While serving as marketing director for Marble Slab Creamery in the early 2010s, Jenn Johnston experienced a defining moment in her career. Her mentor, then-CEO of the ice cream brand, walked into her office and handed her the keys to two corporate stores facing double-digit sales declines and operational challenges. At the time, Johnston’s only restaurant operations experience was waitressing at Friendly’s when she was 16.
“It was a pivotal moment in my career because I learned how to work with frontline employees to empower them and create change,” Johnston says. “It was about collaboration and getting in the trenches to solve problems. I worked closing shifts alongside the team, and this type of leadership resonated with them.”
During her 11-year tenure with Global Franchise Group—which owned Great American Cookies, Hot Dog on a Stick, Round Table Pizza, Marble Slab Creamery, and more—Johnston served in multiple executive roles, including CMO, COO, interim CEO, president, and chief brand officer. But growth came at a cost—during one of Global Franchise Group’s sales to prior ownership, Johnston realized something was wrong.
“I was really sick, and I realized I had been working with a migraine for five months straight,” Johnston says. “I tried to work through it, but I had to stop, take a step back, and prioritize my mental health. I started doing yoga, meditating, and adding tools to my arsenal that I had never considered before. A big focus of my leadership style today is helping younger executives understand that they need to prioritize wellness.”
Fast forward to 2021, the franchise conglomerate was sold to FAT Brands, where Johnston became president of its QSR division before advancing to her current role as CMO.
As Johnston oversees marketing strategies for 16 brands, she credits her operational experience for providing a balanced approach to creative initiatives and franchisee unit-level economics. If the financial goal is to gain three more lunch and dinner transactions to increase store sales by 3 percent, she works backward, brainstorming marketing tactics to achieve that target.
This disciplined focus and bottom-line awareness have helped Johnston navigate company acquisitions, leadership changes, and brand prioritization.
“I’ve been acquired four times, and I’ve been part of acquiring 12 companies, so you have to be able to listen to different philosophies and minimize distractions during transitions,” Johnston says. “Anyone in a CMO role or overseeing multiple concepts needs to differentiate between activity and productivity to move the needle effectively.”
Johnston’s strategies are rooted in awareness, attitude, and usage studies, identifying commonalities across brands. Some connections are obvious, such as Hurricane Grill & Wings and Native Grill & Wings. Others, like Marble Slab Creamery and Great American Cookies, required deeper data analysis to uncover overlapping demographics.
With 2,300 restaurants and a pipeline of 1,100-plus units, Johnston leverages hundreds of millions of data points—from digital advertising and online ordering to personalized marketing messages that drive value without eroding margins. In 2025, FAT Brands will launch a portfolio-wide guest experience program, which Johnston says will be industry-leading and designed to foster brand loyalty.
“There were a lot of commonalities between our brands, so we figured out ways to synergize and leverage them through our processes and systems,” Johnston says. “Data is everything. It provides a real-time look at which creative efforts are most effective. It becomes our roadmap for aggregating information in a meaningful, powerful way to build a marketing powerhouse.”
Throughout her career, Johnston has been a staunch advocate for coaching her team and paving the way for more women to enter executive roles. She believes the industry has a responsibility to cultivate female leadership through mentorship and internship programs.
“The first step is to find a mentor—a female executive in the industry—and build a real connection,” Johnston says. “It’s one thing to know a lot of people, but it’s another to have someone who genuinely listens, spends time with you, and offers detailed advice. A great mentor is someone who meets for coffee or lunch, follows your career, and champions your growth.”
At the same time, she encourages professionals to mentor others.
“No matter what level you’re at, there’s always someone who can benefit from your guidance. By lifting others, we build the pipeline of future women leaders. If we want to see more women in executive roles, we need to create a strong bench of talent to rise through the ranks,” Johnston adds.
Her proudest achievement isn’t tied to a promotion or financial benchmark but to mentoring her team, placing people in the right roles, and fostering an environment where female executives support and uplift one another. As she empowers the next generation, she emphasizes the importance of setting boundaries and taking mental breaks.
“You have more power than you think you do. If you’re an overachiever, constantly operating at a high frequency, you’re putting yourself in fight-or-flight mode. Your body and brain will burn out, and you won’t be as effective at decision-making,” Johnston says. “Create downtime to relax and go outside. There’s a reason why people have their most creative ideas while doing nothing—their body has the time and energy to brainstorm.”
