Del Taco Restaurants, Inc., the second largest Mexican-American quick-service chain by units in the U.S., announced that President and Chief Brand Officer John D. Cappasola, Jr. was named Chief Executive Officer to succeed Paul J.B. Murphy, III. Cappasola will also replace Murphy on the company’s Board of Directors. Murphy will remain with the Company into July to ensure a seamless and orderly transition of leadership and responsibilities.
As part of the planned succession, Murphy has notified the company that he plans to relocate permanently to Denver and will resign on July 7, at which time Cappasola will fully assume his new position as Chief Executive Officer and director.
Cappasola joined Del Taco in a senior leadership role in 2008. He has been Del Taco’s President since January 2017 and Chief Brand Officer since February 2011. He previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer, leading Del Taco’s efforts in brand strategy, operations, marketing, menu development, and culinary innovation. Paul J.B. Murphy, III has been Del Taco’s Chief Executive Officer since February 2009 and served as President from February 2009 through December 2016.
Chairman of the Board Lawrence F. Levy says, “John is a dynamic, people-oriented brand leader who understands strategy and driving business results. John was instrumental in the development of our successful Combined Solutions strategy that has established a solid foundation for the brand and produced some of the top results in the industry over the past 5 years. Game changing new product innovation, highly effective marketing campaigns and dramatic improvements in the guest experience are a direct result of John’s leadership across our organization. The entire Del Taco family looks forward to working with John in this natural evolution of his leadership role.”
Levy says, “We thank Paul for his many contributions to Del Taco. Paul has developed a high-performing culture and an outstanding leadership team that is poised to continue delivering superior performance. We deeply appreciate Paul for his leadership and commitment to Del Taco and wish him all the best.”
Chief Executive Officer Paul J.B. Murphy, III says, “It has been my privilege and honor to be part of Del Taco for the past eight years, and I am confident in the strong team we have assembled to execute on the growing opportunity ahead of this beloved brand. John and I have been working together preparing for this transition and I can confidently say that the company could not ask for a better person to lead it into its next phase of growth. John will continue to be a driving force pushing the brand to evolve to meet ever-changing consumer needs and ensuring that our operations teams are set up to successfully deliver on that brand promise.”
Incoming Chief Executive Officer John D. Cappasola, Jr. says, “I am excited to assume this new role which I feel is a once in a lifetime career opportunity. Del Taco is a unique company with a deep rooted culture and a great team of people who care about elevating this iconic brand and each other. Working side by side with Paul over the past several years has uniquely prepared me for this role and I am confident that our team is going to build upon what we have already accomplished and take Del Taco to new heights.”