Boston Market on Tuesday named former Jack in the Box President Frances Allen its new CEO.
The appointment is “effective immediately.” Allen takes over for George Michel, who is retiring.
Allen counts several restaurant chains in her resume, including Jack in the Box, where she’d been since October 2014 before departing the company earlier this year.
Before that, Allen was chief marketing officer for Denny’s, helping that chain with its “America’s Diner” repositioning. She has been with Dunkin’ Donuts and has also held leadership roles with Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, PepsiCo and Frito-Lay.
Allen said in a statement that she is “delighted” to “lead this great company into its next chapter of strategic growth, brand building and culinary innovation.”
“No other restaurant concept is more responsible for the rising popularity of rotisserie cooking, and we see significant runway for further building the Boston Market brand,” she said.
Allen takes over a chain with more than 450 locations and U.S. system sales of $593.8 million. Average unit volumes are just under $1.3 million, according to Technomic data.
Allen cited Michel’s launch of a “Quality Guarantee,” including a commitment to serving chicken with no antibiotics or other additives. Boston Market was the first chicken chain to serve only antibiotic-free chicken.
“We will build on the strong legacy that Boston Market has established since the 1990s to further improve our relevance with today’s busy families,” she said.
Michel had been Boston Market CEO since 2010, when the former Timothy’s Coffees CEO took over for Lane Cardwell.
In a statement, Michel called his tenure at Boston Market “the highlight of my career.”
“Frances is both a strategic and operational leader and I am confident that Boston Market will benefit greatly from her deep experience and expertise,” he said.
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