He was the man behind "we have the meats." Now he's trading roast beef for pizza.
Rob Lynch, the president of Arby's, is taking over as chief executive of Papa John's as the pizza chain shakes up its top leadership for the second time in less than two years. Lynch, whose appointment is effective immediately, replaced Steve Ritchie, a longtime Papa John's franchisee who has led the company for the last 18 months, the company said Tuesday.
Papa John's has been working to revive sales and improve its reputation after its former chairman and founder, John Schnatter, became embroiled in a series of racially charged scandals. Schnatter, who had been the brand's public face, appearing in commercials, resigned as chairman of the company's board last year after a report that he used a racial slur during a conference call.
He had also been chief executive of the company, but stepped down from that role in 2017 after he blamed the NFL's handling of player protests against racism and police brutality for a slump in Papa John's sales. The company had a sponsorship deal with the league, which it later gave up.
Rob LynchLynch's appointment comes several months after Papa John's appointed a new board chairman in February.
The new chairman, Jeffrey Smith, is the chief executive of the activist hedge fund Starboard Value, which has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Papa John's this year. Starboard gained prominence in the restaurant world five years ago when it replaced 12 directors on the board of Darden Restaurants Inc., the owner of Olive Garden.
Lynch joined Arby's in 2013 after holding marketing positions at Taco Bell, H.J. Heinz and Proctor & Gamble. While he was in charge of marketing at Arby's the chain unveiled its popular slogan, "We have the meats."
Since he became Arby's chief executive in 2017, Lynch has been a vocal opponent of the plant-based meat movement: In June, the company unveiled a "meat-based carrot" as a tongue-in-cheek response to rumors that it was considering a partnership with the alternative meat company Impossible Foods.
Lynch will be replaced by Jim Taylor, the chief marketing officer at Arby's, the chain's parent company, Inspire Brands, announced on Tuesday.