Bojangles has announced the appointment of David Whitaker as its new chief operating officer (COO), and will be responsible for company and franchise operations as well as driving systemwide sales and growth. He will succeed Brian Unger, who is retiring after three years with the brand, and four decades in the industry.
“I can’t say enough about Brian’s contributions to Bojangles,” said Jose Armario, CEO of Bojangles.
“He represents the very best in our industry and has helped our company navigate the past few years with outstanding leadership and dedication. We wish him all the best in his retirement.”
Whitaker brings more than 35 years of experience to the role as a strategic operator and systems implementation expert for brands such as Bloomin’ Brands, Wendy’s, and Arby’s. Before joining Bojangles, he spent seven years at Inspire Brands, with the Arby’s brand as the senior vice president of its largest division. He supported 300 corporate and 1,000 franchised locations in his role.
“We are thrilled to welcome David to Bojangles. His leadership experience, extensive operational knowledge and successful track record working with franchisees are all substantial assets for our team and the Bojangles brand,” Armario said.
“David brings a wide base of experience leading operations and ops services functions for multiple brands – inside and outside of the QSR category that will be essential to ensuring Bojangles is keeping up with our customers’ expectations and making excellent operations a priority in all our restaurants.”
“I am very excited to join Bojangles as COO. I can’t think of a better time to be part of this impressive team and help build on all the great work Bojangles is doing today,” said Whitaker.
“With such an iconic brand and passionate fanbase, Bojangles has a strong foundation to grow in the years to come, and I look forward to working closely with our ops leaders, franchisees and executive leadership as we endeavor to bring Bojangles to a much wider audience with a sharp focus on providing exceptional service to our guests and great environments for our team members across the system.”
