Noodles & Company announced on September 19 the appointment of Jeffrey W. Jones as chairman of the board, effective immediately. Jones has served on the Noodles & Company Board since 2013, including most recently as the board’s lead independent director.

“We are excited to announce the appointment of Jeff Jones as Chairman of the Board,” says Dave Boennighausen, chief executive officer of Noodles & Company. “Jeff’s strategic and financial acumen, combined with significant public company experience in executive positions, have been instrumental in helping us execute our successful turnaround and reposition the brand to meet the needs of today’s consumer. Jeff has been a trusted advisor since joining the board six years ago and I look forward to working with him in executing our strategy as we enter the next phase of our growth.”

“I’m honored to be named chairman of the Noodles & Company board at a time of exciting promise for our company,” Jones says. “Dave and his team have made tremendous progress strengthening our brand and positioning it for long-term growth and I look forward to leading the continued collaboration between our board and management team to ensure that Noodles realizes its enormous potential.”

Jones was the chief financial officer for Vail Resorts, Inc. from 2003 through 2012, where he was also a member of the board of directors and president of Lodging, Retail, and Real Estate. Jones is currently a member of the board of directors of Hershey Entertainment and Resorts, where he chairs the Audit and Finance Committee and is a member of the Compensation Committee, Summit Hotel Properties, Inc., where he is the lead independent director, Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Compensation Committee, and ClubCorp.

Jones’ role will be a non-executive chairman position and, as a result, he will retain his positions as a member of Noodles & Company’s compensation and nominating and governance committees as well as his role as chair of the company’s audit committee.