Atlanta-based Church’s Chicken, the franchisor and operator of 1700 restaurants around the world has named senior marketing executive and industry leader, Steve Davis as its Chief Concept Officer. President and Chief Executive Officer, Jim Hyatt announced today, the appointment of Davis to this newly created position. “Steve will be instrumental in strengthening our domestic and international brand positioning and global strategy,” said Hyatt. “With his strategic foresight working for big brands in both the retail and restaurant industries, Steve is ideally suited to lead and further the brand’s vision and growth.”
“I’m truly excited about working with Jim, the Church’s team and our franchisees,” said Steve Davis. “And I’m looking forward to helping to build a prosperous future for all Church’s stakeholders.”
In his new role, Davis is responsible for all aspects of marketing for the brand, including the brand’s overall global strategy and positioning as well as menu and concept innovations. Davis is a member of Church’s Executive Team and reports directly to Jim Hyatt.
Most recently, Steve was a senior marketing consultant for The Einstein Noah Restaurant Group helping the company to develop a comprehensive brand strategy. Prior to his work at Einstein, Davis was the Chief Marketing Officer for Arby’s Restaurant Group and served as the President of Arby’s Franchisee Association. While there, he created and led a turnaround plan that dramatically improved sales performance.
Earlier in his career, Steve held senior positions working with a variety of powerhouse brands. At Heineken North America, Davis served for more than ten years as the Chief Marketing Officer, where he led dramatic growth, almost tripling the size of the business during his tenure. Prior to Heineken, Davis served in senior positions for over ten years at PepsiCo in both their restaurant division at Pizza Hut as Vice President of National Marketing and the beverage division as Vice President of New Business.
Steve Davis is a graduate of the Babcock Graduate School of Management, Wake Forest University where he received his Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Arts.
Founded in San Antonio, TX in 1952, Church’s Chicken is a highly recognized brand name in the Quick Service Restaurant sector and is one of the largest quick service chicken concepts in the world. Church’s serves up a rich tradition of gracious Southern hospitality and freshly prepared, high quality, authentic Southern-style fare, to help people provide affordable, complete meals for their families. Church’s menu includes flavorful chicken both Original and Spicy, Tender Strips and chicken sandwiches with classic sides and hand-made from scratch honey-butter biscuits. The Church’s system consists of more than 1700 locations in 25 countries and system-wide sales of more than $1 billion. For more information on Church’s Chicken, visit www.churchs.com.