Inspire Brands has restructured its executive suite, naming Scott Murphy, who had been president of Dunkin’, chief brand officer for all restaurants in the company’s portfolio. Dan Lynn’s title of chief commercial officer has been renamed chief commercial and restaurant officer and he has been given new responsibilities. Christian Charnaux is retaining his position as chief growth officer.
A search for a new Dunkin' brand president is underway, according to Inspire Brands senior manager for corporate communications Jack D'amato.
Atlanta-based Inspire, parent company of Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s, and Sonic Drive-In, said in a release that the restructuring, which took place in mid-November, gave the company clear leaders of its three “primary operational pillars” — brands, commercial and company restaurants, and growth.
“This organizational realignment is designed to enhance focus and coordination within and across these three core business areas, as well as fully leverage the core strategic capabilities provided by Inspire’s data and technology-enabled platform,” the release said.
Murphy now oversees all six brands, with their respective brand presidents (“brand head” in the case of Baskin-Robbins), reporting to him. Inspire said the new structure is intended to allow for better coordination among the brands and the with the company’s shared services while still allowing for each brand’s distinct identity.
Lynn now overseas all company-owned restaurants across all brands, a total of nearly 2,200 units. He also is head of communications. Lynn will continue to oversee the Commercial Group, which includes the demand generation, product management, data and analytics, customer marketing, and digital retail departments.
Inspire said that Lynn’s new responsibilities would improve the group’s ability to use company-owned restaurants to test innovation, which should accelerate operational improvements systemwide.
Charnaux is still in charge of unit growth domestically and internationally and the international, development, and supply chain teams still report to him.
“This revised organizational structure positions us for accelerated growth and will further enhance the advantages of our tightly integrated shared services platform,” CEO Paul Brown said in the release. “Ultimately, we believe Inspire’s combination of strong, differentiated brands and its highly innovative business model will continue to drive enhanced value for our franchisees and other stakeholders.”
Globally, there are more than 31,000 restaurants under Inspire’s six brands, including company-owned and franchised restaurants.
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