Louisville, Kentucky-based, Papa John’s International, Inc. (PZZA) announced that its co-chief executive officer (CEO) and president J. Jude Thompson has resigned.

Thompson served as the director of the world’s third largest pizza company from 2008 and later in 2009, he became the officer of the company. Though his tenure of three years in the company was short, he succeeded in making a mark in his service period. Thompson will remain at the company through the end of the month.

Thompson is leaving Papa John’s to focus on the insurance industry where he has 20 years of experience. To achieve new heights and capitalize on his skill, Thompson is currently associating himself with Louisville-based insurance firm, Arison Insurance Services. Arison Insurance is owned by Assurance Investment Partners, Inc, of which Thompson is a co-founder.

With Thompson’s departure, John Schnatter, the company’s founder, chairman and co-CEO will perform the role of the company’s CEO.

Earlier, in February, Papa John’s chief financial officer (CFO) David Flanery also retired from his post. He joined Papa John’s in 1994 and became the company’s CFO in 2004. Flanery played a key role in the growth of the company. He has been succeeded by Lance Tucker, who served the company as senior vice president, strategic planning and chief of staff since 2010.

For a decade, company has been able to retain the #1 position in customer satisfaction among all national pizza chains in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) and we believe despite key management changes, Papa John’s will maintain its success going forward. 

Papa John’s primary competitors in the restaurant industry include Yum! Brands Inc’s (YUM) and Domino’s Pizza Inc (DPZ).

Papa John’s currently retains a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term Hold rating. We are also maintaining our long-term Neutral recommendation on the stock.

 
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