Leadership

Papa Johns COO steps down

Max Wetzel, who has worked with the company since 2019, is leaving to take a CEO position “at another company.”
Papa Johns COO
Papa Johns chief operating officer is leaving the company next month. / Photograph: Shutterstock.

Papa Johns is losing its chief operating officer.

Max Wetzel, who has worked with the Louisville, Ky.-based company since 2019, has given notice of plans to step down, effective March 17, according to a federal securities filing on Friday. He is leaving “to assume a chief executive officer position with another company.”

There was no word on a potential replacement.

Wetzel came to Papa Johns in 2019, when he was named chief commercial and marketing officer. He was named chief commercial officer in 2021 and last year was named chief operating officer. He came to the quick-service pizza restaurant from outside the restaurant business, having worked with PPG Architectural Coatings and before that, with H.J. Heinz Co.

Papa Johns operates about 5,600 locations worldwide, including about 3,400 units in the U.S.

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