Checkers & Rally’s announced Monday afternoon that industry veteran Frances Allen has been named CEO and a member of its board of directors.
Allen succeeds Rick Silva, who decided to leave Checkers after 13 years as CEO and president. She most recently worked as CEO of Boston Market. Before that, she served as president of Jack in the Box from 2014 to 2018. Other positions include chief branding officer and chief marketing officer at Denny’s, chief marketing coordinator at Dunkin’ USA, and leadership roles with Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, Pepsi, and Frito-Lay.
“We are delighted that Frances will be leading Checkers & Rally’s through its next leg of growth,” said Kevin Mailender, a board director and partner at Oak Hill Capital, in a statement. “She is an accomplished leader in the restaurant industry. Her wealth of experience with leading brands and impressive set of skills will be highly valuable to our business and its outstanding franchisees. With a demonstrated ability to develop and inspire winning teams, Frances is the right leader to guide Checkers & Rally’s to its full potential.”
“On behalf of the entire Checkers & Rally’s family, I would like to thank Rick Silva for his partnership and many years of leadership,” he added. “Rick has played a key role in positioning the system for long-term success, and we wish him well on his future endeavors.”
Allen retired from Jack in the Box in 2018 when the company was “flattening” its organizational structure after it sold fast-casual brand Qdoba. At the time, Allen said the elimination of her position would “more quickly begin restructuring of the brand’s leadership.”
Less than two years after joining Boston Market as CEO, Allen departed the brand, but noted in a statement that the company is in a different place and there is a “is a robust game plan in place to take the brand forward.” She was succeeded by Eric Wyatt, a former executive at Panera Bread.
“I am thrilled to be joining this unique brand with so much potential for growth,” Allen said in a statement. “Checkers & Rally’s will continue its tradition of putting the customer first and serving its communities by delivering high quality, craveable food at exceptional values. There is much work to do, but I am eager to build on the company’s recent momentum and set out on this exciting journey alongside Checkers & Rally’s passionate employees and talented franchisees.”
The Tampa, Florida-based company oversees nearly 900 restaurants in more than two dozen states. Checkers was purchased by Oak Hill Partners in 2017 for around $525 million. At the time, the company promoted a “20-20” vision, in which it hoped to have 1,200 restaurants in the system by 2020. It was a public company until 2006 when Wellspring Capital purchased the chain for $188 million. Wellspring later sold the brand to Sentinel Capital in 2014 for an undisclosed amount.
