In a move to bolster its growth strategy and strengthen the brand following a record-breaking year, Marco’s Pizza announced the promotion of president and Chief Operating Officer Tony Libardi, to co-CEO and president, effective December 28.

In preparation for a long-term transition of leadership, Libardi joins forces with Jack Butorac who has been Chief Executive Officer since 2004. Together, their deeply rooted passion and understanding of leadership and innovation allows Marco’s to seamlessly deliver results, profitability and growth for its franchisees and other stakeholders.

Libardi provides a strong resume of accomplishments since joining the brand from Burger King in 2014 boosting same store sales growth, doubling store count and driving profitability for franchisees. With 30-years’ experience in restaurant operations, Libardi put Marco’s in a position to accelerate growth by moving to a single point-of-sale system, instituting operational standards, launching Marco’s first national advertising program, and strengthening its digital sales by introducing enhanced online ordering, a mobile app, and embracing third-party delivery services. This solid foundation matched with his focus on performance and enhanced communications with his leadership team and the field, enabled him to lead the Marco’s Pizza team to achieve a record-setting year in 2020, despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic. 

Libardi led the Marco’s team to achieve historic record-breaking sales, pilot new innovations, sign 114 new store commitments, and open more than 70 new locations, including the brand’s  milestone 1,000th store, all while supporting communities nationwide via its ‘You can Count on Marco’s Pizza’ commitment. 

“To say Tony is deserving of this promotion would be an understatement,” says Butorac, now chairman and co-CEO at Marco’s. “Under Tony’s leadership, Marco’s evolved into a performance-driven culture that revolves around putting ‘People First.’  Marco’s has doubled in size with a tremendous group of franchise partners. We are very proud of the dedication, commitment and the overall impact he’s had on this brand. I’m confident Tony will be a driving force behind the continued success of Marco’s as we head into a new era as a 1,000-plus unit national brand.”

Marco’s has set aggressive expansion goals to nearly double new store commitments in 2021 as it seeks single and multi-unit operators throughout the United States and internationally. 

“It has been an honor to be part of the tremendous growth of this brand,” says Libardi. “The success we’ve seen is a collective effort of our incredible executive leadership team, our committed Support Center, and all our franchisees and team members at the store level who deliver on our brand promise each and every day. I am humbled to step into this new role and drive our brand’s stellar reputation forward as we catapult Marco’s into the national spotlight.”