Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC – News) Chief Marketing Officer, Todd Townsend, left the company and will be replaced by Sonic’s vice president of product/segment management, Paul Macaluso. In his expanded role as vice president of marketing, Macaluso will provide strategic oversight to all areas of Sonic’s marketing department in addition to overseeing the company’s relationship with Barkley, its Kansas City-based advertising agency.
Macaluso joined Sonic in January 2007. He has more than 15 years of restaurant experience, having held a variety of operations and marketing positions with both Burger King and Taco Bell. Macaluso holds a Bachelor of Science in Communication and a Master of Business Administration from Florida State University.
Townsend, Sonic’s former CMO, left the company to pursue other interests.
Sonic, America’s Drive-In, originally started as a hamburger and root beer stand in 1953 in Shawnee, Okla., called Top Hat Drive-In, and then changed its name to Sonic in 1959.