JFC appoints new Smashburger execs

MANILA, Philippines — Jollibee Foods Corp. has appointed restaurant veteran Carl Bachmann as president of Smashburger, the US burger chain it fully acquired in December 2018.

Bachmann has three decades of experience in managing restaurant chains such as Bertucci’s and Ruby Tuesday, resulting in increased revenues and efficiencies, JFC said in a statement.

Bachmann joined Smashburger two-and-half years ago as vice president for operations for the east and was appointed chief operating officer in August 2017.

As chief operating officer, Bachmann was able to effect improvements in the stores that resulted in record highs in terms of food quality and speed of service, including 80 percent on guest experience scores.

Aside from Bachmann, JFC also named new executives as part of the company’s leadership changes.

The new executives include Scott Johnson, a seasoned and multi-awarded marketing professional, who joined Smashburger  last August as vice president and head of marketing.

Johnson’s background includes over 20 years of experience in restaurants such as Arby’s, Outback Steakhouse, Bravo Restaurant Group, and most recently BurgerFi.

Charlie Sayre, meanwhile, has been appointed as vice president and head of finance of Smashburger after joining the company in July 2016. He will be responsible for ensuring the brand’s sustainable profit model in the years to come.

The Smashburger leadership team and other JFC brands in the North American market will be guided under the leadership of Rowel Vijandre, president and country business group head of JFC North America and was previously president of Chowking.

JFC chief executive officer Ernesto Tanmantiong said the “synergy of homegrown and external talents at the helm of Smashburger with proven track records, in conjunction with integrating synergies across the JFC Group of Companies, will power up the organization and enable it to achieve its business goals.”