Papa John's Appoints Rob Lynch As New President And CEO; Backs FY19 Outlook

(RTTNews) - Papa John's International, Inc. (PZZA) announced Tuesday the appointment of Rob Lynch as the new president and chief executive officer, effective immediately. He succeeds Steve Ritchie, who was the CEO since December 2017 and president since July 2015.

Most recently, Lynch served as president of Arby's, the second-largest sandwich restaurant brand in the world, since 2017. Lynch joined Arby's as Chief Marketing Officer in 2013. Lynch has also held leadership positions at Taco Bell, HJ Heinz Company, and Procter & Gamble and has 20 years combined experience in QSR and consumer packaged goods.

Jeff Smith, Chairman of the Papa John's Board of Directors, said, "His proven record transforming organizations and realizing the growth potential of differentiated brands is ideally suited for Papa John's as the company sets forth on its next chapter."

Ritchie has worked at Papa John's for over 23 years, holding multiple positions in the company's leadership throughout that time after starting to work for the company as an hourly worker.

Further, the company reaffirmed its most recent outlook for fiscal 2019 adjusted earnings in the range of $1.00 to $1.20 per share as well as North America comparable sales decline of 1 to 4 percent and international comparable sales between flat and up 3 percent.