COLUMBUS, Ohio (November 9, 2009) – Donatos Pizza has announced the promotion of Tom Krouse to the newly created position of president of expansion brands, and Todd Young to the position of vice president of operations. These promotions come in conjunction with a company-wide reorganization announcement.
“We are excited to announce the promotions of both Tom and Todd,” Jane Grote Abell, Donatos president and chief operating officer, said. “Both have done an outstanding job of helping to grow the Donatos brand. Now in their new roles, I am confident that their dedication and passion will help us to achieve all our business goals.”
Donatos Pizza recently divided itself into two separate divisions, the restaurant division and the bakery division, to better foster brand growth. The restaurant division will retain the name of Donatos Pizza and will be overseen by Grote Abell. The focus of this division will continue to be serving high-quality, consistent products to customers as well as expanding the number of franchise stores. The company’s goal is to increase the number of franchise-owned stores to three-quarters of its total store count. Currently, two-thirds of Donatos’ stores are company-owned.
The bakery division, also known as Jane’s Dough Foods, is the newest area of the company and will focus primarily on three separate areas: the development and marketing of private label products, Take & Bake pizzas offered in Kroger grocery stores and the development and expansion of a new convenience pizza brand.
As the president of expansion brands, Krouse will be responsible for overseeing the entire Jane’s Dough Foods division, as well as franchise development of the brand within the restaurant division.
Krouse brings with him more than 10 years of experience with Donatos as well as a total of more than 25 years of branding experience to his new position within the company.
Before being promoted, Krouse served as chief concept and strategy officer for Donatos Pizza, where he was an integral part of menu and product development as well as the company’s overall marketing and development functions.
Young has been with Donatos Pizza for more than 30 years, beginning his career as a store-level associate, and most recently as director of operations for the Columbus stores. As director of operations, Young was responsible for coordinating all operations within the Columbus market, which is the company’s largest area. Young has gained a wide range of experience at Donatos throughout his tenure, holding positions in operations development and directing new markets
Now in his new role as vice president of operations for the entire restaurant division, Young will report directly to Abell, and will be responsible for coordinating all operational tasks, system-wide.
About Donatos Pizza
Donatos Pizza, founded in 1963 by Jim Grote, is family-owned and operated, and headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The creator of Edge-to-Edge® pizza, Donatos Pizza is recognized as the gold standard in pizza, using only the freshest ingredients and highest food and safety standards to create delicious, quality products that are all trans-fat free. Donatos and its franchise partners operate more than 175 stores in six states. Additionally, Donatos operates more than 100 Take & Bake kiosks in Kroger stores and offers products at 18 entertainment and sports venues. For more information on Donatos Pizza, visit www.donatos.com.
