Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) today announced three
promotions from within the company on its management team: Tim North to
Senior Vice President, North American Operations; Annette Calhoun, to
Vice President, Human Resources; and Dennis Gerstner, to Division Vice
President, North Division. North will report to Bill Mitchell in his
capacity as President, Global Operations; Calhoun will report to Papa
John’s President and Chief Operating Officer, Jude Thompson; and
Gerstner will report to North.
"We are pleased to round out our management team with these talented
individuals,” said Papa John’s President and Chief Operating Officer,
Jude Thompson. "Tim North and Dennis Gerstner are both talented
operators who know the Papa John’s system well and, quite simply, know
how to run great pizza restaurants. Annette Calhoun knows our culture
and I am confident she will do a great job leading our HR team.”
North has been with Papa John’s since 2005 serving as Division Vice
President, North Division, leading the division’s operations and
development efforts that have resulted in increasing market share,
development and profitability. In his new capacity, North will be
responsible for overseeing all franchise and corporate operations in the
U.S. and Canada. Prior to Papa John’s, North spent most of his career in
the foodservice industry most recently serving as General Manager,
Northeast US for Pizza Hut from 2003 to 2005.
"Tim North has proven himself to be an outstanding operator who is
committed to profitable sales and growth, and who has earned the trust
and respect of his peers and franchisees,” said Mitchell. "I look
forward to continuing to work with Tim as he spreads his enthusiasm and
commitment to the rest of our North American operations.”
Gerstner joined Papa John’s in 2001, and since 2006, has served as Vice
President of Nontraditional Operations, overseeing expansion and
operations in stadium and other nontraditional venues. From 2001 to
2006, he served in various other roles within the company, including
Vice President OSST, Operations Vice President and Director of
Operations.
Calhoun joined Papa John’s in 1999 and has served in various roles in
Human Resources for the company, including Senior Director of Benefits
since 2005. Calhoun has more than 18 years of management and human
resources experience in various industries including hospitality, legal
and restaurant. Prior to joining Papa John’s, Calhoun served as the head
of Human Resources for Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, LLP, a Louisville-based
regional law firm, where she was responsible for managing all aspects of
the firm’s human resources function.
Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John's is the world's third
largest pizza company. For nine of the last 10 years, consumers have
rated Papa John's No. 1 in customer satisfaction among all national
pizza chains in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Papa
John's was honored by Restaurants & Institutions Magazine (R&I) with the
2009 Gold Award for Consumers’ Choice in Chains in the pizza segment,
ranked first among pizza companies in the 2008 Brand Keys Customer
Loyalty Engagement Index and was named 2007 Pizza Today Chain of the
Year. For more information about the company or to order pizza online,
visit Papa John's at www.papajohns.com.