Wingstop Restaurants announced today that Wes Jablonski has been named to the newly-created position of chief franchise relations officer.

Jablonski, who has been a member of the Wingstop management team for nine years, had served as chief development officer since 2009 and chief financial officer from 2003 to 2009.

As the chief franchise relations officer, he will oversee the franchisee assistance program and serve as Wingstop’s liaison with brand partners in areas such as renewals, monitoring, and analysis of financial performance. In addition, Jablonski will also manage Wingstop’s compliance and legal endeavors.

“The new position was a way to prepare for the needs of our rapidly expanding network of restaurants as we head into a new phase of growth,” says Wingstop President and CEO James Flynn. “Wes was the obvious choice to lead this effort.Wes has nearly a decade of experience with Wingstop, he knows all our brand partners, and has been instrumental in bringing many of them into the system.”

Wingstop is scheduled to open its 500th location before the end of the year.