Marco's Pizza Taps Power Duo, Expanding Leadership Team with New CMO and CFO

• Industry Veterans Bring Unmatched Expertise, Elevating Leadership Bench Strength to Support Franchisees
• Steve Kennedy to Drive Innovation in Brand Positioning, Technology, and Customer Experience as CMO
• Bill Schaffler to Provide Financial Strategy Oversight to Power U.S. and International Development

TOLEDO, Ohio, Dec. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Marco's Pizza, one of the nation's fastest-growing pizza brands, announces the appointment of Steve Kennedy as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and Bill Schaffler as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). These key leadership additions enhance an already robust executive team, reinforcing the brand's commitment to disciplined financial leadership and innovative, insight-driven marketing as it continues to grow across the U.S. and internationally.

"Our achievements start with our franchisees, and delivering world-class leadership is one of the most important ways we support them," said Tony Libardi, Co-CEO & President of Marco's Pizza. "Steve and Bill are extraordinary additions whose experience and leadership will strengthen every area of our organization."

Driving Next-Generation Brand Strategy & Guest Engagement

With more than 25 years of experience in marketing, digital transformation, and consumer strategy, Kennedy joins Marco's Pizza as Chief Marketing Officer, bringing a proven record of elevating brands through modern, data-driven marketing engines. Throughout his career, Kennedy has led marketing and digital strategy at some of the industry's most recognized brands, including Domino's and Nestlé USA, and most recently served as EVP & Head of Marketing at Noodles & Company, where he spearheaded brand strategy, digital modernization, and enhanced guest engagement.

"The momentum behind Marco's is undeniable," said Kennedy. "Consistent operational excellence and a disciplined approach to growth have created an exceptional foundation. My goal is to accelerate Marco's growth by amplifying what makes us special - our quality, our people, our franchisees, and our authentic love for pizza - through bold, data-driven marketing that builds brand relevance, deepens guest connection and fuels unstoppable demand."

Strengthening Financial Performance & Operational Excellence
A seasoned financial and operations leader with deep experience in high-growth restaurant and hospitality brands, Schaffler joins Marco's Pizza as Chief Financial Officer, bringing a strong foundation in private-equity environments, multi-unit expansion, and enterprise-level financial performance. His background includes guiding financial strategy and technology modernization at Hopdoddy Burger Bar, leading brand and operational transformation as President & CEO of Ascension Coffee Company and driving systemwide efficiencies and growth in CFO roles at Nothing Bundt Cakes and La Madeleine.

Schaffler was also a co-founding partner and President of Black Box Intelligence, the industry's insights platform for workforce, guest and financial performance. Schaffler replaces Jeff Rager, who is slated to retire at the end of 2025.

"What excites me most about Marco's is the strength of the system, franchisees, operators, and leadership all moving in the same direction," said Schaffler. "It's a rare foundation for growth. I'm proud to join a brand that is committed to high performance and to building the financial and operational structure needed to support everyone across the organization."

Franchise Opportunities
Prospective franchisees are increasingly recognizing the strength of the Marco's Pizza opportunity, as Marco's Franchise Disclosure Document reports $1.3M AUV for the top 25% of franchised stores in 2024.* 

For more information Marco's Pizza franchise opportunities, visit https://www.marcos.com/franchising/ or contact Brad Smith at bradsmith@marcos.com or 419-279-5795. 

ABOUT MARCO'S PIZZA  
Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, Marco's Pizza is one of the fastest-growing pizza brands in the United States. Marco's was founded in 1978 by Italian-born Pasquale ("Pat") Giammarco and thrives to deliver a high-quality pizza experience, known for its dough made from scratch and its three fresh signature cheeses. The company has grown from its roots as a beloved Ohio brand to operate over 1,200 stores in 35 states with locations in Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and Mexico. Notably, Marco's was recognized as America's Favorite Restaurant in the Limited-Service Pizza category by Nation's Restaurant News using Technomic Ignite Consumer 2024 data^ꝉꝉ. Other recent accolades include being recognized by QSR as one of the "16 Best Franchise Deals for 2025", ranking No. 49 on Entrepreneur Magazine's 2025 "Franchise 500" ranking, earning a coveted spot as the only top 5 pizza chain to rank on Newsweek's 2025 "America's Best Customer Service" in pizza chains list, earning a spot on QSR's Top 50, and being featured on Nation's Restaurant News' prestigious "Top 500" ranking.    

*Based on average sales volume of the top performing 25% (or 239 units) of Marco's Pizza Franchised Stores that were open during our 2024 fiscal year. Of the 955 Franchised Stores that were in operation for our entire 2024 fiscal year, 239 were included in the top 25% set and 40% obtained or surpassed the average sales volume. This information excludes (i) international locations (including Puerto Rico); (ii) Franchised Stores not open for the entire 52-week period in 2024; (iii) special venue and non-traditional franchised locations; and (iv) Franchised Stores that closed in 2024. See Item 19 of our 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document for additional information. Individual results may differ. There is no assurance that any franchisee will perform as well. 

**The information provided in this article should not be construed as an offer to sell any Marco's Pizza® franchises in, nor is any such communication directed to, the residents of any jurisdiction requiring registration of the franchise before it is offered and sold in that jurisdiction. Currently, the following states regulate the offer and sale of franchises: California, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. Marco's Pizza® franchises will not be sold to any resident of such jurisdiction until the offering has been exempted from the requirements of, or duly registered in and declared effective by, such jurisdiction and the required franchise disclosure document (if applicable) has been delivered to the prospective franchisee before the sale in compliance with applicable law. Additionally, the participant must meet our financial, creditworthiness, and operational criteria to qualify for the incentive program and be approved by us to open each Store. If the franchisee is a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or other legal entity, the qualifying participant must maintain at least 50% ownership in the entity, as well as the qualifying existing Stores, to qualify for this program, and the franchisee must comply with program requirements. In the event the participant fails at any time to meet the timelines to qualify for the applicable incentive program while developing a Store, the Store being developed and any remaining unopened Stores to be developed will pay the then-current standard Royalty Fee rate. See Marco's Franchising's Franchise Disclosure Document for more information. To qualify for the incentive program, the participant must sign a development agreement and open the stores within the following timeframes: 1^st Store within 365 days of signing; 2^nd Store within 6 months of 1^st store opening; 3^rd Store within 6 months of 2^nd store opening; 4^th Store within 6 months of 3^rd store opening; 5^th Store within 6 months of 4^th store opening.  

^ꝉꝉAccording to Technomic's 2024 America's Favorite Restaurants data, Marco's Pizza secured the top spot in the Limited-Service Pizza category with a 53.4% composite top-box rating, indicating the share of recent guests who gave the brand the highest possible rating for each of the guest experience attributes. Data for America's Favorite Chains comes from Technomic Ignite Consumer, which collects information about how brands impact consumers and how consumers interact with those brands, via online surveys. See here for more information: www.technomic.com/ignite-consumer. 

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SOURCE Marco's Pizza