Church’s Chicken, a global quick-service hand- battered fried chicken restaurant chain, announced that Hector Munoz was named Chief Global Marketing Officer for the company. Munoz, who has spent his career in the restaurant industry, returns to the brand where he began in the early 90s. He takes the marketing helm on March 6.
Munoz will be responsible for the global marketing organization including the company’s internationally-known Texas Chicken brand. His areas of responsibility include new product development, calendar planning, consumer insights, advertising, multi-cultural marketing, brand equity, positioning, media buying and planning, packaging, field, and promotional marketing, social and media relations and guest engagement and strategic direction on promotional, and product innovation. He will serve as a member of the Church’s Global Leadership Team and will report to Joe Christina, chief executive officer. He will also work closely with the Church’s International Franchisee Association (CIFA) board.
“I have known Hector for over 15 years. He has a guest-centric mindset and believes it takes a team to get results. He is a terrific fit for our culture. He understands our guests and, more importantly, has proven that he knows how to deliver great experiences that guests love,” Christina says.
“I clearly know chicken and the quick-service industry,” says Munoz, the former Chief Marketing Officer for Popeyes Louisiana Chicken since 2014. “It’s terrific to rejoin an organization with the legacy and heritage of such an iconic brand as Church’s. I am excited to rejoin the brand where I learned my craft and to work with a team dedicated to becoming the global franchisor of choice and veteran franchisees who have worked to make the brand what it is today.”
Munoz joined Popeyes in 2011 where he led U.S. marketing efforts, including brand strategy and product innovation, achieving year over year increases in same store sales and over twenty-five quarters of consecutive same-store sales gain. He worked for nearly 10 years in a variety of field and corporate leadership roles at Burger King Corporation including brand image and strategy and retail marketing and merchandising. He previously served Long John Silver’s, Taco Bell, and Bruegger’s Bagels.
Munoz earned a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Cal Poly University and an MBA from the University of Miami.