Johnny Rockets, the international restaurant chain known for its best-in-class burgers, fries, and shakes, appoints Rumbani Mchawe as country director of mature markets. In this role, Mchawe will provide support to the international franchise community, specifically operators in the Middle East, Europe, and Africa to ensure quality assurance standards are met and to improve overall sales and operations. Mchawe will report directly to vice president of international, Naresh Vinod Worklikar.
“Rumbani’s extensive background in supporting international restaurant franchises will be an asset to Johnny Rockets as we continue to expand our international presence and improve existing franchise operations in the Middle East, where we have a large footprint,” says Naresh Vinod Worklikar, vice president, international. “His leadership skills and vast knowledge of international and domestic franchise operations and development make him the ideal fit for supporting our franchise partners.”
Rumbani Mchawe brings more than 25 years of restaurant operations, training, and development experience to the Johnny Rockets executive team. Prior to joining the company, Mchawe held the position of vice president of development and expansion for Quiznos. During his time with the 1,500-unit sandwich chain, Mchawe drove global strategies for development and operations, including supporting the U.S. and 43 countries. Prior to Quiznos, Mchawe held multiple roles with restaurant franchise companies, including Denny’s, Church’s Chicken, Little Caesar’s Enterprises Inc., and Domino’s Pizza.
As director of mature markets, Mchawe wills support Johnny Rockets in Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Doha, Saudi Arabia, India, Europe, and Africa.