Pizza Inn Holdings Inc. announced several important additions to its leadership team as the international pizza chain and its rapidly growing fast-casual concept, Pie Five Pizza, continue their expansion.
The company announced Chris Smith has been promoted to senior vice president of operations for Pie Five Pizza. He had been vice president since January 2013. In this new role, Smith will now oversee real estate and construction, along with other operational areas. His prior industry experience includes tenures in the operations divisions at Chipotle Mexican Grill and Smashburger.
“Chris has done a masterful job for us over the past 13 months, and this promotion is certainly well deserved,” says Randy Gier, chief executive officer for Pizza Inn. “I will continue to lean heavily on him as we expand our footprint across the continent.”
The company also hired Perry Jones as its new vice president of real estate. Jones comes to Pizza Inn after serving as senior director of real estate for Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, where he was responsible for site selection, development, and execution of a defined retail strategy for the eastern half of the U.S. for the rapidly growing Einstein Bros. Bagels, Noah’s New York Bagels, and Manhattan Bagel brands.
“Perry brings exceptional knowledge of real estate and development processes, construction, market, and economic analysis to our organization,” Gier says. “His proven track record in securing profitable new sites in multi-location environments has prepared him well for the exciting challenges presented by our fast-growing Pie Five concept. I couldn’t be more excited that Perry has joined our team.”
Last month, the company announced that Donna M. Lee had been appointed controller of Pizza Inn Holdings. Lee came to Pizza Inn after serving nearly 10 years in several roles at Taco Bueno Restaurants. As the company’s vice president and corporate controller, she was responsible for financial reporting, monthly accounting, annual audits, budgeting and forecasting, treasury, regulatory and legal/contract review, and compliance and debt and covenant reporting.
In addition, Christian Cox recently joined Pizza Inn as director of information technology. Cox has spent his entire career in the restaurant industry, most recently serving as IT director for Firebird Restaurant Group. Prior to that, he worked for more than 13 years as the IT director for Texas Wings, a Hooters franchisee with more than 45 locations in Texas.
“This is an exciting time at Pizza Inn and Pie Five, and I am honored to be surrounded by so many talented individuals,” Gier says. “We’re ready to change the world, one delicious pizza at a time!”
Pizza Inn is an international pizza chain featuring traditional and specialty pizzas, as well as pastas, sandwiches, and desserts. At Pie Five, guests can choose from more than a million combinations of pizzas and a variety of specialty pie choices prepared in less than five minutes on one of four crusts.
