Dairy Queen names Phil Crawford chief technology officer
Crawford comes to the fast-food chain with a wealth of industry experience, including stints with CKE Restaurants, Shake Shack, and Yard House.
Dairy Queen is boosting its technology leadership.
The Minneapolis-based fast-food chain on Tuesday named Phil Crawford its new EVP and chief technology officer. He will lead IT and retail technology for the company and its 7,800 global locations.
Crawford comes to Dairy Queen with a lot of experience. He most recently led the global food, beverage, and hospitality verticals at Adyen N.V. He has also held chief information officer or chief technology officer roles with Carl's Jr. and Hardee's parent company CKE Restaurants, Godiva Chocolatier, Shake Shack, and Yard House.
“Technology plays an increasingly critical role in empowering our business for our employees, franchisee, and fans,” Troy Bader, Dairy Queen’s CEO, said in a statement. He said that Crawford’s “proven success as a restaurant business and technology leader positions us for continued growth.”
Crawford in a statement said that he has long admired the Dairy Queen brand and respects its “commitment to technological innovation and digital capabilities.”
Crawford joins the country’s 20th-largest chain that also has thousands of locations internationally. Global system sales last year rose 3.7%, to $6.6 billion. The company operates more than 4,000 locations in the U.S., according to data from Technomic.
