Smoothie King announced on Wednesday that Camille Hymes will join the quick-service smoothie chain as chief operating officer on June 5.
Hymes has been in foodservice and operations for more than 20 years. Most recently she worked at Starbucks, holding multiple roles including corporate vice president of public affairs. Previously, she was divisional vice president of franchise operations at Jack in the Box, where she helped that company go from 80% company-owned units to 80% franchise-operated units. She has also worked for ExxonMobil.
“We’re excited to have Camille Hymes join our distinguished leadership team at Smoothie King,” said CEO Wan Kim in a press release. “We strive to hire the most qualified, experienced leaders who truly understand every aspect of the foodservice industry — and Camille is no exception. We know that Camille will add tremendous value to our brand leadership team and we look forward to her contributions, as we serve and support our guests, as well as franchisees.”
At Smoothie King, Hymes’ role will be focused on helping the company through its next phase of growth.
“I’m eager to begin working with the exceptional Smoothie King team and feel privileged to lead company operations,” she said in a statement. “Throughout my career, I’ve admired Smoothie King from afar and followed the brand’s mission to inspire people to live a healthy and active lifestyle. I look forward to hitting the ground running as COO and to working closely with the brand and our franchisees to drive the customer experience and expand our presence.”
During her time at Starbucks, Hymes was chosen by that company to be on the 2021 Nation’s Restaurant News Power List.
Hymes is the fifth executive to join Smoothie King in the past year. In November, the company added Marianne Radley as chief marketing officer, Juan Salas as chief information officer, and Laura Scavone as chief people officer. Last July, Chris Bremer joined as chief development officer.
Smoothie King’s previous chief operating officer, Dan Harmon, was named CEO of Playa Bowls in April.
Dallas-based Smoothie King, which has more than 1,350 locations worldwide, added smoothie bowls to its menu in April and has sold more than 1 million. The brand is on pace to open 100 new units by the end of the year.
Contact Leigh Anne at [email protected]
