Staffing
Big Chicken hires former Bojangles exec
August 14, 2024
Shaquille O'Neal-owned Big Chicken, which was No. 1 on the 2024 Fast Casual Top 100 Movers & Shakersrankings, has hired former Bojangles executive Joshua Sims Sr. as head of marketing.
"What an opportunity we have! There's so much runway ahead of us. I'm looking forward to putting all the right pieces into place to truly activate our brand from a 360-degree vantage point," Sims said in a company press release. "The energy and vibe within this brand are unlike anything I've experienced before. There's a personal connection I have to it because of being a huge Shaquille fan, but layer on top of that a leadership team with someone as caring as CEO Josh Halpern, and I am truly blown away. Josh even called my wife to discuss the opportunity. That's when I knew that I needed to be a part of this team."
Sims served as Bojangles' senior manager of media and advertising, where he helped to raise its digital return-on-ad-spend and omnichannel sales by upward of 30% for franchisees. His digital background began on the agency side, where he focused on delivering digital media and advertising results for brands across various verticals, including working directly with franchisees restaurant brands such as Jersey Mike's. He took on a role as a digital media manager for Lewis Advertising, where he was responsible for creating, controlling and executing digital and social media ads for clients, including Carl's Jr., Hardee's and more.
From 2018 to 2022, he co-founded and ran a multi-store retail chain that scaled to six locations across three states before he and his wife sold the company. Sims' diverse experience, from working with franchisees of small and large brands to being an entrepreneur himself, uniquely positions him to lead the marketing strategy for an emerging brand like Big Chicken, Halpern said.
"As I've said, our careers are about so much more than just outstanding results and KPIs. While those factors are important, our careers are about the extraordinary people that we work with along the way, and I'm so glad that we crossed paths with Josh and that he decided to join us on this journey with Big Chicken," he said in the release. "Together, we're thunder and lightning. His experience speaks for itself and I know that he's already started on the path to take us from the industry's #1 Mover & Shaker to a household name in every corner of the world."
