Duck Donuts announced the hiring of two new team members, Cathy Chavenet as vice president of marketing, and Tom Perella, in the newly created role, director of technology. Both positions will report to Betsy Hamm, Duck Donuts CEO.
In Chavenet’s role as vice president of marketing, she is responsible for leading the strategic development of the brand. This includes leading the core marketing strategies by focusing on increasing brand relevance, growing brand engagement, improving the guest experience, and providing tools and resources for franchisees to drive traffic in-store. She joins Duck Donuts from The Wendy’s Company where she led the Northeast, overseeing local marketing for 900 restaurants. Prior to that, Cathy spent 13 years with Dunkin’ Brands running marketing for the New York Tri-State Area and Upstate Region supporting over 200 franchisee networks encompassing 2,300 locations.
“We are delighted to have Cathy and Tom join the Duck Donuts team, as they bring a wealth of industry knowledge and experience to the company,” says Hamm CEO. “As we continue to take the brand to the next level, their positions will have a significant impact in making sure we provide the best-in-class tools and resources to support our franchise partners.”
In addition, Duck Donuts recently hired Tom Perella as the company’s first director of technology. Perella will provide the technology vision and strategy and is focused on matching technology solutions with the needs of the organization. Perella joins the team from FOCUS Brands, a leading franchisor of global, multi-channel foodservice brands including Auntie Anne’s, Cinnabon and Carvel, Jamba, McAlister’s, Moe’s, and Schlotzky’s, where he spent more than 25 years developing, implementing and maintaining technological platforms.
As previously announced, Duck Donuts anticipates opening more than 30 new domestic and eight international donut shops in 2022. The company currently operates two international and 110 U.S. franchise locations across 22 states and Puerto Rico.
