To prep the brand for a year of incredible growth, Golden Chick has promoted Nancy Jacobi from director to vice president of human resources. The executive has been with Golden Chick’s parent company, Golden Tree Restaurants, since June 2022 and has overseen each of its concept’s employee staffing, payroll, performance and other internal human resource initiatives since.
Jacobi began her career in human resources over three decades ago and has remained in the field across several organizations and industries. Prior to joining Golden Chick and Golden Tree Restaurants, Jacobi held other positions within other food and beverage concepts including Chuck E. Cheese and Yum! Brands. Through these roles, she developed a passion and skill for working with restaurants, especially during a time when human resource practices were shifting to automated systems.
“Nancy has been an integral part in the evolution of our human resource operations, not only for Golden Chick but for our other Golden Tree concepts as well,” says Mark Parmerlee, chairman of Golden Chick. “Vice president of human resources is a role in which an individual has to be cognizant of hundreds of moving pieces, and I can’t think of a single person better suited for this job than Nancy.”
Jacobi has approached the new position with a people-first perspective in order to highlight Golden Chick’s internal emphasis on a strong workspace culture, an attribute of the brand that drew her to the role initially. Alongside fortifying the brand’s internal structure, Jacobi has begun strategizing her plans for improved human resource practices as the quick service chicken concept enters a period of historic growth.
“I’ve loved the concepts and have previously loved the brand, but I’m mostly looking forward to the upcoming growth plan and seeing significant changes take place in the coming years.” says Jacobi. “Based on the corporate plan in place, Golden Chick is hoping to reach 500 locations by 2030, an impressive feat. I’m truly passionate about working with companies in ‘growth mode’ and that’s where Golden Chick’s focus is currently.”
Jacobi plans to evolve and strengthen the brand’s human resources alongside it and is currently aspiring to fully automate the department, implementing smarter, and more efficient, assessment tools. Along with strengthening these baseline procedures, Jacobi hopes to bring in more digital tools to assist in employee hiring processes, staff evaluations, and daily pay practices, allowing employees to access their earnings in real-time, and developing a more hands-on routine when it comes to the brand’s internal relations.
