Here are some recent restaurant executive moves:
Brad O’Bryan is going from water slides to cheese curds. Culver’s, the Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin-based fast-food burger chain, on Tuesday named O’Bryan its new CFO.
O’Bryan comes to the brand from Great Wolf Resorts, where he was chief financial officer. He replaces Michelle Stuttgen, who is retiring after nearly eight years overseeing finances for Culver’s. The franchise system features more than 950 locations in 26 states.
Little Caesars has promoted three technology executives to new roles. Keith Faigin is now chief information officer, restaurant systems. He has been with the pizza chain for 10 years and was instrumental in building its ecommerce system.
Afia Phillips is now Little Caesars’ chief information security officer. In her previous role as VP of information security, she developed a cybersecurity strategy for Ilitch Companies, the owner of Little Caesars as well as the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings and other businesses. She joined the company in 2021.
And Lance Shinabarger is now chief information officer, shared technologies and applications. He was previously SVP of enterprise systems, data services, and global infrastructure since 2017.
Layne’s Chicken Fingers has two new executives. Alex Camp is the new senior director of operations. Camp worked previously with Jason’s Deli and Fuzzy’s Taco Shop.
Ashley Reynolds is the new director of marketing. She also worked previously with Jason’s Deli, as well as Eddie V’s Restaurant Group, and she worked in marketing for TopGolf and American Airlines.
Nick Swanson has been promoted to vice president of business insights and analytics at Bojangles. He joined the company in 2019 and is credited with fostering a data-driven culture and building digital business intelligence tools. Before joining Bojangles, Swanson worked with brands including Rubbermaid, Banquet, Kid Cuisine, Hoover and Dirt Devil.
Ascent Hospitality Management, parent of the Perkins and Huddle House family-dining chains, has named Louis DiPietro general counsel. He was previously chief legal and people officer for Fiesta Restaurant Group, operator of the Pollo Tropical fast-casual brand.
Charlie Ho has been named corporate executive chef at Le Colonial, the French-Vietnamese restaurant based in New York. Ho will oversee the culinary program for the six restaurants under the Le Colonial banner. He was most recently executive chef at the Houston location.
Alex Taylor is the new COO for 34th Floor Hospitality, based in Las Vegas. The company does consulting, project development and third-party management, primarily for hotels, including managed concepts like Dirty Habit D.C. in the Kimpton Monaco. Taylor was most recently COO of Upward Projects Restaurant Group, where he grew the Postino brand. He also spent years with Kimpton Hotels and was an F&B director for both the Wynn Encore Resort and Casino and Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino.
Whitney Amero Caceres has been named executive chef of the Washington, D.C., restaurant Primrose. Caceres has been with the company for several years, working as a line cook at Rose’s Luxury when it earned a Michelin star, then as a sous chef at Little Pearl when it earned a star, and as sous chef at Rose’s At Home before joining Primrose.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.