News

Smashburger names new president

August 9, 2011

Smashburger has announced several key promotions, including the promotion of Greg Creighton to the position of president, where he will take on an expanded leadership role to help drive business strategy for the chain.  In addition, the company has hired two vice presidents to further strengthen the leadership team and support the company for continued growth and expansion.

The following individuals have been promoted or hired to the following positions:

• Greg Creighton has been promoted to the position of president, where he will have an expanded focus on the strategic direction and leadership of Smashburger. He previously held the position of chief operating officer for the company.  Prior to joining Smashburger, he served as president, COO and CFO at Leeann Chin, where he directed all retail operations, production and distribution operations, among other responsibilities. 
• Chris Chang has joined Smashburger as senior vice president of Finance and Strategy. In this capacity, Chang will be responsible for Smashburger’s finance, accounting, strategy, investor relations, purchasing and IT functions. He was previously a VP in the private equity group at Consumer Capital Partners, where he focused on restaurant and multi-unit consumer investments. 
• Jeremy Morgan has been promoted to SVP, Marketing and Consumer Insights. Morgan previously served as VP, Strategy. Prior to joining Smashburger, he was a Case Team Leader with Bain & Company in Chicago as well as an associate for Corporate Strategy at JPMorganChase.
• Max Sheets has been promoted to SVP, Real Estate. Sheets previously held the position of VP, Real Estate. He previously served as VP of Real Estate and Development for Atlanta-based Ted’s Montana Grill, Total Entertainment Restaurant Corporation and Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon.
• Doug Branigan, SVP, Franchising, has taken on expanded responsibility and will now lead franchise sales and relations, and will continue to stay involved in franchise real estate and development.
• Jim Ernster has been promoted to the position of VP, Construction, where he will lead new restaurant development for both company and franchise units. Ernster has more than 20 years experience in construction and restaurant development with brands such as Old Chicago and Rock Bottom.
• Doug Thielen has joined Smashburger as VP, Communications, where he will lead all public relations and corporate communications activities. He joins Smashburger from Qdoba Restaurant Corporation, where he served as manager of Non-Traditional Marketing & Public Relations. 

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