News

Smashburger's Tom Ryan named chief brand officer

May 4, 2016

Smashburger has announced Tom Ryan, company co-founder, will assume the role of chief brand officer, spearheading brand evolution as the company expands across the globe. Ryan has served as the brand's chief concept officer since 2007, when he and Rick Schaden co-founded the better-burger concept.

"As we set an aggressive growth pace, maintaining the integrity of the Smashburger brand is paramount," said Rick Schaden, chairman. "There is no better person than Tom to guide the evolution of the Smashburger brand as we enter this next phase of growth at home and abroad. His vision and passion have always been at the heart of Smashburger."  

The announcement follows the recent appointment of Mike Nolan as Smashburger CEO and a significant recapitalization of Smashburger completed in Q4 2015.  In late 2015, Smashburger announced a 4 percent strategic partnership with Jollibee Foods Corp., an Asian food service company with more than 3,000 stores worldwide.

"Smashburger is at an inflection point," Ryan said. "I'm excited at the prospect of taking on a more active, day-to-day role and working with the talented team that Josh Kern, our chief marketing officer has assembled. All the ingredients are in place to take Smashburger to the next level as we restore burgers to their rightful place."

Smashburger currently operates and is in development in more than 365 restaurants across the United States, United Kingdom, Kuwait, Canada, El Salvador, Panama, Costa Rica, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.