Sweetgreen today announced that Chris Carr, chief operating officer, will step down on March 17 for personal reasons. He will remain at the company through Q1 in an advisory capacity. Carr joined Sweetgreen in May 2020 after serving 12 years as executive vice president and chief procurement officer at Starbucks.
“Chris has been a valued member of the Sweetgreen leadership team and I’m grateful for the contributions he has made. Chris joined the company at the height of the pandemic and helped us navigate a challenging and uncertain operating environment. He led the simplification of our operations and laid the foundation for scale as we enter our next phase of growth. On behalf of the Board of Directors and the company, I would like to thank him for the positive impact he has had on Sweetgreen and wish him every success in his future endeavors,” Neman said in a statement.
Effective Jan. 1, Stephanie Traut, senior vice president of operations, will oversee the department and report directly to co-founder and CEO Jonathan Neman. Traut joined Sweetgreen in August 2021 and has over 20 years of operations experience, including as COO of Vasa Fitness. She has also served in a variety of roles at Starbucks.
“Stephanie came to Sweetgreen with deep operational expertise in the restaurant space. In her time here, she has proven herself as a respected and effective hands-on leader. I am confident that Stephanie will continue to raise the bar and give our guests and team members an exceptional experience,” Neman said.
The operations shakeup comes as Sweetgreen continues its pandemic recovery and plans to test fully automated restaurants through its recently acquired Spyce technology. The company also plans to increase its Outposts presence and its catering business.
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]