Papa Johns has enlisted a pair of former retail executives with a financial background to join its board of directors.
The Atlanta-based pizza chain named John Garratt, former president of Dollar General, and Stephen Gibbs, former chief accounting officer with The Home Depot, to join its board. The move will give the company a 10-member board, eight of whom are independent.
Garratt worked with Dollar General from 2014 through 2023, a period in which he rose from SVP of finance to president and CFO. Before that, however, he spent more than a decade at Pizza Hut owner Yum Brands, working in finance and corporate strategy departments.
Gibbs most recently worked for Home Depot from 2020 through 2023. He previously worked with Tyson Foods, Keurig Green Mountain and Scientific Games Corp.
The appointment of the two new board members “demonstrates Papa Johns’ commitment to ensuring our board is composed of directors with relevant skills and expertise to oversee the execution of our strategy,” Papa Johns Chairman Christopher Coleman said in a statement. He said their financial and corporate strategy experience “will be instrumental as we continue to build on our growth plans.”
Papa Johns, which also has corporate offices in Louisville, Ky., has more than 5,700 locations globally. The company is pushing unit growth both domestically and internationally, arguing that its performance warrants more locations.
The company’s stock is down 19% so far this year amid concerns that pizza chains are losing business as consumers shift to other options.
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