Staffing

Zaxby's names former Papa John's exec as COO

Provided

April 18, 2022

Georgia-based Zaxby's has hired Sharlene Smith as chief operating officer, effective April 25. Most recently, she served as vice president of operations excellence, North America for Papa John's International, where she was responsible for operations execution across 3,000 locations. She worked closely with a franchisee advisory council to ensure alignment on vision, strategic growth plans and system-wide initiatives, Bernard Acoca, Zaxby's CEO, said in a company press release.

"Given that culture and quality have always been hallmarks of our brand, we needed an exceptional leader who has demonstrated capabilities for operational excellence as well as a passion for people," he said. "Sharlene is an executive who balances vision with execution, and that makes her ideally suited to help accelerate our growth."

Before joining Papa John's, Smith spent the bulk of her career in field leadership positions at McDonald's Corporation, where she led one of the largest, high-growth regions in the system with over 850 company and franchised locations.

"Helping organizations develop talent, grow revenue and create systems for excellent service are my passion," Smith said in the release. "Zaxby's is a company I am proud to join and has teams that I am honored to lead. I am particularly excited to be part of Zaxby's during its next phase of growth."

Founded in 1990, Zaxby's has 900 locations in 17 states.