Just a few weeks after Domino’s Pizza lost its highly accomplished CEO, Papa John’s International has said goodbye to one of its own top executives—CFO Ravi Thanawala.
Thanawala departed Papa Johns to assume the CFO role at “another public company,” the brand announced. According to CFO Dive, that public company is American Eagle Outfitters, which reportedly “snapped up” Thanawala to succeed longtime finance chief Michael Mathias.
Papa John’s said Chris Collins, the brand’s senior VP of corporate finance and principal accounting officer since July 2025, has been appointed to the additional position of interim CFO, effective immediately, as Thanawala’s successor.
Thanawala will remain available in an advisory capacity until July 31 to support a smooth transition. Papa Johns has commenced a search for a permanent CFO.
Papa Johns reported another quarter of negative same-store sales in Q1 2026. In fact, the chain’s North American comps have been negative for eight of the past nine quarters. The brand plans to close 200 locations this year and another 100 in 2027, most of them underperforming franchised locations.
Collins joined Papa Johns as VP of treasury and tax in April 2021 and previously served as its interim CFO and principal accounting officer from March 2023 until July 2023 when Thanawala came on board. From July 2023 to July 2025, he served as VP of finance-treasury, tax and international business segment.
“Chris is a proven finance leader with deep knowledge of the company and the opportunities we are pursuing to maximize shareholder value and position Papa Johns for its greatest success as the best pizza makers in the business,” said Todd Penegor, Papa Johns’ president and CEO. “I am confident that Chris’s support in this interim role along with our talented team will enable continued execution on our transformation priorities.”
Papa Johns will release its second-quarter financial results on Thursday, August 6.
