic and international ecommerce businesses. He has spent more than 35 years in technology, including 12 years at Ford Motor Company, and CIO and CTO roles at Covisint LLC, Polk North America, Polk Global Automotive and Stanley Black & Decker.
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“I am excited to join the talented team at Papa Johns and lead our technology strategy as we look to create great experiences for our customers and team members around the globe,” said Vasconi. “I have a passion for the restaurant industry, where I’ve spent the past 12 years of my career, because of our ability to impact so many consumers through technology every day. Papa Johns is a brand I’ve admired given its continued innovation in the technology space. With the digital space in QSR becoming more competitive than ever, there’s both great challenge and opportunity ahead. I’m looking forward to working with the executive team and our technology team to unlocking growth for Papa Johns.”
Other appointments
Vasconi will report to Penegor and serve on the Papa Johns executive leadership team. Additionally, current executive leadership team members, Ravi Thanawala and Joe Sieve, will assume expanded roles, effective immediately:
Thanawala, chief financial officer, has been appointed CFO and executive VP of international. In this new position, he will now manage the company’s international business, which includes markets outside of the United States and Canada, along with his CFO responsibilities.
Sieve, previously chief development and operations officer, has been appointed chief restaurant and global development officer. In this new position, he will now oversee all global development, as well as corporate and franchise restaurant operations.
Co-headquartered in Atlanta and Louisville, Ky., Papa Johns is the world’s third-largest pizza delivery company with approximately 5,900 restaurants in approximately 50 countries and territories.
